NannerSpaceMan

Inspired by TheFoxIsBlack's spacesuit of the week feature, I decided to draw a chibi astronaut. Got to try some new things with stacking order, unenclosed shapes, and working out of my usual order. The shapes weren't as precise as usual and some parts are a little funky, but it was fun and challenging to do. The other sticker was inspired by a vignette on a Pokemon-related print I've fallen in love with.

I've drawn a ton of circles today. I'm trying to re-train myself to draw using my entire arm in broad strokes rather than just my hand. It's the first time in a long time I've ever even thought about picking up vine charcoal again. Standing up at the easel again is kind of weird - I have no idea what I'm doing there.

NannerKirby

Kirby turns 20 this year. That's pretty crazy to me. Not as crazy as all the game characters turning 25 last year, but still pretty insane. I've been going around in circles about what stickers to make, and I'm glad inspiration finally struck. I've featured Kirby and Waddle Doo here, but I think it may be fun to explore some of Kirby's other forms ('Beam' from Superstar is one of my absolute favorites).

When facing one's demons, it's important to have a distraction or two. Art should be a pretty good one, but I actually find it much harder to work when despair and worry set in. Right now, I'm finding myself really drawn to game design - specifically card games. I have no plans to sit down and actually create a game at this juncture, I'm just really in love with the process and ideas behind it all.

My focus as of late has been UFS. It was a collectible card game with some really interesting mechanics that took characters, moves, and locations from a bunch of rad fighting games (Street Fighter, Soul Calibur, Tekken, Samurai Shodown, King of Fighters, etc.). I had a blast playing the game with my friends despite some balance issues (it's really tough to explain concepts of ratios and synergy to anyone who has only a passing interest in such things). My obsession with game design has lead me down the rabbit hole of creating a series of balanced decks that distill the fun and craziness of the game into a contained experience that can be played as easily and readily as a non-collectible-card game.

I was inspired by the ideas and games of Dave Sirlin. He's a mad genius. I plan on owning all of the games he makes one day. Please check out Flash Duel to truly understand what I'm talking about.

InkMonster

Inkscape features a 'trace bitmap' tool. I had no idea this feature even existed until yesterday. Adobe Illustrator has a similar thing called 'live trace' that will basically take a raster image and turn it into a vector illustration. The results vary from image to image. I think this one turned out pretty good.

Today's piece is something of an abstraction. I took some freshly made ink from an ink-stone, poured it onto some low-quality cold-press paper, and moved it around the page by blowing into a straw. Once that was dry, I added some features with a marker to create what you see here. It reminds me of some kind of spider or fungus. Not really sure, but it was fun to do.

I am currently in the process of setting up a drawing space that can be taken down and put up with relative ease. I have all kinds of crazy materials and equipment given to me throughout my life. Finding subjects shouldn't prove to be too hard. Setting up independent drawing study is the tough part for me. I know where some of my weaknesses are, but I'm not sure the best ways to tackle them.

Nanner Half-tone

Half-tone definitely fits within the boundaries I set initially on this project. Properly utilized half-tone can create the illusion of continuous tone when needed. Plus, it just looks cool. I have been wanting to do some 60's pop-art stuff for a while, and this will help get me on my way.

In my search for artistic inspiration, I ended up at the park on one of the nicest days of the year. I went to the middle of a grassy field and sat down with my tiny sketchbook. The people there were all so focused on their own lives, they didn't even notice me trying to record everything I could. I walked away with some neat sketches of poses and some interesting thoughts to chew on.

The change in perspective opened my senses a bit and allowed me to escape from my thoughts. That was just what I needed.

On Texture

Photoshop's threshold mode can create some incredible textures. Basically, it allows you to take a picture of a texture and remove all of the grey color. What you are left with is a black and white version with an adjustable level of detail. Using opacity and layer blend modes, you can then add subtle texture to anything.

I couldn't get blend modes to do exactly everything I wanted for this piece, so I ended up just creating what I needed in Photoshop. It feels a bit like cheating, except for all of the work I still had to do.

