tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76403022011-10-15T01:46:08.292-07:00Drawing and painting and writing. And stuff. Watch me attempt to improve myself, like a slow motion car crash of art.colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.comBlogger5911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-62295193361854275402011-09-21T07:39:00.000-07:002011-09-21T07:39:24.901-07:00

...in an interminable series of infinitesimal updates. Uh oh, here we go again.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-54466598305169086912011-09-20T09:21:00.000-07:002011-09-20T09:21:23.226-07:00

Rare for me to post anything, these days, and even rarer to post a picture. On the other hand, not particularly rare for me to be painting or drawing pretty ladies.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-59416840912615201762011-08-15T02:00:00.000-07:002011-08-15T02:08:36.948-07:00

Is that spelled right? Anyway, we (that is, my daughters, my wife and I) went to a very short caricature class today. This is the picture I did of my younger daughter. Fun (although, as usual, it doesn't look much like her).

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-7013540029628859032011-05-01T06:11:00.000-07:002011-05-01T07:01:22.147-07:00

That's the best image I could find. Well, no, actually, it's the first image I could find, which makes it the best. Click on the picture to go to the actual page.That is a Japanese boxed lunch, a bento box. It has a picture (made out of something edible, I suspect) of a cartoon character on it.Look closely. It is a rabbit, in a ballerina dress and tiara.This is ありがとウサギ, the "thank you rabbit."You

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-53346015664618265702011-03-22T08:14:00.000-07:002011-03-22T15:01:17.359-07:00

Warning, there may be spoilers.So, Serenity. I haven't had a lot of time to watch TV in the past decade or so, outside a steady diet of Japanese comedy specials, so I never saw Battlestar Galactica until I bought the DVDs, and I never saw Firefly at all.One of the few good things to come out of my recent two month "business trip" to Kanto, is that I sometimes have the time (and technology) to sit

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-78117587474289539582011-01-01T23:43:00.000-08:002011-01-01T23:45:01.037-08:00

Just checking that I can post from this newfangled thing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-87201188739755395402010-12-20T07:16:00.000-08:002010-12-20T07:19:52.998-08:00

One day, when Brownie, the elk who looks like a chipmunk with horns, was doing her job in Yellowstone National Park, conducting a nature talk, a little boy said to her, "Did you know you are an elk?" And Brownie had an enormous freak out and made the boy cry, and then she apologized and gave the boy a candy, but she still decided she needed to have a vacation.So she talked to her supervisor, who

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-62658864222513487802010-12-18T02:19:00.000-08:002010-12-18T02:21:02.485-08:00

If this had been an actual post, there would be some content here of presumably nominal interest to at least me if nobody else.(Testing tumblr and twitter feedish-type thing setting stuff.)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-41493288208772946512010-11-19T08:52:00.000-08:002010-11-19T09:01:25.971-08:00

Getting musty in here.This is a foray back into the world of drawing from imagination. It's hard.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-20397395474506304612010-10-24T04:34:00.000-07:002010-10-24T04:36:09.107-07:00

animated GIF...

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-5578937840952065562010-10-23T07:26:00.000-07:002010-10-23T07:36:00.181-07:00

Or maybe chapter 17.I'm just going to call this done. For now, I'm happy enough with it. I think I've learned a bit, and that's the most important thing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-5922057565500846412010-10-21T06:20:00.000-07:002010-10-21T06:24:54.182-07:00

Cupmen (cupman?), ready for the test.Extraction complete.Cupmen at work.Hot. Hot. Hot.Thank you, Cupmen!

