Original sold.

“Celtic Princess”

Original sketch available for sale (includes standard airmail worldwide http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/sketchfestart.php?id=10257

Check out some of my previous pieces, there are some still available for sale (highlighted with red borders) at Sketchfest :  http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/sketchfestartist.php?id=38

Most are under $25, which includes international shipping by airmail.

Title: Willow Maiden

The topic was “Willow tree” but I really wanted to draw something with accents of Chinese costume. It’s a mishmash of eras, and her features are not really that Asian (I had to redraw the face about three times)

The original sketch is still available for sale from the sketchfest site for $25, including standard airmail 

I haven’t done a self portrait for ages… mainly because I’m really bad at drawing myself. I started with a quick tracing of a happy snap  because otherwise I’d spend the whole hour drawing myself, before I even started on the fantasy elements. I’m not sure what fantasy creature I am specifically, probably a wood elf

Title: Waiting for the spaceship

And finally, some space art (Click on the image to see a larger version)

I used an overlay from a starmap from NASA, however I hand painted a large number of the stars, including the nebula. By the end, I ran out of time so the character in the foreground only too about 5 mins

Sarah, a cleric who has a bit of a secret identity. In her current guise, she’s a Cleric of Selune & uses a morning star (flails are the ones with a ball and chain, maces have more squarish heads, just so you know). She likes causing trouble within her group, but does it on the sly.

The Mage

Karris on the other hand is a mage, though he’s probably more practical than anything (I’ve called him an adventurer as I think he’s probably more comfortable outside the halls of a mage guild than in the library). His magic books are his most prized possessions, and his cloak contains some pretty awesome magical abilities, but he doesn’t advertise the fact that he is a mage through robes or other signs of office, nor does he wear armour that can slow him down.

Do I do Pencil sketch commissions?

These were fairly quick pencil commission that I did for a returning client. I haven’t done pencil commissions, well ever! But I did do a lot of pencil sketches for sketchfest last year that people seemed to like. With this kind of commission, the client had limited control, basically they gave me a description, then I drew it. No  changes, no thumbnails, just me sketching the character based on the initial instructions . It’s also a very loose style, I can do properly rendered pencil drawings, but they’re not something that I particularly enjoy (mainly because I’d rather paint them!)

I’m thinking about whether to offer them on my list of commission types. They’re fun

A character commission painting of an Archaeological bard RPG character (unnamed as of this stage). The client was very specific about her look, she was based upon an actress, the costume is from a miniature so I can’t take credit for the design. Normally I try to stay away from making a portrait look too much like a specific person as I don’t want to get in trouble!

Sometimes a sketch takes a while to actually come together. This one I had a rough idea what I wanted, but it seemed to take forever for me to sit down and get it done. I sketched in Photoshop as I just kept having a really bad time using pencil and paper.

The colour concept. One of the problems with Photoshop, is sometimes the colours are very hard to replicate  in watercolours, particularly when the painting is only a little bit bigger than a business card. The client wanted his clothes roughed up a bit more, so I did this when transferring the sketch to watercolour paper.

My scanner is being replaced soon. The colours are somewhat ‘off’, but this is the final painting. I used a yellow ochre washes as the base, to try and keep some warmth, even though I knew that the forest tones would be painted with quite a cool grey blue-green.

I went to art school. I didn’t think much of it. I went in with one idea, what I got was something else. I think it’s one of those individual experiences that for one person will be fantastic, for another, awful. I’m not advocating one way or the other as to whether you should go to art school… that’s something only you can decide. Also, each school is different. Each teacher/ lecturer/ tutor is different. People, as well as course content make a huge difference to the art college experience.

• Did it make me a better artist? Yes, and no.
• Did it teach me about anatomy, perspective, colour theory etc? No. Oh there were some basics covered, but it was not the old school world where you learnt skills. Art school (at university level when I did it in the late 90s) was about ‘critical thinking’, making political statements, that kind of stuff. Realism was frowned upon.
• Did it open my eyes to art and give me a wider appreciation of all art forms? Yes
• Did it encourage me to be a practising artist? Only if I wanted to be a gallery artists, so I’d say no
• Did it teach me about the business side of things? No. True, there were lunchtime lectures with practising artists talking about their careers, but there was nothing about taxes, nothing about contracts, very little beyond creating a portfolio… and even that was limited to a portfolio to get good grades.
• Did it shape me as an artist? It had to, there is no getting away from the fact that I was surrounded by creatives, creating day in, day out for several years
• Would I recommend going to art college to other people? Yes and No. Research the school you want to go to. Think about why you want to go and what you want to get out of it. Have a plan, enjoy the ride if you do go, allow yourself to take weird and wonderful courses
• Was it a waste of time? It shaped me as a person, so no, it was not a waste of time.
• If I got a choice to do it now, would I do it again? Probably not. There is so much information available these days on-line  People that grew up with fast internet, access to video tutorials and the likes have so many more opportunities available. On-line communities, access to international art directors, art conventions (well mainly in the US still)… I’m still learning. I love the internet.

I would say talk to recent graduates if you are interested in a particular school (particularly those that are working – they’ll be able to tell you about the business stuff which is dull, but very important if you want this to be your career). Art college is not necessary. There are some hugely talented artists that are effectively self taught.

Hopefully this is helpful to someone. Do you disagree with my comments about art college? Do you have tips on making your experience at art college better?

The colour scheme is very much about the red hair being offset by the golds and greens. She was a character that formed very clearly in my head so she came together very quickly.

And the finished painting. My scanner is having some issues (scanner is 10 years old, has decided to scan everything as though it was half blind ). I used lots of intense reds on her hair which probably don’t really occur in nature, but I wanted that vibrant kind of cherry colour. Those colours feed down into the embroidery.

Zabava ACEO watercolour painting. 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Again, she is from the series of ACEO paintings I’ve been doing which includes Vik, Anahit and Lada. I’ll be releasing another male character portrait soon!

The book has finally been released (I did the cover art for it last year). I got my copy last night, all loaded on the ereader! If you like fantasy and romance, please support the author and buy her book!

Check out her blog for details!

Anyway, this is a sketch triggered by the word ‘Purple’. This was done in under an hour, and is on a pretty small scale. This is the painting at 100%

Step 1. Working out the rough anatomy of the character. Done with a rough ‘pencil’ brush

Step 2: Tightening up the sketch on a separate layer. I set the initial sketch layer to about 50% so it’s like tracing over the initial drawing. I tend to use a hard round brush for this.

Step 3: I set the detailed sketch layer to multiply, and put a grey layer under it. The grey is a gradient, to give it a little bit of depth (it’s smoother when it’s not so compressed)

This is the final paining. I added a layer under the sketch and set it to normal. Using a mix of smudging brushes (which is a soft edged, transparent brush) and hard edged round brush for highlights