I've set a schedule for myself. It's amazing how easy it is to lose track of time when you're on your own. My mission is to rediscover my passions and get involved in something. Guess we'll see what happens.

Times...

...are tough. I'm not in the best place right now. My motivation to do anything wanes too quickly. I am not well.

Thinking back on the first days of this project, though, reminds me of where I was at the time. I was heartbroken, confused, and lonely then. I started this project to prove something to myself - that I could get back on my feet and overcome some of my worst habits. I created a venue where I could express myself on a daily basis and learn some new things along the way.

I am scared. I feel like I can't do anything right. I can't tell if I'm moving forward (or where forward even is). This project is one of the only things that sort of makes sense.

I posted two stickers today because I'm a little behind. I'm learning about how Inkscape handles layers, blend modes, and live path effects. My computer doesn't seem to have enough memory to handle a lot of that stuff. Oh well.

I'm not done yet. I may not feel up to it, but I will try to press on.

Geometry Hipster

A weird batch of sketches today. Mostly faces. Not sure where this one came from, but it was fun to do. Also good to have out of my head. Doesn't look impressive. Wasn't a real challenge. But it was a post.

NannerRitzy

I usually stray from using too much white in these compositions (it goes against the spirit of the original designs). In this case though, any other colors would have looked weird. I was inspired by my Fuu Lion's mane - which looked an awful lot like a powdered wig. So here we are: a fancy gentleman with a powdered wig, ghostly complexion, rosy cheeks, and a beauty mark above his smirk. The upturned nose and fully closed eyes convey both extreme disdain and sheer boredom.

NannerWhiteMage

I liked the way my black mage turned out so much that I decided to do a white mage as well. She has the iconic robes (yellow replacing red for the triangular pattern on the sleeves) and stands ready to cast some cure2.

This one got complicated really quickly. I worked out the color scheme and shape-building plan during the sketch phase, but I shifted gears in the middle. I wanted to experiment with lines even further - and, while that paid off in the end, it made things way too complicated at the end. I had to just smash together the final shapes to create what you see here.

As for yesterday's "blah" day - it comes with the job. At some point or another, we all get burned out. My anxiety and self-doubt got the best of me. The weekend will hopefully be a good time to read, draw, and think to get myself back together.

Art on empty...

Deprived of any meaningful stimuli. Overworked. Under-appreciated. Anxiety. Stress. Isometric grid.

Sketches

Inspired yesterday's post. Trying to do something with it...

NannerRain

Gotta soak up the last days of rain before Summer comes and makes things miserably hot. Transitional seasons are my favorites.

I wanted to include some sort of figure in the background of this sticker, but I realized how much smaller I would need to make the rain drops and opted against it. Thinking about this in terms of actual size, even these big drops will appear tiny.

NannerBee

A nice, spring-themed, sticker today. I suppose a bunny would have worked as well...

NannerBlackMage

So much happier with this refinement. The straight-on view is awesome. The cloak has more volume. The eyes convey more of that "bolt 2" feeling. I think the line work is much more satisfying as well.

NannerPit

Nannerplant Wizard

Trying to catch up on some old drawings that didn't make it to vector. Eggplant wizard was a lot of fun to draw. I'm really happy with the way this turned out. I think Pit will be a fun challenge as well.

NannerFuu

A fuu lion (or dog, if you prefer).
Still not sure how I feel about the blackmage. Under fresh eyes, everything about the composition and pose feels wonky. I'm beginning to see this weird habit forming with my drawings. I call it a habit because I am not pleased with the way these originals are starting to turn out (if I were satisfied, I would call it a style instead).
This week, I want to study the linework of my favorite artists. I would like to incorporate some slick variegated lines into my stickers to emphasize forms and create more pleasing visual rhythm. I don't want my work to stagnate out of convenience or become too comfortable.

NannerMage and NannerHippo

Not entirely sure how I feel about my blackmage sticker yet. So here's King Hippo.

NannerGoat (the post writes itself)

Didn't get this one out before the deadline last night - so here it is. Also, the correctly colored version of the Katamari sticker.