Mary's Sketch Blog

I have moved my blog...

2012-01-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have moved my blog. See www.marypoplin.com for my blog from now on.

Self portrait I did a while back for Self Portrait Day

2011-01-31T12:21:00.000-08:00

A very quick self portrait I did on a friend's computer for Self Portrait Day a few months back. I need to update this blog more...

Dump of paintings I did in Meadow's class.

2009-12-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

These are some paintings I did in Meadow's class with her. Newest at the top.

Class work.

2009-08-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

I think that this didn't go so bad in class last night. I was able to correct a lot of the things I screwed up in the under painting because Meadow showed me what was up in a quick demo. If you haven't seen her work, I highly suggest you check out http://www.meadowpaint.com/ .She was full of helpful stuff like more paint and less thinner, which was a clear issue on under painting, also, I fixed a lot of drawing issues that were present in the under painting.

Color helped me define the shape on the light side way better and Meadow gave me some awesome tips on core shadows. And I had better (color) reference, instead of a B&W folded up photocopy. You can tell on this painting though that I still need to knock the green on the dark side of her face back even more. I plan on doing that so I can call this exercise more or less final.

This is a burnt sienna under painting, with ONLY Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ocher, and White (Zorn Palette). Can you believe the blues from ivory black plus white? It shocked me, relative color is awesome. It's way easier to get good results when you just got done watching an awesome demo from a incredibly talented teacher.

DMB Shirt

2009-06-17T17:11:00.003-07:00

I made a painting for a T-Shirt for my WoW Guild... this is what I came up with for the Drunken Monkey Brewery. I'm thinking we can make shirts personalized by rank listings in a cafepress store as a compromise. http://www.cafepress.com/mirisins

Fun with orthographic drawings

2009-03-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my portfolio, and I need some orthos in there, so I turned this one out. It's a WiP but it's looking alright. The back still needs lots of work, I think.

I painted a head today...

2009-02-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

I painted a head today as part of an assignment I've given myself for my new portfolio. I think it looks pretty good.

I used an Asaro head for reference, since this was meant to be a "paint over" of a 3D model a la concept art. I didn't have a 3D model to use that wouldn't have been ripped off from someone else's website, so I used the Asaro head instead.

As usual, I'm not completely where I want to be in my skills, but I'm getting there. I think part of my job as a professional artist is to never be satisfied, but to know when it's time to finish and move on to the next project anyway.

Update? What's an update?

2008-12-30T09:45:00.001-08:00

I've been busy with work and Watts, but here is some of the work I got done in the last few months. It's not where I want it to be, but it's not bad either. It's good to get back to life drawing, it makes you realize how rusty you can get when you're not drawing from life all the time.

Flying Dutchman Pirate

2008-06-03T04:17:00.001-07:00

This is a much more cartoony version of the type of pirate you see on the Flying Dutchman ship in Pirates of the Caribbean II & III. I wanted a big hat for her, and I also wanted it to be a her, since there's no women pirates. Anyway, after doing some reef research, the anemones really reminded me of the big feathered hats, so I ran with that idea.

Delivery Bug

2008-05-26T23:53:00.001-07:00

So we have to do a delivery bug for the concept class, here's what I came up with. A friend from class ( cuca's cabana :: katherine brannock ) was doing a cyborg (cybug? :D) motorcycle kinda thing, and it made me think of an all mechanical bug....so I drew this. This is what happens when you cross a UPS truck with an orb weaver spider. Delightfully weird.

Atlantis

2008-05-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm supposed to be making a half submerged Atlantis, and its supposed to be an Atlantis that's never been seen before. I decided the tale of Atlantis and the tale of Jonah are two tellings of the same story and that Atlantis (island and all) got eaten by a giant fish, and the few remaining inhabitants have lived in his belly since then. They have turned aquatic themselves and grown much larger in his belly, a side effect from whatever originally made the fish so large.

I made several thumbnails of other, lesser ideas before I settled on this one, but I'm only going to put up my fishy ideas today.