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-83085044433195680162010-10-20T07:03:00.000-07:002010-10-20T07:12:24.169-07:00

Returning to a picture I was working on before, and ended up not liking. I think the jacket helps.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-82937126931671854852010-10-05T06:59:00.001-07:002010-10-05T07:00:48.375-07:00

I'm tempted to make a tag for "colors not turning out the way he wanted." :-/

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-42717889011791200562010-09-29T09:03:00.001-07:002010-09-29T09:05:16.926-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-29168008682629296812010-09-27T08:39:00.001-07:002010-09-27T08:40:20.912-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-44623057864681967732010-09-26T07:58:00.000-07:002010-09-26T08:38:01.686-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-9139634364993595452010-09-24T08:16:00.000-07:002010-09-26T08:38:39.075-07:00

So, now that moving is more or less done, maybe I should start drawing again. First, start with some (cough) exercises. Yeah, that's it. They're exercises.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-41083252951035269422010-03-30T21:12:00.000-07:002010-03-30T21:16:12.279-07:00

I have stolen back the desktop, in hopes of getting back into the habit. This is from a picture of a dilapidated monument, I think of Ferdinand Marcos.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-8518951557048839742010-03-29T01:28:00.001-07:002010-03-29T01:31:00.964-07:00

A spaceman:This didn't work out right. Getting out of practice is a horrible thing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-16539175106983802182010-02-09T01:15:00.000-08:002010-02-09T01:18:34.407-08:00

With one of the ink brush tools.Still not great, but maybe a bit more interesting anyway. I like this software.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-71997983604775189912010-02-05T23:28:00.000-08:002010-02-05T23:33:06.157-08:00

MyPaint is a open source painting program. Pretty easy to use, and lots of fun brushes. I've just installed it to play around with, and the first thing I tend to reach for in this kind of software is the 'pencil' tool:Not great, but I blame it on rust. The software works well.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-46104846024096667562010-02-04T10:43:00.000-08:002010-02-04T10:44:46.463-08:00

I think that last post needed more time in the cooker. I'm too lazy to go back to it now, though.And I think I need to draw and post more pictures.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-42876412993859645492010-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:002010-02-03T20:09:45.041-08:00

"What have you created and released?" Charlie Stross asks.Well, as anyone who looks at this probably knows:two short novels, with a third on the wayA few short stories (temporarily unavailable because the Dead Channel is down)More than a decade ago, Mingw32 (which has been much improved by the efforts of others since I moved on)I've sent out a few pictures here and there as well.On the other hand

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-72656239514093776132010-01-24T13:45:00.000-08:002010-01-24T13:48:16.936-08:00

I found a blank page in my old sketchbook, and started to fill it in with five-minute sketches from randomly selected reference images. I'm using a pencil!I don't just draw girls. I also draw old men and tigers.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-3726237246967078212010-01-20T00:23:00.000-08:002010-01-20T00:27:44.837-08:00

And a minutely different picture of a woman lying on cushions.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-21900321004270960882010-01-06T21:14:00.000-08:002010-01-07T13:31:51.643-08:00

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume ThreePicked this one up at World Fantasy this year (er, I mean last year), mainly because Tim has a story in it, but it turned out to be a pretty good collection overall.There's no real theme connecting the stories, except that they could all (sometimes with a little stretching) be called science fiction. There are crossovers into alternate (SF-nal)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-19187778879034911712009-12-19T09:25:00.000-08:002009-12-19T09:36:02.321-08:00

Image here.Start of a more detailed pass, fixing up some of the colors as well. I almost always start with the face and work outwards, once the large areas are in place. On the other hand, when placing those large areas I work in from the edges of the picture, or from left to right, usually, although I will place shadows first sometimes. And on the other, other hand, when drawing I tend to start

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-86919665283383793032009-12-18T02:21:00.000-08:002009-12-18T02:30:07.505-08:00

So, trying to keep the blog alive.I started doing this one because of the nuts colors and the textures of the fabric. The patterns on her dress (not well captured at this point) are the kind of complicated reflective mess that is very attractive to me as something to try and recreate. I'm always optimistic about this point in the picture, that I will actually be able to do that, so I expect

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-26120824397432181812009-12-05T17:40:00.001-08:002009-12-05T17:45:28.690-08:00

For the first time in ages, an uninterrupted hour. So, to the tablet!Not much to say about it. I had to draw something. Quite a relief to be able to.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-15311494379616678742009-11-12T17:50:00.000-08:002009-11-12T17:54:39.917-08:00

