Blizzard Speedpaint: Knowing when to quit

Remember this picture that I speedpainted awhile ago?

Well, I did say I was going to return to it and finish it.  And I diiid...

Let's just that speedpainting this really taught me a lot.  Even if the final product is mediocre at best.

Environments are one of my weakest points.  Of course, as a growing artist I have to recognize this and, instead of shying away from them, only work on them all the harder.  As I have been trying to do... with, well, results.  Of some kind.

But hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere!  And now I know things like looking at reference pictures.  (Can we just say I was testing out brushes and that's why I didn't bother to look at a reference?  Yeah let's go with that.)  But it's okay, because I'm learning.  And that's what sketching is for!  And next time will be a whole lot better!  :)  So here's to more environments and better painting!

Also I'm trying to work without textures (besides just brushes).  For someone that abuses textures, that's no easy task!  But I'm getting there.  :)  This might have been a kind of difficult picture, but it didn't start strong, so it's no surprise that it ended on a disappointing note.  So finally you just have to throw up your hands (or tablet pen) and say, "You know what?  I've done my best.  Time to move on and try again!"

And try I will!

Mad About: New Textures and Brushes!

As any of my art friends will tell you, I ADORE wasting time by browsing deviantART looking for awesome brushes and textures (especially textures) to download and use (or abuse!).  There is really nothing more exciting than trying out a new brush you just downloaded, seeing what you can do with it, what new look you can give your drawings that you had not been able to achieve before.

For my most recent picture, "words," I used not ONLY new brushes I had downloaded, but a new texture as well!

The new brush that I tried out for the lineart was created by Kecky on deviantART.  I have been following Kecky for awhile, and her art is truly some of my favorite.  So when she created some brushes to download, I got really excited!  And a first run with them did not disappoint.

One of the best things about using new tools is that it takes a few tries before you really figure out how to use them properly.  While I used one of Kecky's brushes for the lineart in "words," I am sure that I will be using all of the brushes in many pictures from now on, and I have no doubt that I will discover new and better ways to utilize them!

The new texture that I used came from Ransie3 on deviantART.  The paper/word texture was absolutely perfect for the background, and really pulled the picture together, in my opinion.

Here's to discovering new brushes and textures to further feed our creative juices!

Sources:
words by myself on deviantART
kecky's magical brushes by Kecky on deviantART
Big Textures 11 by Ransie3 on deviantART