I WON FIRST PLACE! 

The first news is I recently won first place in the Sketch Club Competition. Yay!

The theme on this comp was ‘Poems’ where we were to draw art with our original poems. I used one from my short story “The Third Heaven”. Those who have read this may recognise it Yes, that one with the Angel of Death who fell in love with a mortal and went on strike against God. I drew a sketch of weeping Azrael sitting atop the cathedral to go with the words.

Anyway, I am so stoked that the SC community loved it that much, it won first place. Details on other winners and entries can be found here.

A DREAM COME TRUE!

The second news is my dream has finally come true Yay! That is the dream of creating a multimedia work combining art, music and words into one. Some of you know I have been striving towards this goal since I finished my novel. My two current projects ‘Lost In Colours‘ and ‘Mission One‘ are kind of milestones towards it,  but not quite ‘it’ yet because the music was not my own, mostly rearranged samples from Acid or GarageBand; and both projects are incomplete one-minute-length animated episodes.

This recent one is the FIRST EVER complete, stand alone, three-minute-length animated feature! Well, it is a music video actually, yes with our own original song and all! (oh gosh, pardon my voice, haha) Of course I did not do it alone, I had help from my good friend Isaia . Yes. We have become somewhat of a team lately. I suppose it’s because we work so well together.

I cannot tell you how proud and happy we are with this project. We both worked so hard on it, pouring everything we got to make it as wonderful as could be. It was such an amazing experience, I still can’t believe we finished it!

Isaia and I did everything from scratch and I mean everything…

The song

When I discovered Isaia was not only an incredible artist but guitarist as well, I knew I just HAD to write a song with this dude. Internet really makes the world a much smaller place.

Between Rome and Sydney, we have no convenient overlapping timezones to discuss and jam, but distance doesn’t matter to us. The song came to fruition as though it had a life of its own.

The words

Writing the lyrics was a funny experience for me. It brought me right back to uni days when I was all mellow and cranky, haha. I apologise in advance for the whiny words but they did come from the heart. Once. And I think they ring true for anyone who has been trapped in the land of the broken-hearted.

The art

We’ve collaborated on the art front so many times now, so the sketches were actually the easiest part of the project. We just fell into our roles seamlessly: Isaia with his amazing landscapes and I, the character. He helped with the animation too this time, using the SC recording feature. Everything you see on this video was drawn on an ipad using the Sketch Club app. I tell you. That app changed my life!
I must also give credits to my talented husband, Glenn, who helped with the sound mixing and video rendering. I already took him out to dinner as a thank you

I hope you enjoy the video, my peeps!!! Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

I have been busy drawing, and doing more fun collaborations with various artist friends from Sketch Club. Today, I thought I’d share with you this particular one: “Mission One”, because I am sooooo proud with what we recently completed

This is an animation project I have been working on with my good friend Isaia, who has been a huge source of inspiration and learning for me in the digital drawing department. We have been working on it for about three months now, and it has kind of evolved from a simple break-in idea to a semi full-blown story.

Anyway, the most recent episode took us about three weeks to do because we both really wanted to achieve the best in the details, lighting, and everything else. The feature itself only ended up being… one minute and seven seconds. Ha! But it was sooo worth it. We had so much fun doing it and I am very happy we finished it.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Click here to watch Episode One and Two.

I have done a few more art collaborations since last I shared with you, but perhaps I should concentrate on my own for this post.

Kookabura

My friend Koban did a tutorial on drawing feathers and I drew a Kookabura for practice. Koban’s tutorial can be found here

Koban’s artwork can be found here.

Curiosity

I needed to practice shading and filters. I like how this one turned out, simple and lovely, I thought.

Lescot’s Girl

My friend Lescot did a tutorial on vectors and I followed his instructions so I called this one Lescot’s girl. He did a video recently on vectors, which is just plain awesome. Click here to watch it.

Lescot’s artwork can be found here.

Sacrifice

This is one of my personal favourites. I just love the idea of a vampire in love with the sun. I tried to capture that precious impossible moment where they are together for a few seconds before he dies.

