Virtual Sketch Date - June 2008

Virtual Sketch Date - June 2008 by Belinda Lindhardt, Digital

As per last month, this month i am participating in a Virtual Sketch Date. A group of us have joined up, someone supplies the reference and we all see what we come up with in a week. It's a fabulous idea and i was hoping to spend more time on my piece but i have to admit i completely forgot about it until 2 days ago. However, I still wanted to see what i can come up with in the time i had.

Here is my attempt from last month. Again i chose to go digital on this one, it gives me a good excuse to try out my lovely new toy and i can work pretty carefree without worrying about materials paper etc and it allows me to work quicker in terms of backgrounds. In doing this one I found i came across similar issues as I would normally, i sketched the drawing by eye so obviously i continually had to correct my drawing (but thats the great thing about the digital side of thing), i had a few issues with brushes and trying to use the correct one for what i wanted but again .. its all part of learning and again for me, its all about the process rather than the finished piece.

So here it is, Rose has started a Virtual Sketch Date Blog which she will post links to all of the participants on the blog tomorrow :)

I have a new baby :) Its name is wacom :)

Illustrations by Belinda Lindhardt - Digital

Today we received a new baby to our household. Like all new babies it was wrapped up all nice and pretty but moments after bringing it inside the door there was mess everywhere and excitement a plenty.

My two other babies (who are now all grown up) were very excited and inquisitive to see the new arrival and ofcourse wanted to have their turn to play. Like all new babies it was safely wrapped up in cotton wool and not to be touched or played with too much by germ invested and grubby hands smeared with all manner of things. None the less the baby was unwrapped and shown around, everyone got to have a hold or a "turn" it was shown the place where it will be living and survived the first day a little worst for wear with smears and smudges which mum quickly cleaned up. When mum was in the other room the two older babies would sneak in to have a look and see if they could have a play while mum wasnt looking but being a new baby mum was ever watchful and mindful of the two munchkins and made sure the new baby was well protected. There were all sorts of rules put down such as no touching the new baby without mummy, if the new baby is touched or played with in anyway without mummy there will be BIG BIG BIG consequences..I am not sure how long these rules will be adhered to lets see if the baby makes it through day 2. :)

So, incase you think i have gone completely mad (maybe i have) i received my new Wacom Graphics Tablet today (pic to come tomorrow as i cant take photos at night i have no light). I cant tell you how long i have wanted one of these.. actually yes i can tell you basically as long as i have been a designer so about 12 years. I never invested in one as i wanted to get the correct type of work to warrant it. Recently, with my life in an upside phase i realised that i need mix things up a bit and I need to invest first show what i can do and that will hopefully allow me to get the jobs not to mention help art. I chose the Intuos3 9X12 inch (A4). I have been eyeing these off for over a year now and this one seemed the right model / price bracket for me.

Above are my first attempts at playing with the tablet and i am absolutely loving it. The rocket ship i have to say is inspired by the book i was reading to the kids tonight which is "how to catch a star" and i wanted to see if i could achieve a similar watercolour type feel like the book as digitally. The second is of a leaf that we picked up off a tree there are some fabulous colours in the leaves which are dropping at the moment.

I have picked up the techniques so far pretty easily, i have watched many videos over the years on how digital artists create images so i have a bit of an idea here. It also helps that i know my way around photoshop very well so i am not really needing to learn how to use these tools, tho the techniques do alter from when using it with a mouse. So more of this to come as i get more and more practice :)

Illustration Friday - Momentum

This concept is the first thing that sprang to mind when i heard this weeks illustration Friday - Momentum.

Although the picture in my head looks heaps different to this one ( the face in my head was shreeching and more windswept ) its reminds what i feel like life it like sometimes - that its swinging about to crash and not much can stop it but hang on.

Anyhow, this exerscise just proves to me that i NEED to keep doing this hopefully it will get easier as each week goes by its now on my list to do each week.

sketchy tree

So this one kinda turned weird on me ... i was in a sketchy mood i probably should have worked on something else. Anywho here is the outcome... not sure what it is .. i digitally enhanced this one ... i think i am turning weird.