Embarrassing story time.
(Because that’s obviously the best way to start a post.)
You know how I spent the last few months whining about my art class? Heralding the end of it in January as my salvation from the drudgery of modern art? Claiming how free I would be, and how I was NEVER going back?
I kinda lied.
In my defense, it was unintentional.
See, co-op has two art classes. Semester #1, which is painting, and semester #2, which is drawing/graphic design. After the first one (which honestly was pretty bad, simply because there were sixteen people, and the assignments had to be easy in order to accommodate all the different skill levels), I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to willingly launch myself into another one.
Well.
To put a long story short (and in an attempt to spare what’s left of my injured dignity), I unwittingly ended up in the second class too. I’ve been in it for a month now, and it’s actually a thousand times better than the first one. (This may or may not have to do with the fact that there are ten fewer human beings in the room.) It’s actually constructive, which is a plus, and it’s actually hard, which is… another plus, I suppose. And I’m actually learning stuff, which is the biggest plus of them all.
Yay for life.
In honor of this tremendous occurrence, you get another art dump.
Yay for you.
Anyway.
First up, we have a random sad dude with a nice nose. I’m exceedingly proud of that nose. Please take a few moments to admire it.
Thank you.
The greatest thing about this one is that most people will only think it’s a cool design.
And then there are THOSE.
Who KNOW.
My teacher was not among that number.
This is a bit of fan-art I did for a friend’s story, because HA, I wanted to. I count it among some of the greatest achievements of my young life.
And not because it’s sad and creepy. I take absolutely NO delight in that, I can ASSURE you.
*fake cough*
FUN FACT: If you look really closely, you can see all the erase marks from where I kept accidentally giving him a banana for a snout.
IT’S VIN!!!
*sprays a bag of coins and flies off into the mist*
Anyone who has not read those books is going to think I’m crazy.
FYI, that is a mistcloak, not a bunch of streamers, and even bigger FYI, that’s not really how I picture her. Art is like writing: You start out with one idea in your head, but your hand decides to rebel. And by the time you’re done, you don’t know who or what this creature is.
This next picture is a perfect example of that.
What…. was… I… thinking…
It’s like some weird shadow version of Kylo Ren. Just… weirder.
This lovely specimen is someone I like to refer to as “Dracula’s Pretend Sister”, otherwise known as “Going for the Queen Amidala Look”, or “Sometimes Sarah Draws Strange People”.
I’m not responsible for what comes out of my brain.
We were supposed to make a color wheel for class last week, and I thought it sounded boring. So I improvised.
I’m quite pleased with the result.
More fan-art. Which isn’t actually fan-art, because I decided I didn’t like him for who he was supposed to be. So now he’s just a random person with fireworks coming out of his hand.
He’s what we in the art community call “Disgraced Fan-Art”.
As the Art Community rolls their eyes and says, “You made that up, Sarah.”
I did not.
Aaaaaand last but CERTAINLY not least, the pride of my quiver, the medal winner in my sketchpad, the heroine herself. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage LIRIEL WILLOWTREE.
She looks a lot sweeter than she actually is.
However, she looks as sad and confused as she always is, so I feel like that kinda evens out the score.
So anyway, that’s the end of the dump. Nothing fancy; just a bunch of concept art. Which, hey, concept art is cool. Anyone who hasn’t read The Last Jedi art book needs to rethink their priorities.
Anyway. Until next week.
~Sarah
P.S. I just hit 100 followers. My blog is officially cool. Have some glitter.
*glitter*
The Sarcastic Elf 
*stares at glorious nose* Hahaha, I can only draw manga noses. But I’m not horrible at those….Question, where on earth did you learn to draw hands?!? I can’t draw them to save my life. *sighs*
On the other hand….
*takes glitter and starts flinging it everywhere*
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Hey, manga noses are a skill unto themselves. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can’t figure it out.