Paradise

I’m very proud of this one. It’s my first time EVER to draw a skull. It was horrendously difficult and more so because I had not drawn ‘dark’ much either. This turned out beautiful, I thought and I won twenty-five dollar gift voucher for it

Reach

I drew this for the Sketch Club Spirit competition and wrote this little poem to accompany the sketch:

There is a star for everyone
They grow on trees
In secret caves filled with
Floating dreams
I found mine
But I could not reach it
Until you came

I did not at all expect the success of this one, it was overwhelming. When I posted this on Sketch Club, comments, votes, hearts, they just kept pouring in. This has become my highest rated sketch in that community. By the way, that little robot is Sketch Club’s mascot

Essence Of Life

I drew this one purely because I missed Stargate, haha, but this also turned out unexpectedly popular with the Sketch Club community. I do like how it turned out, more Zen than I planned, but I love it.

Wistful

This was for one of the daily challenges, to draw how you feel that day. I felt… dreamy, so I drew a fairy.

All right, that’s it for now Will share more later. Thanks again, my peeps, for the visit.

Also, when you get a chance please check out my new Videos page. I have updated it with my most recent videos and tutorials too.

These were all made on sketch club, so some instructions may not apply to other apps or programs, but generally the technique should be applicable to all.

Here we go…

Hair Tutorial

Face Tutorial

Character In Scene Tutorial

Scales Tutorial

Hope something helps! Thanks for looking.

It surprises me how much I AM loving it, because I couldn’t do it with writing. I wonder why that is? Both types require meshing of subjective creativity, imagination and skills; but I don’t know why with writing, I always ended up wanting to take over or getting distracted by the details. And stories always seemed so… hard, especially when no end was in sight. I suppose with artwork the reward is more immediate. And I must admit, having an audience to show these off to is a great bonus. The Sketch Club community has been very supportive and appreciative of these projects. I love them so, both community and projects.

Anyway, the results of my recent ones just… blew me away. I am blessed to have all these incredible artists consenting to my manipulations play with me . They are all my favourites on the site. I have been following their work since I joined. And my goodness, they are so talented, it was almost intimidating! It took me weeks to build up the courage to approach them. Silly me. They’re all very friendly and eager to collaborate with me too!

So, let me show off some of our projects:

Princess Zelda

I only drew the girl here, and in fact she was a Christmas gift for my friend Dy, supposed to be Maya, the main character from her book. Jason (Peking Duck) was quite taken by her and asked if he could dress her up. And this is what he did to her. Wow, right? He is amazing.

The rest of Jason’s artwork can be found here: http://app.sketchclub.com/user/12185641

Prince of Egypt

I drew Maya with her man, Resh, and Jason did not leave him out. He got to dress up as well but since there’s too much bling factor, he gets his own spotlight, hehe. I adore this one. It’s one of my favourite of our collaborations (Jason and I have done many! I mostly just provide the characters, he does the styling because he’s really good at it!)

Sweet Sixteen

Another one with Jason. This one’s a diversion from his usual extravaganza, but I love it. The subdued colours just blend really well with the girl and the scene. I adore this piece very much. He’s amazing and it’s a great honour to have been a part of his art.

Imminent Rescue

This one’s a collaboration with Musiya (Mushi). He drew the robot and I did the background. Mushi is…. amazing. His attention to detail and eye for perfection really is mind-blowing, and he is… wait for it, fifteen years old! I don’t think I was anything useful at fifteen. The maturity of his style, the patience with which he handles his craft, everything about Mushi just screams talent. I was so impressed with him, I asked him to collaborate with me. This is what we came up with.

And please do not faint: he did this on an IPOD!!!

The rest of Mushi’s work can be found here: http://app.sketchclub.com/user/10044447

Prince of Persia

This one’s a collaboration with Clay (Terracotta). I drew the boy, he drew the background. I have noticed Terra from waaaay back, was a fan for a long time and I think he didn’t even notice me, ha! Terra’s work is… incredible, he puts magic in everything he draws. And he, too, is an ipod artist. It always amazes me when someone produces incredible artwork on such a tiny machine. Terra’s style, his bright colours, his painstaking details… impress me every time. I’m so honoured to have been a part of his art.

