Lauren's Sketchpad

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Thought it was high time I start becoming more active on here! :) A sketchbook thread is a good way to start, don't you think?

I've been working with character design lately! My friend proposed a challenge to create a cheshire cat character, so I've been pondering what direction to go with it. Should he be scary? Cute? Small? Big?

<a href="http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww79/wilsonillustration/?action=view&current=cheshireconcepts1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww79/wilsonillustration/cheshireconcepts1.jpg" border="0" alt="character design,cat,doodle,art,drawing,cartooning,sketch,ha lloween,spooky,fat,cute,neko"></a>
My first page of sketching. Played around with different ideas until I got in my head a big fat stocky lynx-like chesire who loves candy (I want this to be somewhat Halloween themed) and will trade some of his magic in exchange for it. The children seek him out on that one day a year with their extra goodie bags in hopes of gaining the massive cat's gratitude and the special abilities he grants.

<a href="http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww79/wilsonillustration/?action=view&current=chesireconcepts2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww79/wilsonillustration/chesireconcepts2.jpg" border="0" alt="cartooning,cat,halloween,candy,cute,fat,neko,sketc h,drawing,doodle,animals"></a>
More playing around with the friendly fat cat theme. The bulldog shaped one kind of creeps me out! The bottom half of the page seems to be pretty much what his final design wants to be, in particular the candy-munching one. He is pretty cute, don't you think?

What do you guys think? Be honest! :D

[OwenWelsh]

Great drawings Lauren. Thanks for posting these. I like the upper left on on the first sheet. You should number your drawings so people can refer to them.

Hope to see more!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Great drawings Lauren. Thanks for posting these. I like the upper left on on the first sheet. You should number your drawings so people can refer to them.

Hope to see more!

Oh, good call! I'll do that on my next posting then. :)

[arif]

Nice Drawings....Lauren...keep posting more..

Regards,

Arif:)

[wolfsymphony]

Guarding all the candies. Love it! Keep them coming..great work so far! :)

[Poulpette]

That's nice yeah.
Apparently you love big cats.:D

[Mithmeoi]

Lovin' those cats! The expressions and poses you have got going are grand! :D

[BUsketch81]

Thanks again for checking out my graphic art portraits. I like your cat drawings. Someday my friend might join the forum, and you'll have to check out his canine caricatures if he puts them up.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

I finalized the Chubby Cheshire and make a turnaround of him. :)
003. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2489/3990158309_ed96e87731_o.jpg

I also decided to draw some Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs fanart, because that movie was adorable and I need more toon practice. :)
004. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2559/3990158571_a2e89bc628_o.jpg
Pose reffed off a photo I took of myself!

[lavallelee]

loved that movie! awesome drawing :laughing:

[LaurenWilsonArt]

005. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3532/4006542141_0d812fec7f.jpg
A cute and toony yorkie! Done without reference, so it's probably not super duper breed accurate.


006. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/4006542065_586f3df127.jpg
I'm getting into the Halloween spirit big time, and I thought I'd have a go drawing my friend's angry blue werewolf character, Illusion. Gonna eat choo!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

007. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/4011110479_67eec3e972_o.jpg
A cute german shepherd for my pet portraiture site. :D I love how this came out.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

008. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2593/4015432433_8e074838aa_o.png

009. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2672/4015432439_3df31fc027_o.png

My friend was talking about how one of her local minor league teams recently changed their mascot to a flying squirrel, so I did a couple of drawings to envision what that might look like. :)

[arif]

007. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/4011110479_67eec3e972_o.jpg
A cute german shepherd for my pet portraiture site. :D I love how this came out.

wonderful.!!..you did it by watercolor..right..??very nice...

Regards,
Arif:)

[LaurenWilsonArt]

yep, watercolor is my medium of choice :D Thanks much!

[CanAur]

wonderful colors! love the paint.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

A new piece I did tonight :D
It's not cartooning, but meh, I do all kinds of art and I shall subject you to my paintings. *grin*

010. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/4035437029_616f4c0c19.jpg

[LaurenWilsonArt]

I don't know how to edit my posts, I can't find that option. :( So for now, a repost with the new URL. Sorry about the broken image!

010. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/4035450739_983379f45b.jpg

[wolfsymphony]

Wow.. that last piece is exceptionally amazing. What was your thought about it..where did the ideas and inspiration for this piece come from? Very interesting:)

[AJartist]

awesome, Lauren!

[CanAur]

great pic, i love wolves!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks! Have my latest painting. A cute bat on a cherry! Why? Because the smaller it is, the cuter! My family thinks I should do a whole line of still lives with bats. I think this is a most excellent idea.

011. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/4084444387_2b7bfa5eca_o.jpg

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Wow.. that last piece is exceptionally amazing. What was your thought about it..where did the ideas and inspiration for this piece come from? Very interesting:)

Thank you! :) It was inspired by my own relationship with the moon. This is a tribute to her. Wolves and the moon have been long associated with each other in myth, and I adore both, so I just took it from there.
I was also remembering this image (http://peganthyrus.deviantart.com/art/Rejoice-13352205)I'd seen before and really liked the feeling in the piece.

[BUsketch81]

Great bat character. Lots of innocence going on here. Me and a friend of mine are crazy about bats. He's even trying to release a whole comic book series based on his bats.

[Seth]

Hello Lauren,

I love your picture of the bat. I was wondering though, what kind of paint did you use? Water colors?

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Hello Lauren,

I love your picture of the bat. I was wondering though, what kind of paint did you use? Water colors?

Yep, watercolor. :) I love your icon, TaleSpin was a big childhood favorite of mine!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Here's some recent sketchings. Too tired to give each of them a description.

012. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2610/4096922713_cd024c0762_o.jpg

013. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/4096922801_42d331062d_o.jpg

014. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2492/4097679984_de79746d76_o.gif

[Seth]

Yep, watercolor. :) I love your icon, TaleSpin was a big childhood favorite of mine!

Yeah, that's my favorite cartoon show ever....obviously because it's my icon. :rolleyes: Anyways, It got me interested in animation. It's Always nice to meet another Talespin fan.

Love your drawings, Keep up the good work!

[johncbeggs]

very cool opossum's , you sure got the feeling of it! :D

[LaurenWilsonArt]

015. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/4131646208_2569ec06ef_o.png
Oh yeah, so here's what those opossum thumbnails turned into. It's a design for a Pathtag! Trying to collect enough preorders to get them made, they'll be black nickel and enamel, and the purple background will be all glittery. :D I really hope I get enough preorders, I want to make them into keychains and necklaces and zipper pulls and cellphone charms :DD Opossums everywhere!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

016. http://pics.livejournal.com/grrrowly/pic/004cfhfx.png
A sketch I'm painting today! A wolf enjoys a feast of carrots with some rabbits.

017. http://pics.livejournal.com/grrrowly/pic/004cgf7h.png
What I imagine might happen after the wolf rejoined his pack.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

It's been such an embarrassingly long time since I've posted. I've not been doing terribly well lately, I got a non-creative job and it sucks away all my time, which has lead to a severe lack of confidence in myself and lack of motivation to better myself and my situation. :( Bad stuff all around.

So I'm going to get back on the horse. I've almost cleared out my commissions so I can finally work on 'me' and get my various portfolios in order (yeah, multiple ones for different audiences... I am crazy).


018. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4828325575_d746b569d7_b.jpg
So whatever, probably too much personal information, here is a character sheet for a cute golden retriever that will be made into a mascot costume for my city by a local friend. It was a pro bono project, just to help get my name out there and to practice digital art.

[lavallelee]

016. http://pics.livejournal.com/grrrowly/pic/004cfhfx.png


i really like the feel of this picture, nice looking scene

[LaurenWilsonArt]

i really like the feel of this picture, nice looking scene


Thanks! I finished it last year, here is what it turned into.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4842280854_fcd05318b6_b.jpg

[Rodney]

Wow. You've got some very expressive drawings.

That's a great storytelling illustration in that last one!

[jeremyhopkins]

The last one is beautiful! Congratulations for such nice work.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Thanks guys! :D

019. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4851361167_2f520b46c7_b.jpg
A sketch of an acquaintance's adorable crazy husky. Pet portraiture is something I'm really interested in getting into. This was reffed off of a couple of photos she provided. Basically I did a thumbnail sketch of the angle I wanted, then combined the ref pics that were closest to that pose. Luckily she takes good shots! I've had to use really blurry snapshots before, not fun, especially on black animals!

Here is how I want to crop it when I go to the final. Doing the color comp tonight!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4851978124_19e4d958f8.jpg

[Rodney]

Nice!

My first thought when I saw your intended crop was to wonder why you cropped the nose. After a little consideration though I can see that it would work. It may be the eyes that threw me off as where they are pointing is in the general direction of the nose?

My suggestion here would be to shift the dog's gaze to the right toward the viewer.

If the attached example doesn't show I'll link from elsewhere later today.

Regardless... those are just my thoughts... go with what you know!

http://blog.5pointpatch.com/wp-content/uploads/blog.5pointpatch.com/2010/08/suggestion.jpg

[LaurenWilsonArt]

I can't see your suggestions image yet because it's still pending approval, but hopefully it'll show up soon. I'm having a hard time understanding... the dog is looking up and out, not at his nose. I was imagining him running off to find something interesting and rushing past the viewer, hence the close crop. I am flexible to changes though, of course.