Eclipse Exalted

2008-04-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here's my newest character to play in an upcoming Exalted game run by a friend. I know what she looks like in my head, I know what caste she is, but I have no idea who she is yet. I can't wait to find out.

Update: I've decided it's not really a "she". Since kabuki is usually guys, I've decided this guy got cast as a girl allot because of how feminine he looks. He has played this persona so much that the makeup and kimono version of himself is the one he most identifies with. Once he became exalted he found a hearthstone that lets him physically switch genders....this has caused some problems for him in the recent past.

His name is Hiromi, so it works either way.

Hiromi is a Japanese name with two meanings depending on the gender of the person- Girl meaning: Depending on the characters used to represent the name, it can mean ''spreading beauty'' or ''extensive beauty.'' Boy meaning: It is represented by characters meaning ''Universal.''(from babynamer.com)

Is that perfect or what?

Liono Redesign

2008-04-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

So I'm taking a concept art class at Watts Atelier of the Arts so I can stay current and not be bored, and this was our first assignment, to redesign a character of our choice. So I picked Liono. The speedos has to go, they were too dated, and so I decided to give him a more leonine look and update him to the more anime inspired trend that animation is getting. This is what I came up with.

J from my D&D game.

2008-04-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

So my friend is playing a devourer character, he takes on the different aspects of things he's eaten. Some big mage named Jim summoned or created him, and carved a flaming J into his forehead....and was promptly ended. Then this creature began to eat. So far he has eaten his creator, a celestial porpoise, a rock golem, some sort of acid beetle, a really nasty spider thing, a dretch, and a unicorn. This is what he looks like after all that. Freaky. Can I even call it a "he"?

Portia Brandywine

2008-02-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

Meet Portia Brandywine, bard extraordinaire, and her trusty moon dog mount. D&D is Fun times.

I took some pictures at Dana Point

2008-02-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures at Dana Point a while short ago, I just sorted through them recently.

Burning Troll (oni) Head

2008-01-30T16:59:00.001-08:00

Here is a design I came up with for a logo. It's a burning troll head, or an oni, same difference. I made a black and white and a color version because printing a full color logo is not always possible. Also, the color version has a very limited palette for printing ease and frugality.

I've been busy!

2008-01-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Holidays were good to me and I've been very busy. I took this picture in Kauai, which is where I was for the week of Christmas.

I have more images here.
Allot of the pictures were taken for friends and family, though, so many of them are of me and my Fiancé.

Monkey in a Teapot

2007-11-28T18:38:00.001-08:00

This was a request drawing, it's a monkey in a teapot. I think that explains itself... This is in that blocky style I've been working on. It's meant to be an AIM icon.

Screwing around with shapes

2007-11-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of my friend Robin, this is screwing around with the shapes on his face. This is like A Scanner Darkly and really reminds me of the 80s for some reason.

Warlock Custom

2007-11-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

I customized my Warlock figurine, here he is in all his shiny, new glory. I don't recommend trying to add LED lights to small spaces, I don't even think his wiring is right. I'm not going to leave him on for long periods of time, because he needs a resistor and doesn't have one. Anyway, his skulls and burning areas glow in the dark and he has evil red eyes and a new paint job. Whew! That was allot of work.

Splint and Chain armor

2007-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

I was rummaging around on my computer for inspiration and found this sketch I did a few months back, I liked it, so I thought I'd post it. It's a loose concept for splint and chain armor, very impractical but attractive. This would have to be "magic armor" to provide any real protection.

Mary's Blog

2007-09-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. I am an artist currently working in the greater Los Angeles area and want to push myself to draw for my benefit on a more daily basis, instead of only working on client's projects. I've decided to start posting sketches as often as possible.

Warning and disclaimer: Some of these sketches may show human anatomy, they are not pornographic in the least, but if the naked human form offends you in any way I would suggest you go to another blog.

If you like my artwork, please visit my website at www.marypoplin.com.