I'm very happy with the line quality and colors for this piece. The design is not my favorite, but it's certainly not the worst thing I've ever designed. I feel like I've really accomplished something and taken a step forward in doing this. Hopefully the remaining 49 pieces will feel the same way.
A few days ago I came up with a list of 50 things I've never drawn before, or have not tried to draw well before, or have not drawn in so many years that I no longer know how to draw it. First on the list was a seahorse, and after re-joining DeviantArt and looking around at the works of many amateur (and professional, I guess) artists around the world, I was finally able to get creative again.
I'm very happy with the line quality and colors for this piece. The design is not my favorite, but it's certainly not the worst thing I've ever designed. I feel like I've really accomplished something and taken a step forward in doing this. Hopefully the remaining 49 pieces will feel the same way.
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I've previously written about how my art rarely has meaning. Still true. However, many times my pieces are created under the influence of strong emotions. This is one of those pieces. Go ahead - guess the feeling.
On an unrelated note, for anyone who reads my 'blog and hasn't seen The Adventures of Omnicakes for some reason I can't fathom, it's now available online. Just mouse over the "About" tab above and click on it to be redirected to the site where it resides. Have you ever wanted to create a calendar using your own artwork, but weren't sure how to do it? Well, here's how you do it my way! STEP ONE: Draw one thing that fits the theme of one month, whatever you think that may be. STEP TWO: Write out some really well-thought-out ideas for the other eleven months, keeping in mind that you'll probably want to keep the style fairly consistent throughout the calendar. Think about colors, symbols, and feelings that are evoked by each month, and maybe take into account some holidays, if you're going for a more regional thing.
STEP THREE: Begin to draw out one of the other months that you think is a really good idea. STEP FOUR: Lose patience. STEP FIVE: Fuck calendars. Gaming nerds and Japan nerds will recognize this character as Faris Scherwiz (or at least some version of Faris) from Final Fantasy 5 - yes, another Final Fantasy. I had done the layout, hair, and a large amount of the black in the cape (the legs and the underside are new) about a year ago, but it's been sitting in a stack of papers until today, politely asking to be finished.
I'm not terribly happy about all parts of this piece. I haven't painted with inks for quite some time, and the color scheme for this character was never very pretty in the first place. However, I feel a lot of relief now that I've finished it. It probably won't go in any portfolios, certainly. But it was good for me. Plus, any practise is good practise. For those who aren't nerds and are curious about this character (and don't mind spoilers), Faris is a pirate leader who is really good friends with a hydra. He is also a woman hiding his identity because he would not be respected by his crew as a woman. A friend once told me that it is considered bad luck to have a woman on a ship. However, I recently read about two very successful pirates in the 1710's, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who were a part of Calico Jack's crew. Hmm. I've always been a fan of gender-bending characters, as indicated in my first youtube video. I could say it was a sign of my genderqueer discoveries, but really, it might be a coincidence. It doesn't really matter either way. The point is, these characters have always been inspiring, regardless of connection, because people have written about them forever. Even Hatshepsut wore a fake beard and men's clothes and insisted that people call her "king." On an unrelated note, I finally took my driver's test - and passed, of course. I apologize for not posting this weekend like I usually do. Please forgive any delays as I attempt to make my transition into the workforce over the next few months. In my youtube video, I named Final Fantasy 9 as one of my favorite games. I've been playing it since I was about 11, and I still play it quite often, especially when I'm feeling lonely or just need a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. A lot of people mention the seventh game when I tell them that my favorite is the ninth. I get it. The seventh game is popular. I said nine, though, so let's focus on that. The characters of FF9 are extremely deep and emotional and the settings and designs are unique, even for the Final Fantasy franchise. The developers have said that they wanted FF9 to be different from the others while still retaining the Final Fantasy feel, and I believe they did that in every aspect. This game has continuously inspired me and my artwork throughout the years. Over the past few years I've noticed a lull in my productivity regarding my artwork. I've been obsessed with creating and showing off finished works, instead of just drawing for the sake of drawing like I used to. That seems really professional, but I've realized that when I drew for the sake of drawing, I was far more creative. I don't have to show everyone my drawings. I can keep some private. And when I have a slight whim to draw something, I find some paper and draw it, even if I have very little hope for it. This drawing came from a night of playing FF9 and running into a monster called the "Ragtime Mouse" about three times. That may not seem like too many times considering I had about a hundred encounters, but the ragtime mouse is actually a fairly uncommon find. In the game, he randomly appears in forests and announces that he has a pop quiz for you, during which he asks you one question about the game that was only obscurely mentioned once on a plaque you didn't need to read or requires a strong geographical knowledge of the land. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, actually, and I learned a lot about its design that I never would've noticed if I hadn't drawn it. For example, the torso is a pumpkin. A big, pink pumpkin with tuxedo accessories. Planar analysis turned out to be my friend here, and a lot of practise work and character designs that followed this piece are now heavy into planes.
