Retro Nostalgia

Some people move on quickly, surely, and indefinitely. I, however, am one of those who linger. Being indecisive and slightly passive, I tend to let things go longer than need be. Procrastination some might call it, but that doesn't quite seem to neatly fit into the description of my actions. It's more like second-guessing or being unsure, although neither of those is correct either. More than anything else, I am merely waiting. Waiting for something more to happen, waiting for the inevitable to occur, or simply waiting for the moment when I'll look back to that moment I spent waiting and wonder why that was what I chose to do with it.

 Nothing of this world lasts forever. However, this is a fact that deserves great celebration rather than metaphoric tears. It makes each and every experience unique, important, and incredibly valuable. Would a perfect day be so fantastically free if you lived it perpetually for years? Would a remarkable friendship really be worth saving if it were not constantly threatened by time? Would you really make the most of an unusual opportunity if it came around more than once? 

Often times I reminisce the days when my art had been very different from what it is now. If it had not been for my childhood friends' fascination with Sega video game icon Sonic the Hedgehog, I may have never learned to draw at all. It was through sheer determination and initiative brought on by slight obsessiveness and a desire to learn that brought me to this moment in time, and so brought me to create this quirky fan art piece. It was an old drawing I drew merely to test the inking capabilities of some new fine-tip pens I bought, and ended up running across some time later while going through old sketchbooks. On an unexpected whim I decided the picture would look simply divine colored and, scanning it immediately, I went to work. Making the decision to digitally color this piece, I had to put seemingly endless amounts of frivolous patience into bringing this strange piece to life.

Etched Lines

Imagination feeds the soul. What with all of the creative streams of thought an artist conceives throughout the day, you'd think that their souls tended to be comforted. I've found this assumption completely untrue, as the artist portion of my soul is always hungry, and never satisfied. It seems that once we have a little, we must have more. There is no end to the conquer and destroy behavior that accompanies our delving into the world of art. We are constantly searching, learning, improving, discovering and creating. There is no rest for the wary. 

A by-product of our fanatic obsessiveness includes original artworks and characters that our wayward minds had invented all on our own. My good friend Eachey had often referred to the process of designing a character as "creating life". I have, over time, brought to life an amazingly vast number of characters, whose designs range from the bleakly mundane to the most exotic eccentricities. I tend to draw characters my age, it seems, unless I purposefully set out to not do so. I don't always create human characters either, so it is not entirely uncommon to see many minutely rendered fantastic beasts as well sweet monsters bordering the line between comic style and anime amidst my broad art portfolio.

These are roughly sketched thumbnails portraying just a  few of the characters I've created in the past year. The girl in the flouncy dress I call Zecarii, the wolf or dog-like creature is called Dazzle, and the last is a character I call Zach. Both Zecarii and Zach tiptoe along the fine line I mentioned earlier, that sets comic art apart from anime or manga. All three characters were originally meant to be used in the graphic novel I frequently mention wanting to create- and perhaps they will still be used for that purpose.

   

"Who Ya Gonna Call?"

 There are a lot of things a person can devote their life to as far as hobbies go. Collecting franchise merchandise belonging to the Ghostbusters and other nostalgia inducing 80's films just happens to be what my dad chose as his favorite past-time. In fact, just this evening we went to Wal-Mart to buy a binder and card sheets for his newly acquired collection of Ghostbusters2 trading cards before picking up our order at the local Pizza-hut. I don't know anybody else with a pocket-sized  Mini-mate Marty McFly, complete with an orange vest, sitting behind the wheel of a Lego-like Mini-mate Delorean-It even has the tiny license plate identical to its larger counter-part, which reads "OUTATIME".

My dad was the one who came up with the idea of me creating an original Ghostbusters fan art piece, and after hearing all of the ideas he had and listening to him share his opinions on the matter, I knew I had to come up with a design that would do the project he had in mind justice. I went all out on this illustration, making sure the initial design was gold from the beginning. The store-front background and the word "Ghostbusters" being spelled out on the street were last minute decisions of mine, although I'm glad I chose to put them in there.

