No, I have not dropped off the face of the planet...just have a small break this weekend; was getting down because I have not had the time to jump on my own projects. Was going thru some drawings and found these. I had done these during a lunch break at MGA a while ago which had inspired me to make a sculpt (older post). I like bits and parts of these drawings and the central drawing is a young animal as you can see how thin the stomach area is. In a very youthful cat developing into maturity, (and this is prominent in humans as well), drawing a lean abdominal area instantly gives us the visual clue that this is a young animal. To emphasize and de-age the animal even more, I could have exaggerated the size of the paws to make it into an adolescent. I like this drawing because the lines really feel right; anatomy and muscles are working.

KUDOS!
Several years ago, I met Kim Dwinell at Disney Feature Film. She was like me, tiny, lively, a bright flame of energy. In our emails, she refers to me as "The Other Other Kim" (O.O.K), while I affectionately call her "The Other Kim". Flash forward a few years and she says we should think about creating our own graphic novel, thus concepts for LePardine were penned and Other Other Kim creates "Surfsidegirls.com". Check it out! She is much more on her way than I am, but I will get there. I am so proud of you, O. K., can't wait to read more and buy the novel!

Getting there....

BTW, I just registered for Nathan Fowkes color class on Feb. 12. I'm really excited! It's at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art for a one day workshop, 12-8. It took this workshop from one of the best in the industry to get this little winter cave bear to come out of her den!

Back to LePardine

Eye Candy

Was in Orange County this weekend and went to a pet store. Saw these hybrid mixes, 2 kittens (adorable!) that were descendants of the Highland Desert Lynx and one kitten who was a Bengal, with Jungle Fishing Cat Dna. The shop proprietor said it took about 10 generations to achieve these animals and the first 2 went for (get this!) $899 a piece! Not shown are the spots, one looked like a Snow Leopard with a half tail (pictured), her sibling, a spotted lion cub. The ear curls were a genetic result of another species of house cat. I was transfixed. I would never be able to get this close to a wild species so these had to do...The Bengals love water and will go after anything in a fishtank and both breeds of cats are very friendly, can be trained like a dog, and must be supervised because they will gleefully shred apart your house. They grow slightly larger than a cat, and have slightly longer back legs than your average house cat. All were highly active, galloping around the enclosure sounding like miniature ponies.

I did this one in 2010. I made this picture up in my head. Comments are welcome.
-Sienna

Clean line, fixed forward foot, shortened glove, redrew eyes. May redraw eyes again...

First "clean ruff". Need to tie down some slight proportion issues, but this she is well on her way. Will get back to LePardine sometime this weekend, I hope.

HOME ALONE FOR THE HOLIDAYS and lovin' it

I've always wanted to do a anime based illustration. Here is a rough done by ball point pen. Solitude...I am so much more productive when I be alone..I wait all year for this time...

Check it out! New Blogger!

I met Michael LaRue thru my husband at Starbucks Coffee. I told him about the importance of blogging~and I must have been pretty persuasive because he listened to me! Not only that, but he brings a sketchbook with him everywhere he goes! Which leads me to my next rant: ALWAYS CARRY A SKETCHBOOK WITH YOU! I usually have 2 sometimes 3. I will carry one for just sketching with a pen and sometimes a small sketch tablet which can handle both pencil and watercolor. And yes, I do carry a small watercolor kit with me. DRAW EVERYDAY; anything that interests you. Michael is taking this to heart, which means he will improve tremendously for as long as he carries and uses that sketchbook. You go, Michael!

Feed the Blog:
Been ultra busy with paid projects..trying to squeeze in some personal drawing time. For all you artists and budding artists out there, start a blog! I can't tell you how important this is to be out there on the internet! Most people don't want the obligation, and yes, you do have to feed your blog monthly! BUT you will improve and that will generate more jobs! Okay, enough with the lecture!

Onto notes for LePardine: the big cats, Sulee and Luna are so proportionately overwhelming, that I faced them away from the viewer, eyes closed or half closed so that you can focus on the main character, LePardine. We see only her direct look. When I sketched the layout, the cats were so overwhelming, it was important that the story was not about them...and I can see this becoming a challenge as I get more into the art. I've done enough character art to know which character will be the "star" and how to emphasize that on the pose, or gesture. My natural style of drawing is realistic and when I started in the animation industry, it was like learning to draw all over again. I learned the anatomy and the technical stuff first before the emoting thru the drawing so it threw me. But LePardine will be a mix of an animation style, traces of animae, esp. in the eyes and part realistic rendering. She was designed for painting and a quick brush style, traditional or digital. And she is fun, fun, fun to draw!

Rough drawing of composition. Next will be the clean line drawing, then onto the paint! Been trying to post this but my internet access was down the last 24 hours. Arghh! Technology!

Working On the color...will get the drawing squared away before the final paint...

...Which was inspired by this ruff sketch with pen

Working on this right now. It's for a contest called "Flight" and its due today at 5! I've decided to work a little bit different this time; with pen and ink for the concept sketch, and drawing/painting right on the wacom. Usually I just do the paint on the wacom but I will use the pen tool for most of the shapes, this time it's more freehand. Not a great piece of artwork; just more practice on technique.

Some character exploration for Sulee and Luna. Playing with expressions and face shapes. Trying to get as much done as I can before the Holidays get here.

In the Ruff:

One of the first definitive drawings of LePardine. I still need to put the second Snow Cat on the left. She will be reminiscent of an Anime style. Then I need to zero in on the type of light I want. I may go for a semi shadow with a strong back rim light...maybe. People are so impressed that I am so self motivated as busy as I am. But I ask them, how can you not? It's so much freakin' fun to draw, to create, to dream. Friends have been suggesting changing "LeoPardine" to "LePardine." What do you think? Remember this will eventually become a graphic novel for girls. Right now I am working on a Halloween costume for my daughter and I for a party this weekend...