Blogging again

So, Internet. We meet again.
My adventure at Nemo academy of digital arts in Florence is over and I can finally take on the scary beast that is Internet marketing. Looking on the bright side, I'm finally reopening this blog! For those who are new here, I use this blog as a lab for all my daily studies. I post my experiments and analyze the outcome - it's usually filled with rough traditional and digital sketches and lots of words.

If you're interested in a more solid production, feel free to navigate those two sections under the header: there you will find a collection of my concepts and illustrations from last year and a good chunk of pieces from my most recent project.
I hope you enjoy :)

Christmas break

I'm suspending my activities here until January 7 due to pre-Christmas panic, daunting academy projects and impending boyfriend's visit.

After all this lovely madness is gone, I'll pick up posts that need update and regularly post two times per week as planned. 

Happy holidays :3

EDIT: Suspending my activities here until the end of my last academic year. Academy projects need to be prioritized. While keeping sketchbooks, experimenting and practicing with enthusiasm and on a very regular basis (as a sidequest to school stuff) I can't keep up with the written aspect of the blog without feeling it as a burden. For now c;

Ugh

Currently fighting with school stuff - have a quick cloud painting practice.

Analysis will come later, as soon as I manage to breathe :v

Watercolor week

An apple a day...
I've decided to start a simple training program to practice on the kind of stuff I need to improve on: one exercise from reference per day, for a week. I had a fun Watercolor Week and I plan to start a Clouds Week soon. 

Clouds are nasty. 

Speedsketching at the library

• I'm proud I was brave enough to try my hand at interiors. Though the results are debatable
• I'm getting a better handle on working with fast blotches of color and leaving white paper areas
• Gestures aren't too stiff

• Stuff looks sloppy without that black pen outline 
• Something went wrong with the perspective down there. It's weird because I was very careful when sketching the scene - I must have relaxed too much and messed it up during the painting phase

Experience gained: 4 points!

- I MUST do this again, especially with interiors. The amount of skill and confidence gained when painting from life is extremely valuable. I need to think about color and light conditions on the spot and note things down for future reference!
- When geometric perspective is involved, do NOT paint until the sketch makes sense
- I'll mix in less water and more pigment. I need to manage strong, saturated color to make my sketches really expressive and bright and, most of all, not in need of a pen outline :v
- Drawing with a friend helps so much. It's incredible: I was always scared to show my stuff to others, but having someone to work with extensively helps exorcizing, in a way. I feel brave and careless and it's so new to me

Portfolio. Kinda

I've been away for a few days, so I "missed" a post last week. But I haven't been slacking and I updated the Finished Pieces section instead - think of it as my current portfolio.
Enjoy? D:

Wintertime sketching

From last October. Some of these were made at Piazza Santa Croce (Florence), some while sitting on grass at the nearest park.

I tried to combine the fat tip of a Tombo marker and my usual Staedler fineliner, hunting for a different result. So:

• It's a super fast combo - I can get shadows down quickly without actually drawing the outer lines, and the fineliner's thin tip fixes the general look. Very helpful if I need to practice on solid shading and strong contrast

• Well, I suck at sketching buildings! :D 
• So much sketching... and I can't seem to reduce the amount of linework yet

Experience gained: 3 points!

- I need to be more effective with less detail. I guess I'll pick up my notes from Louis Gonzales' workshop on gesture drawing - it was a gold mine
- I should train my eye with buildings and perspective - it's so intimidating to me, but this must be the right way to break the ice
- Blocking in shadows with a fat marker is a process I enjoy and will probably help me improve on many levels. It's fast, rough and unforgiving

Ski season

Why do I crave snow so much?
Speed painting from reference of Ovindoli, a mountain place I miss very much.

All together now:

- one brush

- no color picking

- no lineart

• This took very little - between 10 and 15 minutes
• Contrast looks a little better-managed than usual 

• Those clouds suck, no matter how stylized they ended up looking
• I'm not happy with the general feel of the textures. Time to make some good brushes

Experience gained: 2 points!

- I feel I need a "multiple strokes" brush. Scribbling with a single tip is fun and all, but I feel it doesn't simulate the effect I'm after well enough. I also need brushes that are better suited to painting environments - more texture, less control
- I realized I have little to no experience with rendering clouds. Practice needed!