For my dad who is a HUGE Ghostbuster's fan, I dedicate this picture to you. You are what made this blog happen and its your support and encouragement that has kept me at it. Love you, dad.

Serpentine

For those of you who don't know me, I have several unique obsessions. For example, one of these  is my strange fascination with the taste of gravy. I could eat gravy multiple times a day every day. I'm not sure why, but there's something about the savory twinge of salty taste and the liquid consistency of such texture that I simply can not ignore. Some people love their chocolate, and some people can't go without their daily coffee. Get between me and my favorite snack, and the consequences could be disastrous.

On a slightly different note, another of my obsessions includes drawing dragons. I had, and perhaps will always have a peculiar love for scaly creatures. When I was much younger I spent my summers in our backyard, hunting for snakes and bugs, pretending to be some sort of scientist, or Steve Erwin from Animal Planet. Our family would go swimming sometimes, driving out to the country, and I would fascinate myself by trying to catch the tiny brown and blue lizards that made their home among the rocky crevices where the water level had long ago abandoned. 

I remember distinctly being in the fifth grade and going to the Boys and Girls club after school until my mom was off work. They had an arts and crafts room, and it was there with some of my friends that I learned how much art meant to me. While I was there I would draw dragon after dragon, all kinds of species that I made up as I talked and laughed, having not a care in the world. I remember showing the adviser for the arts and crafts room one of my drawings, one of a particularly detailed (for a fifth grader) red and black dragon made out of coals inspired by a figurine I saw in Wal-Mart. She looked over my drawing and said to me, "You're so talented. But it's funny that you like to draw things like that." It was probably the first time I felt seriously offended by an adult. Was it funny that I had some individuality? Was it funny that I didn't like what other girls my age liked? I didn't stay hurt for long, however, and I soon moved on to the other pressing issues an elementary student cares about- many of which I can't quite remember.

I entered this original piece in our school art contest the past school year. It received 1st place in the drawing category of the contest (paintings and mixed media were also entered).

Sand and Seafoam

One thing people can't say about me is that I have no originality. I'm most original and imaginative, however, if left to my own devices, and not forced to work inside a box, something that many of the art classes I've taken force you to do. When I feel a surge of creative energy, I can often create something amazing in only a matter of minutes. When I'm forced to follow a tight structure, and I haven't yet gotten that burst of inspiration that makes hours of artwork fly by in moments, the work becomes tedious and agonizing-nothing short of torture. Another issue of mine is deadlines. It's not that I can't meet deadlines quickly, it's just that knowing I have to be finished with a drawing in a certain amount of time in order to be graded makes my mind work sluggishly slow, impeding my creative process. Out of class I can decisively choose something to draw on an impulsive whim. In class it could take me several days to choose what to draw for a project due in several weeks. Besides these several artistic short-comings, and my ability to quickly improvise where art is concerned, I've passed all of the high school art classes I've taken with flying colors.

This drawing shares some of my originality with the rest of the world. A small tidbit from a world of my own creation, this creature is a siren-like monster that I created for the purpose of existing in the graphic novel I wish to one day write and illustrate. Part-woman, part sea creature, with a tangled mess of what I imagine as unruly red hair and a crown of seashells encrusting her hairline, she's both vicious and cunning. One of the ideas associated with this drawing was individuality. Mermaids are typically said to be part woman and part fish. If this was true in any way, why wouldn't there be hundreds of species of mermaids to accompany the hundreds of fish species in the world? In this way, I drew my first of what may be many seawater beasts.

Fallout Boy

This is actually a drawing of a two-page spread in The Fallout Boy Infinity On High album cover. So, in case you were wondering, no credit goes to me for making up the layout of this image- I do get points for the epic shading, however. Noticeably, Pete Wentz looks the best and Joe...well, I can explain that. This was a picture I wanted to publish in my high school's yearbook last year. When I went and fished it out from under my bed (I am not ashamed to admit that's where some of my artwork is kept for "safe-keeping") I realized that Joe's face was incomplete. The deadline for artwork that was to be submitted for consideration of being published in the Yearbook was the very next day. I hastily sketched a face- not necessarily his- and then busied myself with other things. Other things being homework, chores, making dinner, and probably some other drawing I was working on at the time. Although I told myself that I would fix it up during lunch period the next day, I didn't, so I ended up submitting it the way it was. 