Tonight, I will draw something. Definitely. Grr.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-42232178690672083772009-11-11T11:21:00.000-08:002009-11-11T12:57:40.852-08:00

This is a boring, non-art, non-funny post. You may want to skip it.There is an interesting guest blog over on Boing Boing about Straussian thinking. Which quotes another piece by Robert Locke:The key Straussian concept is the Straussian text, which is a piece of philosophical writing that is deliberately written so that the average reader will understand it as saying one ("exoteric") thing but

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-23196136777496037502009-11-10T11:53:00.000-08:002009-11-10T11:55:32.353-08:00

I seem to have a thing for kimono lately.Also, I apologize for the people waiting for me to finish things. I have not forgotten or given up. I ask for your patience.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-65729092766518961052009-10-26T00:44:00.000-07:002009-10-26T00:45:58.560-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-9239542698312463292009-10-25T01:41:00.001-07:002009-10-25T01:43:34.990-07:00

... really quite incredibly frustrating for someone (too) used to digital tools.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-39049572827133121682009-10-24T01:51:00.001-07:002009-10-24T01:53:03.100-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-75108204413479240432009-10-20T00:18:00.000-07:002009-10-20T00:21:57.527-07:00

In the end, it was a bit more frustrating than I like, and I wasn't really pleased with the results. Still, it's the first time I managed to get something out of Artrage's paint brush tool that I didn't just want to throw out. So I guess that's something.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-55041443654126618582009-10-12T00:17:00.000-07:002009-10-12T00:21:25.093-07:00

This is fooling around with Artrage. I'm getting the hang of these tools, but the free version has a lot of restrictions. Still, it's kind of interesting to see what I can do within the framework.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-32022591985847271312009-10-10T01:45:00.001-07:002009-10-10T01:46:43.108-07:00

I need the practice, but I also need to finish something. Many things, even.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-2030935012744292742009-09-24T00:44:00.001-07:002009-09-24T00:46:42.646-07:00

Trying to come up with a nice picture of some fish. Needs work.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-85706941516653824162009-09-12T23:07:00.001-07:002009-09-12T23:08:15.279-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-27827610791614861972009-09-02T02:46:00.000-07:002009-09-02T02:47:49.653-07:00

Started and stopped a while ago. Now with new startage and stoppage.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-81020304979942229552009-08-28T01:33:00.000-07:002009-08-28T01:34:31.718-07:00

He decided to paint a picture. This is as far as he got (tonight).

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-58361621265031768302009-08-19T23:43:00.000-07:002009-08-19T23:44:12.459-07:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-68174670598218875122009-07-28T01:53:00.000-07:002009-07-28T01:55:57.611-07:00

Nothing much, but it is one of the only things I have done in weeks. Don't quit your day job, but what if your day job becomes a day, night and weekend job? Doesn't leave much time for hobbies, does it?

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-57162370068567252052009-07-22T21:49:00.000-07:002009-07-22T21:54:43.546-07:00

No, not entirely. I do have a twitter account, as most anyone who could be reading this knows. However, the main thing is I have been insanely busy. Insanely. As in, busy in a way that constitutes a serious risk to one's mental health. Yes, busy, kinda. And, as is the norm when one is busy, nothing is getting done, at least, not much that I want to do, and absolutely nothing that would go on a

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-84522274044867897842009-06-18T01:38:00.000-07:002009-06-18T01:39:11.949-07:00

More of that.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-88251141763515346122009-06-17T01:00:00.001-07:002009-06-17T01:03:05.710-07:00

Not really filler, but quick sketchy stuff while I try to dig myself out of this hole. Work has kept me away from this thing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-79661226256397670352009-06-04T17:14:00.000-07:002009-06-04T17:15:07.528-07:00

Edited that last one (long after it had gone out). The pretension was bugging me.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-30666056136490957602009-05-29T19:49:00.000-07:002009-06-04T17:14:27.775-07:00

