Sketch Diary: TBT - Orange hair is THE BEST

Ya know, as much as I get frustrated at certain things in this drawing  (that ear is wonky >.< and that neck belongs on a giraffe) I still can't help but enjoy it. There are a bunch of things about it that remind me of certain things I like to draw. Like genuinely enjoying drawing eyes, hair, and frilly clothes in particular way. The necklace seems really jarring, yeah? But at least I took my time with the purple top.

So I hope you've enjoyed this little throwback to 2011 (colored with Copics it in 2012).

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - Pink haired centaur girl

Throwback to 2011 - lots of random marker practice pieces that year. I still love this drawing, not exactly sure why... there are a lot of things I would fix (if I was into that sort of thing hah) like the skinny arm in front, the odd shoulders, the 'thighs' are too small for my taste, and that hand. Obviously, I had such a hard time with the one hand, I had to hide the other! But with all that, I still like her look. Looking inside of herself, seeing without sight. And pink hair?! I mean who doesn't love pink hair?

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Snake wedding

Badger badger badger badger... I don't know where this idea came from exactly but I  ran with it. We all know I love serpent-like, mermaid-y folk. I showed it to a couple people and the consensus was that it was some kind of wedding and the woman turned into a snake thing and the dude fainted or maybe she accidentally killed him or something to that effect. Whatever the background, I wanted her to look concerned but confused/curious. I hope that came across. It was a lot of fun to sketch this out. Snake-y forms are always very satisfying for me.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - Marker madness with pink hair

A lovely little throwback marker piece from 2011. I loved doing this piece. I remember it vividly. Sketching it out during my free time at the Jr. high school in Japan. Inking it and coloring it in my tiny but cozy apartment many months later. I remember the teachers that would stop by to watch while I sketched seemed to really like this one. One teacher even drew her own quick version of it as a gift for me. I was so flattered (and her drawing was adorable, to boot!).  There are just a lot of fond memories that come back to me when I see this drawing... I need to stop looking at job boards in Japan. This is not okay haha. Per usual, I used Copic markers for color and white acrylic paint for the little highlights.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Almost kiss, nose nuzzle

D'awww. Aren't they just the cutest? AREN'T THEY?! No, they're not. The figure on the right has weird facial dimensions that I couldn't reconcile... or was to lazy to reconcile. Bagh.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Peek-a-bird

Oodles of doodles! I enjoy how the little goldfinch turned out. My grasp of birds is weak but I want to  get stronger.

With love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - parkour angel

A throwback to 2011 here. Though there are many things off in this little piece, I like this piece more now than I did before. Something about the pose and the color of the figure, just looks like a fun character.

With love - M

Sketch Diary: Doodles and dinos

Just a quick sketch to shake some dust off. Everyone seems to be talking about dinosaurs again with the excitement of the new Jurassic Park movie preview that came out. But I'm just not comfortable with drawing animals. Well practice makes perfect :sigh:.

With love - M

Sketch Diary: Dragon needs a shave

Dagron! And what a snazzy beard... feels like a half finished idea though.

With love - M

Sketch Diary: Pouty lips... but why?

Been a while! And this sketch has some obvious rust on it. But I only want to leave out the absolute worst ones. I feel like if I try to pretend the mediocre sketches don't exist, it makes the really good ones less special. And every not-so-awesome idea tends to be stepping stone on the way to something bigger and better, right?

Things have been busy lately with plenty of work, lots of fun after hours stuff, and a dash of drama. Here's to hoping for the work to continue but maybe a bit more time for sketching.

With love - M

Sketch Diary: Faerie Queen concept

First sketch in weeks! At least it's a detailed one, haha. I got inspired suddenly and had to get this out of my system. I know I've done a lot of headshots lately but hey, better than nothing. My bf doesn't like the neck angle and says the eye is a bit large  but oh well. If I go back to ink it later, maybe I'll adjust it a bit.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Mary from Reign

Just a quickie sketch of Mary, Queen of Scots, from the show Reign. She had this powerful look in this one shot, like she could see something in the distance that no one else could see. I'm interested in what else that actress will end up doing in the future - I think there's some serious potential there. And the costume designer for the show - love the stuff. I don't think any of it's very period true but I appreciate the ingenuity. I'm hoping to play with making some of the cool hair pieces, the beaded ones that Mary wears that lay flat like a headband/crown. Very pretty.