  There's probably something I should have learned from this, like finish something once its started, or don't procrastinate, but I never ended up buying a Yearbook, so in return I wasn't forced to be reminded of my small guilt every time I reflected on the past year. Not that it looks that bad, I just feel like I could have done better if I had taken the time to actually finish it.

Simply Brilliant

Simplicity is key in this piece. While some might argue that the tightly wrought lines and carefully blended shading suggests the exact opposite, I beg to differ. The fairy's short, cropped hairstyle, complete with various flyaway strands, creates a simple, soft contrast to the common messily swept away up-do. Her wings showcase a very minimal amount of spirals, allowing the stark beauty of contrast to yet again find fulfillment in one of my drawings. Compared to many of the pieces I work on on a regular basis, this drawing almost feels empty, like it needs a little something special, as far as details go, which is highly possible. Details happen to be my favorite thing, however odd that might sound, and it is my personal feeling that a picture doesn't come alive until the details are set in stone. By being set in stone, I don't mean that the details are necessarily obvious. If the artist can see them clearly, even if its only somewhere in their mind alone and nowhere else, the art value of the piece has already been born.

I actually started the initial sketch for this drawing almost two years ago. I only just recently finished drafting the picture, and finalized the process by going over the whole thing with graphite pencils, in order to bring out the shadows and highlights threaded throughout the drawing.

Ashli

Some people look odd when you see them a certain way. Perhaps they're wearing something they would normally never wear, or have their hair up instead of down. Maybe they're wearing a hat, or make-up, or maybe it's who they're with or where they're at. There's just something about seeing somebody you thought you knew in a new light and realizing how different they are from your previously conceived notions. It works similarly with my characters and I. Just when I got used to drawing Ashli with her hair always in teased pigtails of curly locks, I draw her with her hair down and notice how shockingly odd a person with previously established norms looks once they've disregarded them completely. By this I mean how unusual your face might be shaped in comparison to your eyes once your hair is straightened. I've noticed that her once meant to be alluring anime eyes are actually more creepy than pretty. However, as I hastened to draw her in another art form (one that does not include ginormous pouty bug eyes) I realized she didn't look good with small eyes either. I'm still not quite sure what to do about the matter. I suppose that particular bridge will be crossed once I  reach  it.

Caroline-Laweeze

For a very long time, I've wanted to write and illustrate my own comic book or graphic novel series. It was and is one of the things that keeps me continuously trying to illustrate new and interesting things. Instead of just creating multiple designs for a certain character structure, like hundreds of outfits for a female comic book character, I've always tried to stretch my abilities and to abstain from putting up limits to what my imagination can create. Since I've always kept an open mindset about possibilities, I have a multitude of stylized subcategories containing everything from anime guys wearing skinny jeans to comic styled-super chicks. I also have a vast collection of fan art inspired characters, from many, many different comic series. This particular character, named Caroline-Laweeze, is a skate-style inspired guy with a name that is a combination of two different girls names smashed together. It also happens to be the name of a friend of mine's ipod...He's one of my original characters, drawn in comic style with slight Japanese manga influence. There's more information regarding him in the graphic novel series I hope to one day publish. I can't give it away now. However, if all goes smoothly, I might publish the first pages of my graphic novel here, on my blog someday. Not today, and not tomorrow. But someday.

Making Nothing into Something

Every person has a stunningly individual back-story to accompany their unique personality. Likewise, every artwork, every sketch, and every image brought to life by a creator is an intricately weaved basket of thoughts, emotions, and experiences, or rather, it has a story its own, quite like every person. Whether or not they are aware that they are doing so, an artist leaves traces of themselves in each and every piece of work they produce, outlining a vague ghost of a different self: the person they are, the person they were, or the person they want to be. They reveal a side of themselves they may have never known to exist. Art is a form of self-expression. Many times certain feelings, understandings, aspirations or fears cannot be justly explained through words. That is the beauty of art. With it, we can easily and clearly capture these hard to describe nuances and portray them to an audience who can identify themselves with their interpretation of our precious works.

