je m'appelle l'amour.

Uhhh yeah random entry. Well kind of. In French conv class tomorrow, I'm doing a 5 minute oral presentation on a topic of my choice. By request I've chosen to talk about my art.

Here are the general steps I take in drawing traditionally. The picture in the tutorial is called falling on, inspired by autumn and this picture.


1. The sketch.

I start with a pencil sketch to lay out the general theme and balance of the drawing. Done in 2H pencil.

2. Line art.

Sometimes I do a more detailed sketch, but for this one I just went straight into inking. I use a black 0.3mm Sakura Pigma Micron pen.

3. Erasing the draft.

I erase the pencil sketch to leave just the line art. Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser.

4. Beta.

I do the beta work, also known as filling in black areas. Colored the clothes with Sharpie, and then added the pillar with Photoshop.

At this point, I make a few copies of the complete line art on a laser jet ink copier/printer.

5. Color Scheme.

Before going into coloring, I take one of my line art copies to make a general color scheme plan. Sometimes I color spontaneously without planning, but that usually ends up bad. Colourlovers.com is a wonderful place to find great color schemes... I'm a noob with colors.

6. Basic colors.

I fill in most of the work with basic, lighter colors within the color scheme. I use Copic Sketch and Copic Ciao markers. RV95, Baby Blossoms (used here on hair) is a lovely color.

7. Shading and details.

I add more depth to the skin and hair with darker shades of the same color family. I always start with the skin.

8. More shading and details.

I add depth to the clothing and facial features. All of it still with Copic markers. Red pastel for blush.

9. Starting the background

With the foreground nearly finished, I start the background. I fill it in with purple's complementary color, yellow-green.

10. Background details.

I found the background too bright value-wise, so I darken it a bit with a green-grey shade. Then, I add a damask pattern by hand, referenced here: damask pattern.

11. Final details and color adjustment.

I add highlights with a beige colored pencil (Prismacolor) and on Photoshop. I also adjust the colors to reflect the actual work.

I put my signature at the bottom, and voila. It's finished!


Happy Autumn.

I am currently working on the research project for my French Linguistics class.

And I'm loving it.


Such a nerd.

Happy Halloween-- You like my linguist costume?






My favorite thigh-high socks. Striped, black and grey. Kinda halloween-y too. I'd post a picture of orange socks today, but considering that it's gameday too, I think it's inappropriate. Very. Sockdreams.com, made in USA.

If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.
--Toni Morrison



SOD:


Striped polyester knee-highs, black and white. Sockdreams.com.

I call these my Wicked Witch of the East socks.

Another poem written by me in high school, this time a villanelle.

A villanelle is a fixed 19-line poem, employing only two rhymes and repeating two of the lines according to a set pattern. Line 1 is repeated in lines 6,12, and 18; line 3 is repeated as lines 9, 15, and 19. The rhyme scheme is aba aba aba aba aba abaa.

I love repetition, so I like villanelles, even though they are hard to write.







Villanelle: Le Café Noir

I watch the creme descend
Into the bitter black coffee.
Don't stir; I want to see the colors blend.

Heroic white--black, it mends.
Dark mud, look at it flee;
I watch the creme descend.

Black ceases not; with force, it defends
Its territory, as white splashes like sea.
Don't stir; I want to see the colors blend.

I fetch for more creme to send,
But the coffee is too quick for me.
I watch the creme descend.

Perhaps this is a trend,
That from coffee, creme is never free.
Don't stir; I want to see the colors blend.

The battle has reached the end.
Where is the white debris?
I watched the creme descend--
Don't stir; I want to see the colors blend.







SOD:


Lacy footies with attached anklet, white. Made in Japan.

I think I wrote this sonnet my senior year in high school, for a supplementary assignment in AP Lit.

Also edited a bit today, for poetic flow purposes.




Sonnet: Emerald Water

I thought I heard a prayer deeper down,
A voice of plead in echo with the wave.
In resonating green I sink and drown;
The cry of help below, I dive to save.

The emerald water quickly fills my lungs,
As vision blurs to green but never black.
Then prayer ceased, and lonely hymn was sung;
The needed key to rescue sadly lacks.

I reach for land and gasp for Precious Air,
Familiar music, land I’ve always seen.
I rest and sigh, O heaven clear and fair,
My white dress wet and painted Emerald Green.

Inhaling air, I dive from earth’s warm layer,
Because I hear below the sound of prayer.







SOD:


One of my more normal socks. Cotton socks with heart print. Made in USA.