And the hands you see in this post were all a result of countless youtube tutorials, two hours of labor, and a profuse amount of prayer. 🙂
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Hahaha… Yes, YouTube is extremely helpful. I don’t think I could manage without it. Plus, it has all my favorite animes on it. 😊
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I KNOW WHAT THOSE SYMBOLS ARE!! 😂
Great job on these, Sarah! I think the one for Liriel is my favorite, but THE NOSE on that first one. 😆 Ack! Noses are the bane of my sketching career so I will gladly take a few moments to admire any perfect specimens I find.
Hmmmm, that sounded slightly creepy but whatevs. A fellow artist like yourself will understand. 😝😜 Again, awesome work!
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*respectfully salutes the fellow nerd*
Thank yooou!! And I totally understand. Just earlier, I was geeking out about drawing perfect feet. It’s an artist thing. We take pleasure in admiring weird things. 😏
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As always, your artwork is lovely. Has anyone ever told you you’re talented? I can’t tell. ;P
Admittedly, anyone who can draw a fictional person is high on my envy list, because if I could do that…
Let’s just say, I would never be seen on this earth again.
But I can’t. *earth groans* Yeah, I know…wait what?
THE NOSE: amazing. Noses are definitely the hardest.
I loved your wolf. It’s not a person but it’s alive and it’s beautiful.
Please no one hate me for asking this, I’ve had a limited fantasy reading career…but who is Vin? Whoever she is, she looks awesome. As does your disgraced fan-art person.
And Liriel: 1. Is a beautiful, beautiful name 2. has phenomenal, elvenest-of-elves portrait.
And lastly, but not by any means leastly:
Have you never watched Frozen?
My name is not feminine.
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Vin is from Brandon Sanderson’s cosmere, Hans.
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Oh,,,
Not allowed to read those books. 😦
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Aah, thank you so much. It’s taken me a LOOONG time to get where I am, so I totally understand the… earth groaning. 😑 (And believe it or not, the name Liriel was a semi-accident. It’s about the only good thing that came out of my time as a 14-year-old. 😂)
Aha, my apologies, Hans. IN MY DEFENSE, there’s quite a few numbers and letters in your screen-name. It could have been any sort of code/alias/dragon-pen-name-thing… *fizzles off into useless sputtering*
Yup, I’ll shut up now. 🙂
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Sol. Forgiveness without hesitation. I did consider the fact that you’ve probably never heard my name mentioned, and the vos914 might be confusing. And I wish it had been a dragon-pen-name-thing, those are way cooler. ;P
As for the artwork, it’s good to hear that it isn’t ALL talent, because that means that, with several years of hard practice, I may yet be able to draw a creditable nose.
Not that it will be as impressive as yours, of course.
And just stop that snickering, universe. I could totally do it…
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It took me a second, but I recognize the symbols. XD
[insert general excited flailing here]
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little bit jealous. Whenever I try to draw my characters they usually end up looking stiff and un-alive. Lovely work.
And I won’t say anything about the Disgraced Fanart. See? I’m nice. *angelic smile*
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I’m so extremely proud of you.
My dear darling child, it is all a matter of extensive, EXTENSIVE practice, and a boatload of youtube tutorials. And a couple years of hand-cramps. 😒
You are so merciful.
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You’re right, of course… *sighs* If I wasn’t a writer I’d take the time to be an artist. Unless I’d rather take the time to be a musician. Or… a psychologist. Or… something. XD
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*sympathetic nod* It’s a busy life, being a genius.
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I wasn’t going to comment this time. I WASNT. But this…”it’s a busy life, being a genius “….good grief. 🙄
You are a mess. 😘
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*admiring gasp*
They’re all lovely!
And that WOLF ❤ (i kind of like wolves XD)… it was worth the work. 😀
Everything else is lovely too. 😀
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THANK YOU! And yes, wolves are amazing. They’re almost as good as dragons.