Considering such, even a simple piece such as this girl, which I drew and inked on a whim, could be harboring all sorts of complexities beneath its straight-forward surface. Then again, maybe I was just bored.

Feathered Key

Math. For some people, the mere thought of the word gives them shivers. For those of us who are more fortunate, math is second nature and comes easily-like tying shoelaces or searching the web. For others, it is discouragingly complicated. According to my letter grades, I'm good at math, but it's definitely not my strong point. However,  I find that math classes aren't boring, just somewhat slow. Our teacher usually got off track anyhow, and would be talking about something completely unrelated whatsoever half-way through the class period. I usually found extra time to doodle on my Geometry notes Freshman year while still listening attentively. I simply didn't think about what it was I was drawing and just let my creativity escape as I focused on how angle bisectors apply to every day life. I'm still not quite sure how they do . I do know, however, that this is one of the creations formed by my mind in a math classroom. In my opinion it seems to resemble one of the flying keys from Harry potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, only more trendy.

 

Eachey

In an art class I took my Freshman year of high school, we were assigned to paint portraits of each other.I remember thinking that the project sounded quite dull compared to our previous artistic exploits. If truth be told, I love drawing portraits, but painting them is another thing completely. Painting takes a lot of patience, and even more perseverance. While I'm an essentially patient person, I get bored with paints almost as easily as I get frustrated with them. So, I painted my friend, Shelby, with bright, unnatural colors, hoping that this new twist would keep me interested in my assignment. It worked. I was going for a sort of surrealism effect, and, quite honestly, I think it turned out all right.

Memories of Deviantart

The viewing of older art projects always manages to create in me a moment of fleeting nostalgia. This one is no exception. Originally an art share project with a fellow artist on Deviantart,  it was my first attempt at using a coloring program to digitally color my art, instead of resorting to drawing the picture on Paint if I wanted it in color. The cat-like character, named Gar, belongs to an artist called Wisp2007. The other character, the one with Pichu ears, is one of my own creation. As you may have noticed, they're standing in Green Hill Zone, a familiar backdrop from the sonic the Hedgehog franchise. There's no particular reason for this, that I can recall.

Check out Gar and Wisp's other creations at his art gallery, here.

Enter Sandman

 I drew this older illustration with the intention of entering it in Shonen Jump magazine's first annual Super Fannies contest for the category of black and white art. The character drawn here is named Gaara, from the manga Naruto. I used to be a really big fan of the series. However, the picture was never mailed in, since it took me longer than I had intended to finish it, meaning it wouldn't get there in time to meet the deadline. So I just kept it, and here it is, as I share it with you.

Frosted Moonlight

This drawing just sort of came to me. I was in one of my classes taking notes when I started drawing spirals on a blank piece of scratch paper. I ended up with this. Strangely, this sort of thing happens often. One time when I was doodling spirals it became a drawing of some toothpaste, another time it turned out to be a winged key (Like the ones in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), and yet another time it ended up being a overly frosted cupcake. The interesting part is that they all started with the exact same curly spirals.

                                 By the way, my sister thinks this picture looks like an octopus.

Tangled Flames

This was a drawing I did for my dad one father's day when I just couldn't decide on the perfect gift. He really likes things that are awesome. I mean, who doesn't? So I had to draw something really  awesome. "Dragons are pretty cool," I remember thinking. And, the idea just sort of moved on from there. I was afraid inking the entire picture would spoil all of the hard work I spent inking with black, so I only inked certain parts. I'm quite happy with how it turned out, although I've gotten quite a bit better at drawing dragons since this illustration.

Vera Wang Princess

Another "Before" and "After" project- only in a more literal sense. The first illustration was my first attempt at drawing a girl from a Vera Wang Princess perfume advertisement which I found in an old issue of Teen vogue. It was drawn near the end of 8th grade, and the second was drawn the summer before my freshman year. These two pictures were drawn months apart- but you wouldn't think so. This just proves how much you can improve if you really take initiative, and set your mind to doing something. The second picture was entered in a state-wide youth drawing exhibit, the year before last, and received an honorable mention in the category for figural drawing.