The rest of his artwork can be seen here: http://app.sketchclub.com/user/4765535

Opposites Attract

This one’s a collaboration with the sweet and talented McKay (Fae by Mckay). I drew the boy’s side, she drew the girl’s side. It was a lot of fun! I’ve noticed McK from the beginning not just because of her warm and welcoming nature but her unique and magical style of drawings. I love her girls the most. They all look absolutely amazing. I never knew this before we collaborated, but McK actually sculpted fae figurines and has sold  many of her paintings and published her art in magazines and websites. She’s the closest to a famous artist I’ve collaborated with and yet… was the least I was worried about approaching, haha. McK is the warmest soul I’ve ever known, so talented and yet so humble at the same time. I am very lucky to have met her here on Sketch Club.

The rest of her art can be seen here: http://app.sketchclub.com/user/5991706

The video of her sculptures can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvcxn1ip54Y

Her art facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/FaeByMcKay

Mission One

This one’s a collaboration with Isaia. I drew the characters, he drew everything else, ha! Isaia is… I have no word to describe what I think about his work. It’s that good, it pulls words out of my mind. Isaia’s art is so crisp and beautiful and, like I told him myself, there always seems to be some depth or story behind each one. I have been a fan since I joined too, I looked forward to his new work each time (because they come so rarely and they never fail to blow my mind away!) I am hoping this one’s going to be an ongoing collaborative project because we found a story in it. I don’t know yet. He may be tired of me after this one, ha.

The rest of Isaia’s art can be found here: http://app.sketchclub.com/user/13258190

I made a video animation with this artwork:

I have other collaborative projects in the drawers, but I think I will share just the above with you for now. Thanks so much for stopping by, my peeps, I hope you enjoy them!

Hugs, Lyds

Yes, let’s start the year with lots of colours

Siren Sushi

I’m in love with mermaids lately. I think they’re the most beautiful creature in the whole world.

Ninja Blur

I was just playing with the blur tool on Sketch Club and trying to create that action-packed John Woo effect here. Not sure if I succeeded but I liked how he turned out.

Hellow

This one isn’t all mine but a collaboration I just finished today with a friend of mine: Jason (Peking Duck) from Sketch Club. He’s an amazing artist. His work can be found here. I only drew the mermaid, the rest are his awesome work!

Have a wonderful year, everybody!

I hope everyone is enjoying theirs too. Can’t believe it’s nearly the end of the year and I feel as though I have not done much at all this year… well, that is not entirely true, I suppose: I finished my novel, I drew a total of two hundred and fifty two (yes, two fifty two) artwork on Ipad, I made seven animation videos with some, including a book trailer for my novel, and I went to a Writer’s conference with my lovely girls for the first time. Yeah, it’s not been entirely unproductive, I guess. I’m pleased and grateful for all the support and encouragement I’ve received from everyone around me. You all rock!

Now, a few more drawings to share…

Midnight Surf

A gift for my friend Beth, but because I love it and it’s Christmasy, I shared it to all others as well, I hope she doesn’t mind! I will draw her something more personal next time, when I have more skills to draw her characters.

Don’t Leave Me, My Love

Tried to draw a dragon but could not get the wings to look right so he became a Loch Ness monster instead. But I do like how the whole thing turned out anyway This one I drew to test the new filters on Sketch Club. They work like a charm!

Weee!

I drew this one quickly as I was shopping for Christmas presents. I got a bit frustrated by all the crowds so I stopped at a cafe and started drawing. It helped

Anyway, hope you’re enjoying Christmas. Love you all. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Hugs, Lyds

Alien eyes

I followed this tutorial and failed to achieve the look I wanted, but decided to go ahead and finish them anyway. I cheated by turning them alien-ish, ha. Long and behold, this one was much loved by the Sketch Club family, so I’m very pleased.

Lady Red

This was from the same tutorial. I’m still unsure I like how they turned out but I think I skipped a few steps because I didn’t know how to achieve the results exactly, so I compensated my flaws with fiery hair. I hope that worked, ha.

Forest Child

This one was from this tutorial I just changed the colour of the iris. I do like how these turned out, quite striking, despite not following the instructions to the detail. I think I need more skills to do that, but that’s why I’m here, still learning Anyway, the rest of the look was inspired by Princess Mononoke and the whipping hair was because I couldn’t be bothered to draw the mouth, hehe.