Happy Friday! Don't terrorize those retail associates too much, ok? I've been there - it means a lot when costumers practice a little patience with all the sale madness.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - Faeriecon memories

Things have been super busy so I guess it's time for another TBT! This little beauty is from 2010 though I might not have colored it until 2011, I can't remember. I sketched it out during Faeriecon 2010 and even though the proportions are off and the eyes are set too high, I still really like this piece. Comparing this to more recent marker pieces, it's cool to see how my technique has changed. Going back to review these pieces really helps inspire to keep drawing. When I get really busy, I need that pretty hardcore.

And Happy Turkey Day!

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - Scratch art fashionista

This one is a way-back throwback! Anyone recognize it? It's from the Fall of 2004 and ended up being a gift to my Mom. This was probably the second time I had messed with scratch art boards. If I remember correctly, I used a picture out of some random fashion magazine as a reference for this woman. 

It's supposed to be lace on her arms and feathers coming out of the top of the dress, is that obvious? It's always educational going back to old drawings like this - sometimes it's easier to see the progress and sometimes I wonder why I forgot certain techniques along the way. I think I have some scratch boards hanging around somewhere so maybe I'll do another one for the holidays.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Harpy priestess concept

Isn't she ADORABLE?! I think so. I'm pretty pleased with myself. It only took... forever to finish this sketch. Such is the curse of having full-time design work. Doesn't leave much time for random sketching. But I was inspired for this little illustration project I'm working on with some folks, The Compendium. It's a nice way to motivate each other to draw more regularly and with purpose without any real deadline to stress us out.

Anyway, what I mentioned when I first uploaded this sketch there was this whole priestess thing. "I'm not sure why but I like the idea of harpies being priestesses to the gods. Kind of like an pre-christian idea of angels. But I imagine harpies as being more...gray. Not good but not evil. They do the gods bidding and maintain the great temples or something. Guard the relics, preside over sacrifices, light the sacred candles."
Maybe she needs more cloths? I don't know. I feel like harpies should, in general, be pretty bare.
with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - Fairy concept

Another throwback piece to August 2010, an early attempt with my Copic markers. I just can't get over how much I still love those head pompom thingies. The mushrooms were pretty rushed and I didn't bother filling in the rest of the background. I was more interested in figuring out how to blend properly. This particular hair style, with the side swirly curl, I'm still fond of and if you had access to all my sketches, you'd see it a lot during that summer.

Faeriecon East is coming up and I wanted to upload something fae-like to get me pumped about fae stuff. I think it's working. If you've never been to a faerie convention/festival, it's a lot like other festivals but with LOTS of wonderful costumed folk and usually it takes about a week to get all of the glitter off your body... even if you weren't wearing any. It's just something that happens.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - mermaids on the beach

Time for a throwback! This cutie is from January 2010. I wanted some more color on this blog so here's one of my first attempts with my Copic markers. Also... one of few attempts to actually have a real background heh. I don't know why that's so frightening but it is. Still, I remember enjoying drawing the piece initially but when I started coloring I specifically remember that I zoned out and just kind of threw caution (and sense) to the wind when choosing the colors. I went through different phases of love and hate with this piece over time. I think I finally appreciate it for what it is and I'm glad it came out this way. Those clouds are really weird, though. Not sure what was going on there... I assume it's supposed to be sunset? Shouldn't I know these things?! No.

with love - M

Logo - Back Pocket Entertainment - fist of fury!