Fairy Dust

This is an older illustration of an anime type fairy I sketched, scanned, and colored digitally. If I could redo any part of this picture, I think I'd redraw her face with much more intricate detail. Also, the placement of the eyes bother me quite a bit. I like the vivid colors a lot, however.

Snowflake

 This small illustration is of an original character I've taken to calling "Snowflake". This picture was published on the cover of the programs handed out at my middle school's 8th grade graduation ceremony. He's something of a robot who wears a striped tie, as well as a cape splattered in stars and a fancy hat to match.

Beware of Toothpaste

These are pictures representing  a sort of "Before" and "After" project. This first picture shows a sketch of some minty toothpaste attacking several colorful toothbrushes while a bar of soap plays the part of the innocent by-stander. It just so happens that I drew this picture in my Language Arts class.This is what happens when You finish reading the Cask of Amontillado ten minutes before everyone else. The second picture shows what could happen to one of my simple sketches once I've tackled it with Macromedia Fireworks. I colored this particular picture while in my Computer Applications class, after I was finished with the day's work. 

                                                                                   

                     

Juicy Couture

 This is my rendition of a Juicy Couture advertisement I found in a Teen Vogue magazine. It just so happens that this is one of my favorite drawings, owing to the fact that it was one of the very first images portraying realism that I had actually taken seriously. It took me several hours a day for several days to complete it. It is drawn completely from graphite pencils. I used a special shading technique to get the smooth textures and so forth. The second picture is another rendition of mine portraying a juicy couture model with a rather large bow on her head. These drawings are about a year apart. Can you see the difference, besides the scanning quality?

                                                                                      

Starry Eyes

 This was a practice illustration of a character from a comic book series called Chocolat. At the time, I was flipping through the book, and a picture just jumped out of me. It was a picture of the main character, and she had the most expressive eyes. I started sketching it with my fine-tip sharpie and was intrigued. I changed up the details a bit, and i liked it even better. I decided that I almost liked inks as a medium as much as I like graphite pencils, my medium of choice. I drew this several years ago, when i was in the 7th or 8th grade.

Catching up

Here is the first of  some illustrations I'll be posting in order to catch up my blog to the present. This way, anyone reading will be able to see some past artworks in the case that I get hung up on some sort of "artist's block". Funny fact: for some reason, every time I type the word "illustration" I keep writing the "r" and the"a" the other way around. It's an older illustration of the manga character "Naruto" illustrated completely out of words. look froward to my newer illustration of Lady GaGa drawn in a similar fashion.

A New Begining

My name is Krystal, and I'm going to be a Junior this this year in High school. I am an aspiring artist searching for a firm foothold in the world of art. I've achieved several ribbons for my artwork for submissions to the Oregon Humane society "Be kind to animals" poster contest over the course of three years. I've won prizes from various school art contests as well as state-wide contests, and have had my artwork published in our school newspaper and school annual as well as in a calendar supporting gambling awareness. Although I'm self-taught, my parents encouraged me to take various art classes in order to extend my artistic education, a suggestion that at one point led me to taking notes from a variety of talented artists including local artist Veralyn and modern artist Sam Guerrero. Inspiration has many names. My favorite artists I draw inspiration from include comics artist Patrick "SPAZ" Spaziante, and graphic novelist and storybook author and illustrator Shaun Tan, among others. Currently I live with my two sisters, baby brother, and parents. My most recent projects include everything from celebrity portraits, minute fantasy illustrations, and vivid comic pages.

Taylor Lautner

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I'm not a big Twilight fan by any means. I am, however, a fan of art. Being an artist means I draw anything and everything that I feel needs to be illustrated. My sister, a HUGE Twilight fan, inspired this drawing of the character Jacob Black, played by the actor Taylor Lautner. I was also inspired by the fact that my drawing of  Pete Wentz seemed somewhat forced. The second illustration here was something that came to mind while looking at some random Japanese advertisement. while the art isn't reminiscent of manga in any way, I feel that the colors were somehow translated through anyhow.