Exotic Princess

Another attempt at drawing eyes, following this tutorial. I also changed the colour and used my own imagination for the shading. I do like how they turned out. Again, too lazy to draw the other features, so I added the beady veil, ha.

Hair Tutorial

Since a few people have asked about the hair, I did a quick tutorial on how I draw it with Sketch Club. There are many techniques to draw hair, and mine is by no means superior, but I thought I’d share it anyway, since some have asked. And I do like my style, it’s quick and easy. With the eyes, I used the tutorial from a fellow Sketch Clubbers, an amazing artist who has drawn such amazing pieces, each just blows me away. Here is his awesome tutorial for the eyes. Here are some of his works. And here is my meagre hair tutorial hehe.

And the final result.

Hope those help! I hope one day I may be able to create wonderful things without having to check out tutorials. I just continue to practise, practise, practise. It has been fun, and I know I have improved a lot since I first started drawing. Now I feel like revamping all those Stealing A Dream illustrations… or create new stories with more illustrations!

Thanks for stopping by, peeps! Have a wonderful Christmas, all (four more days, wow!)

I do look forward to the Xmas family dinner this weekend and our yearly family gathering on Christmas eve. They should be great.

Anyway, I have been busy drawing Christmas gifts for friends (thanks so much for your support and for enjoying my art, even though most of us met through writing ) Now that they are sent out, I can share them with you…

Bird

This is a Christmas gift for my friend Jeanne who loves Celtic art. Despite numerous attempts trying to draw something in that style, nothing pleased me. I saw a beautiful mix of Celtic and Japanese art recently and I tried to capture a similar feel here with the bird. Not sure if I succeeded, but I like how he turned out anyway.

My Service Is Yours

A gift for my friend Selina who is an amazing artist herself. I must be crazy trying to draw anything for her but I love this character from her book ‘Memory’s Wake’, so I could not help myself.

Her artwork can be seen here.

You can get ‘Memory’s Wake’ from here.

This is my rendition of him (Thanks to my Sketch Club buddies for their feedback as I was drawing him–click here to see the progress! He could have turned out a drag queen… not that there’s anything wrong with Drag Queens)

Steampunk Eraser

This was born out of the daily challenge on Sketch Club: to use only the eraser tool to draw something. I used a combination in the end although all of her was done with an eraser. It was a lot of fun and I do like how she turned out.

All right, off to Christmas shopping now to absorb the vibe.

Happy holidays, you all, and thanks for the visit!

Hugs.

Blue Ghost

This one I drew for my friend Ladonna, a Christmas gift. These two are the main characters from her book: Isabell and Amelia. ‘Blue Ghost’ is a lovely book, a steampunk young adult fantasy set in alternate Atlanta. I adore her characters, especially Amelia, and surprisingly a secondary character called Tunnel. Anyway, here it is.

Illusion

This one is another Christmas gift for my friend Dy, also the main characters from her book: Resheph and Maya. ‘Illusion’ is an amazing story, set in apocalyptic Sydney and a secondary world called ‘Balkaith’. The mind-blowing and complex worlds Dy created are just stunning and her characters very engaging to read. I love these two to bits.

Smidge

This one is also a Christmas gift for my friend Erika. Her cat’s name is Smidge and she’s the most gorgeous thing because she’s huge and… curious I was looking through the pictures of my recent adventure in Maryland and Seattle, and I saw the picture of Smidge. I missed her, so I knew I had to draw her!

Black Widow

This one is for a daily challenge on Sketch Club for which the theme was ‘Shadows’. I wanted to draw something slick and superhero-like, so here goes!

Click here for the step by step.

Amazon Huntress

This one is my favourite and took a hell of a long time to draw, but worth it I think.

Click here for the step by step.

Smoke

Not sure where this one came from. I was supposed to be writing my resume but got distracted. I like drawing sexy men, so sue me.

Yep, I’ve been busy, having too much fun with this app. Good practice anyway, and it’s good to be drawing things other than Faziel and Haisma :p