I was going to post an excerpt from the latest novel slash comic-book-without-the-pictures, but everything I've written recently seems to reveal too much. It seems like it would be better to come to it without knowing anything, except what came in the books before.(It might work as a stand-alone, too. But I think knowing the characters and relationships from earlier books makes it much better.)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-78765768053374636562009-05-25T23:17:00.001-07:002009-05-25T23:19:00.843-07:00

A couple of pages from the sketchbook, done today. Nothing significant except that they were done at all.A few contributions from my daughters as well.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-75776023158661246502009-05-17T02:04:00.000-07:002009-05-17T02:26:10.786-07:00

Quite long to go without posting anything. I have been very busy with the day job, and also working on a project which is way behind schedule. But here is a little experiment I did. The idea was to paint with a very big brush and then erase to do the smaller shapes and values.(Censored because I've had pictures taken down from Photobucket for less.)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-29353832764542723722009-04-19T16:51:00.000-07:002009-04-19T17:27:07.699-07:00

A roundup of sorts, of the pictures (mostly unfinished, and mostly from photographs or imitations) which I don't mind too badly. (There's a theme here, and I'm just going to ignore that completely, thanks.)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-71738902652552914772009-04-18T12:30:00.001-07:002009-04-18T12:31:15.018-07:00

I was going to wait until I did the wolf shading, but I'm getting bored of seeing the old version.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-59147060103026507092009-04-15T13:03:00.000-07:002009-04-15T13:08:37.337-07:00

So, an update on that picture in progress, which I seem to get a half hour to work on every week. Adding shadow, and starting to define some forms:I have no good reference for this pose and lighting. Another reason this is taking so long.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-29464253877722306422009-04-14T23:30:00.000-07:002009-04-15T09:26:21.651-07:00

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (Guest Vocals: Ito Fumio) - A Pride of Lions(Thanks Hasa)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-8764695323395440822009-04-14T15:42:00.000-07:002009-04-15T09:26:46.437-07:00

Just busy. I continue to draw pictures and write, much to the horror of those with the misfortune to be exposed.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-78694383732808338412009-04-07T12:38:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:40:09.361-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to decide. Better to just say "work in progress."Finished? I think I've heard that word somewhere. What does it mean?

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-91189567633561389612009-04-06T01:09:00.000-07:002009-04-06T01:11:46.175-07:00

Let's call the lines done. Color... well, I'll try. Flats are almost never really pretty anyway, so I can maintain some optimism at this point.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-11112077447797334322009-04-05T01:43:00.000-07:002009-04-05T12:58:20.071-07:00

Not much got done this week.Here is some continued work on that girl & wolf picture.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-24167368045189129332009-03-31T12:48:00.000-07:002009-03-31T12:52:18.373-07:00

Not really ink, and not finished. Since I couldn't get the color right, I did this instead.Hmm.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-53053238754049756422009-03-26T01:39:00.001-07:002009-03-26T01:41:20.034-07:00

There was also that other picture with the wolf and the girl that I was working on. Just painted a little more on it, to distract myself.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-80592981351534100512009-03-25T01:50:00.001-07:002009-03-25T01:51:38.557-07:00

Closer, anyway. Another thing to keep practicing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-65093726865835367232009-03-23T11:33:00.000-07:002009-03-23T11:37:22.497-07:00

I tried to color that picture twice last night, no, actually three times, with entirely different methods each time. They all looked horrible. The painter-ish one had a bit of promise, but went south. The flat colors one stumbled pretty early on and never recovered. The other flat color one was a total wash from the start.Stupid hands! Er. Stupid eyes!I will search for inspiration and reference,

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-38968362942545010992009-03-22T15:49:00.000-07:002009-03-22T15:51:47.997-07:00

I think.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-50007728685345148102009-03-21T01:39:00.001-07:002009-03-21T01:43:19.373-07:00

Slog. Slog. Slog. Stupid hands!Anyway, at the moment I'm happy with bits of it, but very unhappy with other bits. It may be fixable. Maybe.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-28234367909942495502009-03-19T14:09:00.000-07:002009-03-19T14:18:32.742-07:00