An interesting note about the ragtime mouse: I, too, thought it was strange that it was called a mouse when it looks nothing like one. However, now that I know Japanese, this makes sense. The original Japanese name for the ragtime mouse was ラグタイムマウス. The romaji spelling of this is "ragutaimu mausu." A translator who looks at "ragutaimu mausu," without looking at the character design, would definitely assume that "mausu" must be "mouse." However, Japanese does not have a "th" sound, and an "s" sound is what they replace it with. This still isn't as bad as replacing "sarisa" with "salsa," however, so I forgive you, translator. In short, today's art lesson is: do for the sake of doing sometimes. You get more practise that way. For someone who is quite adamant about human rights, I draw a lot of scantily clad and nude women. I do not depict a lot of men this way, or even at all, and aside from octopuses, I don't actually draw a lot of things that aren't women (to be fair, a lot of the octopuses are female, too). I occasionally get comments about these drawings regarding their ample bosoms or their slim, hourglass figure. Usually, comments from men are positive. However, the comments from women are generally quite negative, and often regard the figure's weight, breast size, pose, or other secondary sex characteristic in a very angry way. Understandably, feminists can get pretty upset about my artwork, especially when it's stuff like the succubus I just finished up this week (pictured above). They're right: women are not that size, shape, or proportion (or color, in this particular instance, but that matters less to them). There was a time a few years ago when I ceased drawing altogether, because I was concerned about being respectful in my imagery. Comic books, advertising, tattooing, and many other forms of art have chosen women as their subjects since their beginnings. Many feminists (but let me stress - certainly not all) would argue that this objectifies women, turning them into objects: sometimes literally. While I understand this argument, there often follows the argument that these destructive images should be removed. I find that rather disappointing. Women, especially young ones, are beautiful. Consider the peacock and the peahen. Very few people will argue that the peacock is not an impressive bird, if not absolutely gorgeous. Take a look at its female version, however: the peahen. She still looks pretty good, especially from the chest up. The lower half, however, is pretty drab, especially when compared to the male. This is very much how I - and probably many others - view humans. The females are just prettier. The reason for the double standard of women (but not men) being depicted nude is, in fact, another double standard - no one wants to see nude men.
That's not usually the largest problem with women in advertising. There is a very large problem of advertisers making the abuse of women and other related things look glamorous. However, many women are still very upset simply by the fact that young women and girls are exposed to images of skinny celebrities, and are expected to live up to that image. Although I admit that my experience may have been different as a child, I have never felt pressured by the media to be skinny and perfect. I have been pressured by specific people in middle school, sure, but never did I look at an adult woman and think that I should grow up to look like her. The difference? Maybe being genderqueer. But also probably because I was taught to digest material in a way that is healthy. Celebrities on TV and women at school or in the grocery store are two separate things in my mind. Celebrities are not as real. My drawings are not of real people. They are not intended to be compared to real people; they are standalone images meant to look good and nothing else. Art and media are not parents. They only have power if you let them. Just like a succubus. So I'm going to keep drawing beautiful women who may or may not be nude and simultaneously supporting feminism. Because I can. My sister and her husband and two daughters came to visit yesterday. Funny thing about little girls: if you say more than one word to them, they think you are friends. Then they try to touch your piercing, and when you don't let them, they think you're mad at them. I'm not very fond of children - especially not very young children (Claire is still a baby and Aubrey is three) - but they will be here until Monday or Tuesday, so I have to put up with them. They are not allowed in my room, thankfully, since I have carcinogenic sprays and liquids lying around. Also, my most recent work (preview below) is not very child-appropriate. I won't say much today, but next time I promise to have an engaging post about feminism regarding this piece. Also there will be at least one naked woman. If you're more interested in my nieces and you have a Twitter account, you can follow me for updates. Or you can do it just because you love me.
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AuthorJade E. Cakes lives with a cat and a wheelchair in a place with far too much snow. She spends her days playing with art supplies, staring at video games, and trying to cram thousands of things into one building. Archives
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