BAM! How about them apples?! I give you - one of my favorite logos to work on - Back Pocket Entertainment by Matt Martinez. Matt and I came together back in spring of 2014 to create this little guy. I created a bunch of concept sketches best on his ideas and preferences and after a couple rounds, this is what we came to as a 'final' logo. I say 'final' because in my opinion, no logo is ever final. They change as the times and company change. But I think this is a good first step for Back Pocket Entertainment. The image above is the full logo in all it's glory. Below are the separated pieces. Please don't steal - these images and ideas belong to Matt and we would be both be very hurt if our hard work was stolen and exploited. Remember, we're the little guys, not huge corporations.

A little bit about Matt Martinez and Back Pocket Entertainment: Matt is a film guy. Back Pocket Entertainment is currently a podcast/blog site with aspirations of bringing fellow film/comic book/tv enthusiasts reviews and new content from things like interviews with other content creators such as artists, directors, writers, and so on. In short, there's a lot happening over there so keep an eye on it as the site continues to grow. And feel free to give encouragement! It's a fairly new project and if he's making something that you enjoy, be sure to let him know.

So there you have it! Back Pocket Entertainment - welcome to the logo world. I might do a post about the process I went through for this and other logos if that's something that interests people. If you're curious about getting a logo made, fill out this form and we'll go from there. Otherwise, go check out Back Pocket Entertainment!

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - weird proportions face

A little throwback sketch from November of 2009.

Not a clue what I was going for with this sketch. Most likely it's one of those 'I don't know what to draw....' and then the pencil just sort of goes 'blargesndofpaos' all over the page until I feel I've gotten whatever it is out of my system. Sometimes those kinds of sketches turn out something super cool. This was not one of those times. Still, I wanted to share it with you because errors are just as important as successes. Enjoy!

with love - M

New lens! Some test shots with a 50mm

With a new job comes new fun toys! Well, this can also be used for work but you know what I mean. I bought a new 50 mm 1.4 Canon lens this week and here are some of my first shots. Check out the rest of the album here. The puppy up top is my akita, Baku. He's a pretty good sport with photo taking but I think big cameras freak him out a bit. Still, I think I got some nice shots of him.

This super cool boat belonged to my boyfriends grandfather I believe. I love how the 50mm blurs everything but what's being focused on. I think it makes this boat seem bigger and more real.

 Just a view out of my living room windows. Can't wait to try this out with portraits.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - LDS girl

Time for a throwback all the way from 2010! I still remember sketching this like it was yesterday. This was one of those pieces, one of those moments where everything came together and I could really see the subject - not with my eyeballs but with my true mind's eye. Clear as clear can be. And if felt like liquid fire running down from my head to my hand. Whenever I look at this sketch now, I feel that same sensation and say to myself "Hey Meredith, you should really sketch more from live subjects - at least use some photos". I was using more photos at one time but have since fallen off the horse. I wanted to post this as a reminder to myself to embrace drawing from photos/ real life more. Pulling from my head is fun and all but I'm not a mentat. It's time to face facts and break out the photos.

Anyway, this sketch was of a young girl in a National Geographic who happened to be a member of the LDS church. Her face just jumped out at me and I felt compelled to try to emulate it. I hope it brings someone the peace it gave me.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Buns and butterflies

This is kind of throwback sketch but shhhhhhhh it's been a busy summer. So here's a babe I back in Japan. I was a little obsessed with those head buns thing. I still think they're pretty adorable. I should figure out how to do them since my hair's so long now... and look! Butterflies! Hehe,

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT - a throne to rule by

Time for some throwback! October of 2009 and I can't for the life of me remember what I was thinking when I did this drawing. Is she the kind sister aiding her ill brother? Is she like the witch in Snow White, having weakened or killed the king, she happily takes over the kingdom? Anyway, I still enjoy looking at it and wondering about a story.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Contemplative vest kid

Ugh, the anatomy here is all wrong. Didn't much care for this sketch when I made it, I don't feel much differently now. I wanted that kinda scrunched up, hunched over feeling but the head looks oddly place. Ah well, NEXT!

