Drawing Groot from Guardians on the Galaxy

I am Groot

I decided that due to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, plus how popular it was I would draw one of the best characters personally to me.....this being Groot.

I decided to draw a head shot of Groot. Using a simple HB mechanical pencil.

As you can see I started with a simple outline of his face. I then focused on the eyes and making the wood effect. Shading Groot was an enjoyable experience as I have never shaded a drawing to look like wood before. All was achieved using a HB mechanical pencil. 

I like using this pencil because it means that my lines are neater and also I dont have to sharpen a pencil every 10 seconds. 

I may in the future draw a few more of Guardians of the Galaxy characters and use colour, as the colours were so vibrant and detailed. 

This drawing is for sale over on my Etsy store go check it out :) 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/220675492/original-a4-pencil-portrait-of-groot?ref=listing-shop-header-1

Follow me on instagram,    batgirl_2212

Ta da x

My drawing of Heath Ledgers Joker

Why So Serious?

So its been a while since I last wrote anything really. I haven't really been on my laptop a lot. More of having my head in a book or in drawing really.

After a while I started getting back into drawing.

I didn't do as much nail art. I started to get my sketch book out and started doodling. Someone I knew had seen this image on my Facebook and asked to buy it......

I said I would draw him something new instead. His reply was the Joker. I asked if he wanted comic, animated or film joker and he replied with Heath Ledger as the joker. 

I looked at a few images of him and started to sketch away. This was the first ever commission I had done and wanted to get it right.

All I used was a mechanical pencil 0.7mm and that's all. 

  Here's the finished article finished and framed. 

Check out my Instagram for more art at lsharp2212.

Ta Da xx

From comic to nail

Lets give the nail some background

So I thought I would have a go at some more characters...after the poison ivy and the princess peach I thought I would step it up a gear. Move onto characters a little more in the firing line. I went for Harley Quinn.

For those of you that don't already know....I love my comics. I love the art, the story lines and the personality of the characters. So I have decided while I spread my love of nail art....why not spread my love of the characters too with a little back ground knowledge. 

Lets start with Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn whose name is Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzell who was psychiatric intern that worked at Arkham Asylum. While working at Arkham she become fascinated on one particular inmate....being Joker. Joker seduced Dr Quinn and she fell madly in love with him and helped him escape.  She later became Jokers sidekick. A very complex and twisted love affair they had. There have been different versions of Harley...from the original Jester inspired outfit of red and black. 

 The classic Harley Quinn.

To the more modern Harley that we saw in the game Batman Arkham Asylum. Where Harley is seen in a similar alternate colour style, but this time with purple and red. More for the sex appeal for the audience of the game. 

The nail art I done was inspired by the classic Harley. The red and black. I used gun metal nail varnish as the background. While using red, black, and white acrylic paint for the design and some light blue acrylic for the irises. The things I like about this design is that it is simple but effective. I think the silver background makes the red and black really stand out. 

The things I don't like is that there is a smudge with the mouth. I tried to add some more white to the area to cover this, but the white became thick on the mouth and I decided to quit while I was ahead instead of over working and possibly ruining the character design entirely.   

Ta Da

Now lets start the ball rolling......

So why nails.....

I honestly don't really know how to answer that question. I'm not a girly girl, I don't like all things glitter and girly. I don't do fashion or follow trends. I never have and thinking about it now......I don't think i ever will. I have never followed what others do.

So it was rather random the day I thought "Nails are very popular now days....maybe I should try." I brought some bits and started painting and trying new materials and testing different things. Well I soon learnt that even in this I couldn't go along with the norm. Where you see all these nail designs with some glitter, a brush stroke that arcs and then a jewel.....that wasn't enough for me. I found it boring and in the end I stopped painting nails.

Until.....I thought....lets do it my style. To which I thought lets paint what I would like to see on nails...not what I thought was popular or what others would want. Then I took the road of nerdy nails. Painting designs of the things I love and be inspired by the things that made me who I am. 

The comics I love, the characters I grew up with and games that I played for hours. 

I then painted Poison Ivy for Batman....a great love of mine. I was nervous as I knew it wasn't going to be how I saw it in my head.....or up to the high standard I stupidly seem to set myself but I though...stuff it lets give it a go anyway. This is the outcome...

Now I could go ahead and point out all the things wrong with this. I will only do the main one...the face....that face!! I'm no Leonardo da vinci thats for sure. mt main weakness of people are their faces and their hands....always been a problem area. Most of things I am happy with as it was my first ever painting of a person/character so small let alone on a nail. I like the white background and also feel that the black outline works well with this design. 

I thought what next....from comic to game..

Princess Peach from Mario. Now again...face is just an area I am not happy with. The lines of the black are not crisp and well who can doubt that her face doesn't look like it has been hit with a bag full of bricks....but practice and all that shabang that people say to try and make you feel less poopy. 