Last night I spent a couple of hours grumbling and drawing and drawing and re-drawing and grumbling again. I had a picture in my head. Have had it for a few days. Never got what I wanted on the screen. In fact, what I saw made me doubt that I can draw competently at all. I hate it when that happens.After all the thinking that maybe I should give up on this whole thing, I said to myself. "This is

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-38813743280400183982009-03-17T02:13:00.000-07:002009-03-17T02:14:26.203-07:00

Today was productive, too, from a certain point of view.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-29434621174104915322009-03-16T01:17:00.001-07:002009-03-16T01:19:00.074-07:00

Today was kind of productive.There, now I've gone and jinxed the rest of the week.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-38338655932927420632009-03-15T02:20:00.000-07:002009-03-15T02:22:03.051-07:00

Doing it for fun. And to get better. But mostly for fun.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-17410271739527626532009-03-14T15:28:00.001-07:002009-03-14T16:15:37.492-07:00

I used to tell myself I did these pictures as practice. And it is practice. I think it helps. I keep thinking this is working towards some end state where I will be able to paint whatever I want. But lately I've decided to be honest. I do it because it's fun to do it. I like the pictures that come out of it. I like the feeling of accomplishment when one goes well, and I don't mind staring very

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-17906810427863282442009-03-13T02:02:00.000-07:002009-03-13T02:05:24.184-07:00

Something to try and get back in the habit.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-28644245724455442702009-03-12T11:34:00.000-07:002009-03-12T11:39:47.815-07:00

In the last part I wrote of this novel thing I'm working on, the heroine is lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and trying to decide how she can possibly get out of the situation she has got herself and her friends into. I'm thinking this is really me, lying in bed, trying to figure out what's going to happen next. Probably I'll have to take it out or change it. You don't really want to think

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-54990116291849947212009-03-04T20:34:00.000-08:002009-03-04T21:03:50.508-08:00

Not much updating happening here. All the gears are grinding under the skin.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-2764209574151802792009-02-17T15:42:00.000-08:002009-02-17T15:50:22.635-08:00

It was warm. I unbuttoned my coat. She took hers off, and kept on taking things off, even her jeans, which made me twitch a little. Geraurd appeared to take no notice. She slid on a pair of light training pants, with no acknowledgment that she had done anything unusual. She bent to knot the strings around her ankles. Above, a tank top fit smoothly over her curves in a manner that, again, I found

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-83508587007584167472009-02-11T11:14:00.000-08:002009-02-11T11:17:46.547-08:00

... as she skirted the bloody remains she felt the limits of her shape. For everything the Gift gave her, she was still falling behind. She made her decision. She let the adrenaline flow, gave her permission, and the thing inside sang with joy.She changed in mid-step, an unfolding of night and bone before she disappeared into the bushes as well.I worry, because I worry about everything, that

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-53817845016722411302009-02-09T14:28:00.000-08:002009-02-09T14:30:09.647-08:00

The snow was thin in the park. The wind whipped through, exposing gray bundles of grass and old concrete walkways. _____ walked between the pillars of the park entrance and into a frozen over memory.For an instant she saw the sun, felt summer on her skin, heard children squealing to each other on the playground equipment, bright colors in the daylight. Then it collapsed back under the cold of

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-78695712815259683082009-02-05T09:42:00.000-08:002009-02-05T09:48:19.773-08:00

Normally I don't rework a given paragraph this many times, but that one bugged me. So, cut out some of the commentary.She did not look like a threat. She looked the opposite of a threat. Her jacket was a white, puffy, synthetic shell. A pleated skirt peeked out below the jacket and ended high above her knees. Black tights below that, and slightly over-large boots lined with fake fur. She didn't

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-67925388934327492212009-02-04T19:20:00.001-08:002009-02-04T19:20:50.163-08:00

I've rewritten that first paragraph about two more times already.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-56069494047832822722009-02-04T13:08:00.000-08:002009-02-04T13:34:09.581-08:00

