Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Ten and Eleven

There are some people who I just have to draw because I'm pretty sure they're already cartoon characters. David Tennant and Matt Smith are two of those people, and they both happen to play The Doctor! Tennant is tall and thin and angular, with crazy, dramatic eyebrows and expressions; Smith is lanky and clumsy, with a youthful appearance but the air of someone much older... and don't even get me started on the hair! I did a drawing of Matt Smith's Doctor before --it's in the previous post-- but I wasn't happy with it. For someone so cartoonish, it didn't do him justice. So here are my new and improved versions of the tenth and eleventh incarnation of the Doctor from Doctor Who. (Also, I just realized that these two are like... the ultimate hipsters...)
This little project has also gotten me REALLY excited to start my next illustration... it's called the 'Million Things' assignment. I'm going to draw a ton of different characters from TV shows... hehehe. It should be good!

-Anna

Friday, December 23, 2011

A Brain, a Superhero, and The Doctor

I got another job from Carolina Crown, this time to design a floor tarp for an indoor drumline. (Basically,  it's a 55x75(ish)ft. tarp that covers the floor of a gymnasium that a drumline or winterguard marches/performs on). They wanted a cyborgish brain with wires coming out it's spine. Where the wires end, they will physically attach some wire props and plug them into prop outlets.



The other night I was watching some online tutorials on brushes in Photoshop by an illustrator who I really like, and I was inspired and eager to do some digital work. And then I happened to watch this really adorable music video called Forever Yours by two of my favorite Youtubers. The guy who wrote the song, Alex Day, is trying to get the song to #1 on iTunes (UK) for Christmas (it's around #4 now... which is pretty epic). I was really, really eager to draw something, so rather impulsively I decided to draw Alex's superhero alter ego from the video.  It's all done digitally and took just a few hours to finish. Normally I draw traditionally and scan the linework in, but it was fun to draw straight onto the computer.



Also, I've recently fallen a little bit in love with the BBC series Doctor Who. I know everyone thinks that David Tennant is the best Doctor, but Matt Smith is my Doctor. Why? Because bow ties are cool. (Nothing against David Tennant, I love him too. His Doctor wears Converse, which puts him on my favorite person list.) I drew this straight into Photoshop with my Wacom tablet. Like the drawing to the right, it was rather impulsive and not very thought out, so I'm a little meh about things like composition and some of the foreshortening. But that's what happens when you don't do sketches! I'm sure I'll get around to finishing this sometime, but I might redraw parts of it first.
Also, I drew a robot:
Happy Holidays!
Anna

Monday, December 12, 2011

Survey and SUMBanquet

Today I had Survey, which is basically when we all hang up our work from the semester and the illustration professors give us feedback/talk over each other. It went pretty well, though I took a little flak for working digitally all the time (which kind of blows my mind... because I'd say a good many illustrators work digitally these days...) but whatevs! I work how I work. Here's a photo of my wall:



    Also, last night I attended my final SUMB Banquet (or as we like to call it, SUMBanquet. We're big fans of acronyms in the SUMB). It was incredibly bittersweet. My experience with the marching band has been by far my best experience at Syracuse. It's been such a massive part of my life for the past 4 years that I know I'm going to be lost without it... for a little while, anyway. But it's okay, because if it never ended then it wouldn't be so meaningful.
    This past football season was anticlimactic to say the least, and it just didn't feel like my time with the SUMB was over. I didn't have any sense of closure (I realize closure doesn't always happen in real life, but for someone as crazy about stories at me it's something that I've kind of come to expect in my own little narrative), and was feeling pretty sad about the whole thing. But last night was the perfect way to end any season; I got to spend one last evening with some of the most fun people I've ever met. It was the last time that we would all be together.


    There are a few awards given out each year, and one of them is called the Floyd F. Decker Award. It's given to a 4-year band member who exhibits dedication, leadership, and pride, and for some reason they decided to give it to me. I was shocked; I felt like I didn't do anything to deserve it, but I think that's kind of the point... It's not about who's the loudest, or the most boisterous; it's about being steadfast and loyal and committed, and sometimes that's not the most obvious person. To say I'm honored would be an understatement. I'm pretty sure I felt an entirely new emotion last night, after the shock wore off. I felt truly appreciated. It's incredibly validating to be recognized for just being who you are.


"Loyal be thy sons and daughters to they memory."
I love the SUMB and I always will. Forever Orange.

-Anna

Friday, December 9, 2011

YouTube Procrastination


Most people watch YouTube to procrastinate. I draw it instead. First, Jenna Marbles, with her dogs Marbles and Kermit.



And Epic Meal Time. Muscles Glasses and the Sauce Boss. Bacon strips.


I also drew charlieissocoollike (Charlie McDonnell) and his pal nerimon (Alex Day), two British Youtubers (I'm pretty sure both are my soulmates), but the likenesses aren't good enough so I might redraw them and put them up later. Or maybe not.

Anyway. I find YouTube really inspiring. It's so awesome that people can start from scratch with a webcam and a great idea, and become super successful off of nothing but their own creativity. They weren't out for money, they were just hoping to make something that they enjoyed and that other people would enjoy too. It also reminds me of the power of the internet, and why I love it so much. The internet has given me so many cool opportunities and so much great exposure for my art, and watching successful YouTubers inspires me to really put my stuff out there- you never know who will see it!

-Anna

Monday, December 5, 2011

One Week to Go...

And here's my finished-ish panorama assignment. I'm happy with parts of it...


-Anna

Saturday, December 3, 2011

December, what!?

Oh hey, it's December now. Just a week of classes left! Here are the final drawings for my last 2 pieces of the semester:

The first is a 'panorama' assignment for James. Our pieces all have the same horizon line so that they will (sort of) line up next to one another. We'll see how well that ends up working... Also, we only have 1 week to do the entire illustration, which is pretty intense. Like camping... (HA)


And here are 2 color comps I did. I'm going more in the direction of the first one:



Here's a sneak peek of the finish (work in progress):

And then for Concepts, more animals! So many animals this semester!! This time, GEESE. In a thunderstorm. Oh no!


And here are 2 crappy color comps for that:


 Color versions will be up soon!

-Anna