With both these nails I used acrylic paint. I did on princess peach use a glitter nail varnish to go around her to create a little shine as it was to dull.

I learnt that I need to be crisp with edging. Along with....practice faces!!!

Follow me on Instagram lsharp2212

Ta Da

So whats been going on??

So just what is going on??


Well to start with I am back on the art horse. Creating new ideas and new doodles. 

I have started using Instagram a lot more. Signed myself up to Tumblr....need a lot more practice on that....that's for sure. The last post I done before I stopped blogging was on nails....so lets carry on from there first. 

I moved on to create this nail design...

Its a butterfly design. It didn't take me very long as the design isn't really that complex. I again used normal acrylic paints for all the design. It did have purple wings...but once i applied the top coat that effected the colour. I have now marcked all the paints that change coloour when top coat is applied to them. As there is nothing worse than creating a complex design......that when you apply top coat to it ruins the design. Luckily with this design I didn't spend ages for it to just be ruined....pheww!

I didn't have a plan in my head as I done this design....was a paint as you go kind of thing. I started with a blue and purple gradient background. I personally like this idea. Makes the nail more appealing and unique. 

Follow me on Instagram lsharp2212

Ta da

Where does time fly?????

An idea....who knows it might work out.....but you don't know unless you try.

I haven't blogged in a long time and really there is not a real reason. I just haven't thought to.....but sitting here now with my laptop in front of me I suddenly got the urge to write.

Recently I have done some new drawings. Mainly just doodles and nothing much really.

I just got the urge to draw and I did. I have been out of college now for 3 years. Over that time my enjoyment of drawing has returned. It took me a while, as college sucked the fun out of art. Even to doodle it felt like a chore, not something you wish your hobby to feel like.

Due to taking the time out from drawing I have noticed that my skill has decreased. Something that I could draw off the top of my head I now have to pause and think about.

I have drawn things from a bear design for my friend in relation to a character for his comic he created a while back. It was rough and I didn't know if it would be good enough, but I have been told by him that he really likes it and its what he imagined.......so who could ask for more...right.


I feel that I am going to expand this blog....keep doing it more...add to it. Actually keep it up. Review things, voice my opinion on matters that are at hand, write down the silly ideas I have, post my art and all things related. I don't wish to limit myself on what to post....as in the end this is what blogging is all about right...voicing your thoughts and putting it out there for others to read etc. I will always post about art....but I have many areas of my life that I also enjoy....so that's what I am going to do. So who knows what will be up next :).

I can never really sit and read something that someone rambles on about and I don't honestly think others will do the same. But there is an opportunity for me to do something I want and enjoy myself while doing it.....so why not.


Enough talk.....

Dragon Eye Nail Art

Dragon eye

From the last blog that I posted I thought I would try a different type of design. Unlike the other nails that I done I thought that I would create a design that was not out lined. When I paint the nails I do not have an idea in my head what I will do. I just pick up a paintbrush think of something and then start painting.

This was a result of one of those moments.

Using yellow as the base coat. Then adding orange to the tip and slowly working it up into the yellow, I created a gradient effect. Then using black I created a pupil in the middle of the nail. I chose to do a reptile pupil. Using a very fine brush and watered down orange acrylic I added a vein effect. I really like this design. mainly due to the fact that it is so simple but effective. I feel that it wouldn't have the same impact if it didn't have the orange gradient effect in the background.

tata for now x

Nail designs

Hi guys   

Today I will be showing a few of my nail art designs that I have done.

After my first attempt that was a bit plain and boring I thought I would try something a little 

harder. So I decided to do a simple rose. Using red as my base colour, I decided to use acrylic paint and mix a purpley pink for the petals and have green leaves.       

Using black paint and a very fine paintbrush I outlined the flower. This meant that the design stood out against the bright red. Using a clear top coat I coated the nail leaving it with a shiny top layer.

I feel that this design is very simple. It is effective but the pink and read seem to clash a little. If i was to do this again I would maybe add a shadow in the petals to create more of a 3D effect. I would also consider having the petals a different colour to be more vibrant and eye catching. 

My next design was of a fairy. 

With this design the idea was to create a gradient background from very pale purple into dark purple. I used acrylic for all of this. From the back ground right up to the black outline. 

The detail isn't as crisp as I was hoping for it to be. I decided to not mess around with the image to much in case I went to far and ruined it so much that I couldn't edit parts. I used the same clear top coat that I use on my past nails. Due to some sort of reaction that took place all of the purple  discoloured, leaving behind a pink. This bleed through the image and made the purple paint in the background seep through the top layers of colour and ruined the image.

This obviously ruined the design, making it look foggy and messy. 

Due to the fact that the top coat ruined the design I decided to carry out some tests. I applied a small amount of all my acrylic paints separate onto a nail, then once they had dried I applied a coat of the top coat to them. I was then able to see what colours reacted to the top coat and cause a discolouration to the design. Thanks to this test I learnt that purple was the only colour to react. Therefore allowing me to avoid this miss hap in the future

Thanks for reading, until next time 

Bye

Nail Art

All About The Nails.