She did not look like a threat. She looked the opposite of a threat. She wore a white, puffy, synthetic shell of a jacket. And under that, tonight, for some reason, she was wearing a pleated skirt. It peeked out below the jacket, and ended high above her knees. Black tights below that, and still further down slightly over-large boots lined with fake fur. She didn't look threatening, she looked

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-42412276104872762492009-02-01T23:26:00.000-08:002009-02-01T23:27:18.258-08:00

Rushing ahead to get it out of the way.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-37633192180575488072009-01-31T12:07:00.001-08:002009-01-31T12:09:32.274-08:00

I didn't get a whole lot of time to work on anything last night, but I did fool around with that a bit more. At least now I have some idea what I need to be more careful about in the next picture. (I will probably finish this one just for the sake of calling it done.)

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-31425696501406913602009-01-30T12:11:00.001-08:002009-01-30T12:20:15.936-08:00

Here's where I go off and try to fix things which have been wrong pretty much since the beginning, and fail miserably, messing up the picture as I go.What was he thinking? I was thinking that her face was too small, and her neck looked weird, and it didn't look like the person it's supposed to look like. So, take a dive off the deep end, since this is an exercise anyway, and start re-painting

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-26076422624995371292009-01-23T12:12:00.000-08:002009-01-23T12:15:30.113-08:00

Both, probably. I'm also way behind on promises. Ugh.Got into a nice flow last night working on that arm and hand. I won't make any claims for the results, but it felt good while I was doing it.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-38125600082195099612009-01-22T12:23:00.000-08:002009-01-22T12:27:31.564-08:00

The more I play with this picture, the more I think I might stay with some of the stylized bits and accidents of the early slopping around, instead of trying to push for more realism. I decided pretty early on that the color in the shadow (and the skin, of course) is not going to end up matching the reference. This is not, I hope, only because I distorted some of the shapes so much that I want to

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-5693790508634501842009-01-21T13:16:00.001-08:002009-01-21T13:16:45.096-08:00

Update.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-19557296568532271362009-01-20T00:31:00.000-08:002009-01-20T00:32:48.496-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-79138615797370552292009-01-17T01:18:00.000-08:002009-01-17T01:19:44.662-08:00

Whole pictureDetail

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-86576278140601337712009-01-16T01:22:00.000-08:002009-01-16T01:24:20.684-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-52846453568809664332009-01-14T00:53:00.000-08:002009-01-14T00:55:38.352-08:00

Sometimes, it seems to work better when I don't try so hard.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-75373535354578704312009-01-13T02:34:00.000-08:002009-01-13T02:42:49.765-08:00

Abandoning attempts to match the reference (yes, same reference), and instead experimenting with color mixing.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-10630556034105786372009-01-12T00:26:00.001-08:002009-01-12T00:27:23.365-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-47476888325301135502009-01-08T02:01:00.001-08:002009-01-08T02:02:27.966-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-23868203944512115562009-01-07T02:18:00.000-08:002009-01-07T02:19:25.936-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-29890199158797064692009-01-05T01:48:00.000-08:002009-01-05T01:49:41.307-08:00

Initial rough for another exercise.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-31808167872579033082008-12-31T00:33:00.001-08:002008-12-31T00:34:41.999-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-62210891014173785702008-12-30T01:11:00.001-08:002008-12-30T01:12:15.471-08:00

Here.A nice bit of fun, and educational, too.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-49975922660622386552008-12-28T19:41:00.000-08:002008-12-28T19:42:03.038-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-59049482276101754032008-12-28T02:02:00.001-08:002008-12-28T02:02:45.564-08:00

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640302.post-83629300397023211452008-12-27T21:34:00.001-08:002008-12-27T21:41:45.844-08:00

I'm back, after a bit of a vacation, and I also found my sketchbook. Yay.This is a sketch trying to capture an image I had in my head when I started outlining the next book (working title: Shadow Remains). Probably it will end up where most of my sketches do (in the dread limbo of unfinished pictures), but it looks really quite cool in my head. Honest.I am full, utterly full, of cheese.

colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14244453791724435617noreply@blogger.com0