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Assateague ponies

Quicky sketch from my camping trip to Assateague Island. Wild ponies are super cute... but also rats with hooves haha. Ask anyone who's had their campsite raided by ponies.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Patsey

This was an interesting sketch to do. I was watching 12 Years a Slave when I got inspired by Patsey. I honestly don't like how the sketch turned out. I don't feel it captures anything true about her (except that lovely long neck). But it was still a good challenge. I don't usually draw with any particular race/ethnicity in mind. I think it's about time I started paying better attention to all those unique details when I draw. Or not. Who knows.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Colored Carolina Girl

COLOR! Here's your surprise color piece! Mmmm I love Copic markers. The hairpiece was inspired by real hairpieces made by a talented lady in Calabash, NC, that I saw in a little art gallery a few days before I sketched this out. I was trying to go for a watery feeling when I colored this but mainly, I was just playing around. I like how it turned out, for now. I was worried I over did the white paint splatters.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: TBT mer-person concept

Androgynous mer-person! The written note says "no males or females - fins fold up for courting and defense". An old sketch from the year after I graduated college. Not sure what the bun looking things on it's forehead are... maybe hair? I forget.

Sketch Diary: Belt buckle girl

Nothing special here. Just a girl with lots of belt...buckles. I don't know. I just work here.

with love - M

Sketch Diary: Carolina girl

Cute, random, story behind this drawing. when I did the initial sketch, I was in North Carolina visiting my family. They were going to church one Sunday while I was there and I decided to tag along for the drive since the church happened to be near a cute town I had visited once before called Southport. So I dropped of the 'rents and headed into town to find the little sitting area by the waterway. I found an open picnic table and sat down to sketch a little in the beauty and peace of the waterside gazebo-type area. My peace and quite did not last long...

First, this group of ladies nearby were talking (loudly so it was hard not to eavesdrop) about how they like being near the beach but can't handle the sand. One would say something about how gross sand is or how it gets everywhere and they others would respond with something like "OMG yes! You're so right!". The kicker was when the one girl proclaims that she needs one of those pools that sits next to the beach, so the sand is right there... but she can be safe in her clean sanctuary. One of the ladies proclaimed her a genius and they sighed in unison, I'm assuming while they imagined how wonderful that would be. I guess there also wouldn't be wind in this pool bubble world. Then the fun began. This big old salty lab comes barrelling up to the table area and proceeds to request pets. Then he climbs onto the table, yeah onto, and lays down so that these ladies can have better access to petting him. Meanwhile they're scrambling to get their purses and such out of the way because this is one salty, salty dog. Also wet, presumably from the water, you know, 50 feet from us. Soon after, a time-worn, gentle soul comes wandering up, apologizing for his dogs ridiculousness. I was just smiling the whole time. The ladies were good humored about it and actually pet the lab as well as his other friend (she remained on the ground). Evidently both dogs were rescues that this man had taken in after putting his daughter through college. That was after he'd been through at least 1 major war. People are fascinating.

Eventually, the ladies left, the salty dogs and gentle soul went about their business, and I was left to draw in peace... for a time. Soon enough, one of the ladies sitting behind me stood up and gasped really loudly and for a moment I was concerned something was wrong. She leans forward to look over my shoulder and apologizes for startling me, but that she was surprised to see that not only was I drawing, but I was drawing something good haha. Her husband agrees in a harumph and chastizes her for surprising me. She suddenly gets worried that I might have drawn a huge line across my page and ruined the "30 hours" I had put into the drawing. I giggled and insisted myself and my drawing were fine and thanked her for the appreciation. She gave me a hearty "Keep up the good work!" and left. Another young girl came over while this all went on and got very wide eyed while peeking over my other shoulder. I asked if she liked it and all I could get out of her was a very excited, rapid nodding of her head.

I finished up in about 45 minutes total and headed back to pick up my parents. It amazes me how many interactions a person can have in such a small amount of time. Reminds me of goings to conventions and wandering the artist alleys. The moral here is to always bother artists. Let them decide if they want to put down their brush and converse further but always express your feelings when you find beauty in something. It always means the world to me and I imagine most other artsy folk feel the same. We love what we do. It's an added bonus that you love it, too.

with love - M