So a few weeks back, I thought that I would buy a acrylic nail set. I thought I would find it fun. I ordered if off ebay. Little did I know that the chemicals that are in the products would make me feel ill. They are sooooo strong. I am prone to meagreness, so the smell just brought them on. 

Acrylic Liquid the most potent  thing ever!

So I was left with lots of false nails,

and lots of products and had no idea what to do with it. So I tried painting on them. I used the size 0 nails to test on because they are huge, and I thought if I ever sell my designs, not alot of people would need size 0.

Size 0 Nail around 20-21 mm across.

 To start with I tried to use nail varnish. So I would apply first just a plain colour. Then using a paint brush, I dipped that into a different colour nail varnish to paint a design onto the nail. That was a bad attempt as the varnish dried to quick and didn't do my brushes all that good.

So I done a bit of research to see if there were any other materials that I could use. I found that people used normal acrylic paint, the one you use in arts and crafts at school. Due to finishing college I had lots of paint, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. 

I done some more research and found Robin Moses. Robin Moses Nail Art Blog. Her work is amazing. She uses normal acrylic paint to paint designs onto nails for people. So I thought I would give it a go.

First attempt

Using L.A Colours, shocker as my base coat. Now when I applied the varnish to the nail its didn't seem to cover it very well. I guessed that it would be because the nails surface is to smooth and slippery. Using a black acrylic paint and a medium sized paint brush I painted this design onto the nail. It doesn't look that neat. After the first attempt I learnt that I would need to plan my design before I done it and make sure I was neater.

I plan to do more designs and would really love some feed back.

Thanks for reading

Until next time bye x

Life drawing and observational pieces

Hay guys.

So today my pieces are again college work, these being some life drawing and also observational pieces.

This first piece was a live drawing piece. We were meant to simply draw they model that we had in front of us. I started off just doing that, but then my mind started to wonder and then this happened.

Materials used; ink, graphite, pencil and pen

                                                 Different life drawing sections placed together
                                                     Materials used; ink, pencil and graphite

                                                           
                                                  First observational piece, piping arrangement
                             Materials used; pencil, graphite, charcoal, glue and news paper cuttings

     
                                                               Self observational piece
                                                Materials used; pencil, graphite and charcoal

       
                                                     Another observational piece of roots
                                                   Materials used; graphite and charcoal

                                        Negative observational piece of sticks, branches and bones
                             Materials used; graphite and used a rubber to erase and create the picture                  

                       
                                                         Morphing observational piece
                                                        Materials used; colours pencil

                                                                    Multi media piece
                                   Materials used; news paper, magazines, glue and tissue paper

                                                      Photography turned into screen print
                                             Materials used; silk screen, printing ink and photo

                                                                Two layered screen prints
                                                  Materials used; printing ink and silk screen

I really enjoy doing life drawing and observational pieces. Every model/object is different and has its own challenging areas.

I hope you have enjoyed my work, don't forget to leave comments. Feedback is what this blog is all about

Bye for now x

Photoshop Pieces

Hay guys!

So today I thought I would show more of the things I have done over time.

These are two pieces that I done using Photoshop CS3.

I took photos of a beach I went to, and Photoshoped planets and stars into the photos.

This was for a college topic. 

I'm not an expert with Photoshop. I used guides on YouTube and Google mainly. I like the top one best, the colours seem to compliment each other. I wish I had more knowledge of Photoshop as it is a useful tool. I don't like in magazines when they use Photoshop to alter peoples appearances I feel that is wrong. Simply because you are showing lots of people what they would be like if they use/brought an item, but in reality it doesn't exist because of Photoshop and other similar programmes. After learning the basics of Photoshop in my graphic design class, because I didn't take it the next year I forgot all of what I had learnt. Always the way, if you don't use some skills often you forget things.

Tata for now x

First step

Hay.

Hi my name is Lucinda.

So I  decided to start a blog. Not 100% on what I am doing, but I have some interests/hobbies that I thought would be interesting to share. 

My main thing is art. I love to draw, love animation and designing things.

I have many different art pieces that I have done over the years. I done A level art, then went onto doing art and design at college. I have done BTEC first diploma in art and design and a BTEC National Diploma in art and design. Over the period of 5 years doing art in college, I seemed to have lost my drive to do art. It felt like a chore and I stopped doing it. When I finished college and a few months down the line I picked up and pencil and suddenly found my passion for it again.

I guess the reason that I am starting a blog is for feedback. With art when you ask opinion of friends they seem to all just say, "its good, well done", but I feel that if I had honest feed back I could improve more. 

So over time I shall be posting various pieces of work that I have done and hope you like and and give feedback where you feel it is needed. 

I will start with an old piece and work forward. Like a time line if you will.

Anime girl

Angel

Another anime character

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you next time

Lucinda