Here is my color comp. The final medium will be in watercolors, so I'll likely do a watercolor comp as well. This was to just figure out the color scheme.

020. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4858418202_98069ea945_b.jpg

[Rodney]

Sorry Lauren,
I've edited my post and linked the image in from my blogspace.
Interestingly, I cannot see how to remove the attachment I uploaded before.

The whole issue of eye placement is 'six and a half dozen of one thing versus a full dozen of the other'... it's all about what the artist wants to present in the work.

With the shift that I made there would need to be some other slight refinement in the brow and possibly the mouth to get away from what I percieve as a sad look.

Obviously, the eyes in both positions work but isn't it interesting how they convey a different aspect of the dog's attention to us as viewers.

I was imagining him running off to find something interesting and rushing past the viewer,
If this is the feeling you are going for the change in eye position I suggest obviously wouldn't work.
A static/stationary dog is the feeling I get from the close cropping. Viewers imagination aside, given the border where's he got to go? If the goal is running past the viewer after something off screen perhaps a full body pose (action shot) could also serve?

At any rate, keep following your ideas. You know what you are doing.
Do a whole series of these where the dog is expressing different emotions!

Love the color work you've just posted!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Yeah, that is a pretty interesting change- he almost looks forlorn in yours! I think I'll stick to my original idea for now, but thanks for taking the time to show me that possible revision. :)

While I was waitin' to hear more crits from my peers I went ahead and started some comps for the next dog portrait.

021. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4858775642_96f6d9f6e6_b.jpg

022. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4858155371_642d5a4de1_b.jpg

And another digital character sheet, this one is fo myself :3
023. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4858775716_6ce19b1fd0_b.jpg

[Rodney]

Awesome.

Those first two really capture the pup's playfulness!

[WillW]

wow! I love 022, really fantastic work there : D

[LaurenWilsonArt]

024. http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenwilsonart/4870980456.jpg
Finished that husky portrait! I love how it came out. :D I did this one live in front of a digital audience as a painting demo of sorts... gotta love the information age! It's so cool to be able to do that.

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Here is the picture. Silly Flickr, changing their interface and confusing me! What was that I was saying about technology? :3c
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4870980456_d897fd932a.jpg

[Rodney]

Beautiful work Lauren!

I love how you've used color to provide even more balance to your original line work. In a very real way you've accomplished via the brown eye versus the blue eye, an element I was strugging to articulate in my earlier suggestion. (Color me very impressed)

You say this is digital? (or the audience is digital and watching you paint? {I'm sure this is what you meant)
Looks like real watercolor to me!

[lavallelee]

very cute and realistic dog there, makes me wish i had a dog again

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Beautiful work Lauren!

I love how you've used color to provide even more balance to your original line work. In a very real way you've accomplished via the brown eye versus the blue eye, an element I was strugging to articulate in my earlier suggestion. (Color me very impressed)

You say this is digital? (or the audience is digital and watching you paint? {I'm sure this is what you meant)
Looks like real watercolor to me!

Oh good, glad the final works out then.
And this is real media, I just meant I did it in front of a digital audience. I'm not that good with digital art yet! :D

[jeremyhopkins]

Beautiful watercolors!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

025. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/5144105445_39290214c5_b.jpg
Lifedrawing from the dog park. Sorry for the lack of updates lately, my art ADD has kicked in yet again and I spent a month and a half doing Halloween costumes and stuffed toys instead of 2D art. I love being able to make all sorts of things in any medium but man I wish there were more hours in the day!!

[lavallelee]

lol, that is so great! i go to the dog park every weekend with my puppy

just don't see how you can draw, im usually watching and making sure the big dogs don't eat my little puppy :laughing:

[LaurenWilsonArt]

026. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/5781894793_71689882ed_b.jpg
Character concepts

027. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3025/5781894879_d0b34a1cdf_b.jpg
An archer I designed from the page of heads.

028. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/5781894929_82d957e087_b.jpg
And a cute shorty mage cat.

[akkushisu]

I just had a look through your entire thread and I'm really loving your sketches, Lauren! Lots of detail, especially in the faces and expressions! Your colored works are simply breathtaking, too! I'm really hoping you plan on posting more of your works here. Great stuff! :D

[amandahamster]

Wow! Seth pointed me to your gallery and I'm glad I took a look through it. Really good, expressive work. I love your animal character designs especially. Keep it up :)

[andrew sharp]

Great cat characters the forth one in is really wild http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/5781894793_71689882ed_b.jpg

[Ben Sword]

Very cool, nice work!

[LaurenWilsonArt]

Thanks, everyone! I'm flattered :) I promise I'll try my best to keep this thing updated.