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GAH! SARAH! HOW!
*shakes head disgustedly at my undetailed manga portraits*
The nose, awesome. The mirror, HOW?! The wolf, ADORABLE! I love it!
*coughcanyoudrawonewithacattailcough*
Why aren’t you on the character art exchanges on KP?! Everyone would love you!
Please teach me how to draw
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HEY. Don’t dis the manga style. It’s pretty cool in its own right.
*thoughtfullyconsidersthecattailandgivesamysterioussmile*
As far as the KP art exchange, I actually did do a few things on there, back when it first started. (*tries to remember how long ago that was**stops because it makes her feel old*) And I still pop in from time to time, but the thing is, I find it hard to get a mental image from a lot of the descriptions people give. When I draw, I’m not going for physical “looks” so much, even though that’s a big part of it. I need to know a character’s SPIRIT. A person can have brown curly hair, but that doesn’t really tell me who they ARE. There are all MANNER of brown-curly-headed people. But are they serious? Are they sarcastic? Are they tired of the world? Are they excited with it? Do they have sorrow in their eyes? Passion? Etc.
Though of course, if someone expressly tagged me, I’m sure I wouldn’t refuse… 😏
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Well next time I want a character drawn by you, I’ll include personality and spirit in the description 😉
*desperately starts scavenging for a character that hasn’t been drawn yet…*
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Unfortunately, I fall into the same category as your teacher with that one. 😛 I can see a bunch of crown-like things and ships’ wheels, and some of it even looks like Allomantic metal symbols, but I’m lost as to the larger significance. It’s SUPER COOL nonetheless. So is your color wheel.
And the Liriel picture! That’s LOADS better than the other one, the color one. Her…expression.
The Non-Disgraced fan art is quite good enough to outweigh any disappointments in the Disgraced one.
I love your art dumps.
(And that guy really does have a perfect nose. Actually, most of his face is amazing. Like the chin. And ear. They look so real.)
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They are Star Wars REBEL ALLIANCE AND EMPIRE SYMBOLS, Emma. Sheesh. I’m disappointed in you. *stern glare*
And YES, I agree about Liriel. In my defense, that first picture of her was actually my first free-style water color picture EVER, and all things considered, I don’t think I did TOO shabby, for never having painted ANYTHING without a reference picture before—let alone a portrait.
Thanks. He’s one of my best drawings to date, I think. Him and the Non-Disgraced Fan Art. I’m quite proud of them.
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So Kate informed me. I deserve to be thrown away. Somewhere. Cast to the outer rim.
Ugh, I’d never even SEEN those before, to my knowledge. XD Are they even in the movie?
Probably true. *sigh* Being an artist must be such a hassle.
As a matter of fact, I keep having to go back and look at the random sad dude. Besides being an incredible drawing…shall I tell you? *snort* Eh, who cares. He sorta reminds me of Denholm. *peeks at you* *fades away with gleeful cackling*
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HA! HAHAHAHAH! You’re impressive, Emma. As a matter of fact… I actually started that picture with the intention of drawing Denholm, but when I got to the end, I started looking at it critically and my brain went into hyperactive perfectionist mode. I wasn’t sure if he looked too old or too sad (even though Denholm can be sad, it’s not a very good way to represent him in a character sketch…) or too different or if he wasn’t actually the way I pictured Denholm at all, or if, in fact, he wasn’t the way ANYONE pictured Denholm.
So I though… Eh, whatever. He can simply be a cool random sad dude.
The fact that you actually got Denholm vibes off him without me mentioning ANYTHING pertaining to IT has me cackling manically all over the place.
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Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! Sarah, you’re amazing.
It’s almost perfect. The only things are that his hair’s slightly too poky and not soft enough, and the back of his jawbone is too sharp. Otherwise, every time I look at I’m like…yikes, he looks like Denholm. It’s pretty sweet. NOT too sad at all for a sad-Denholm (which I love, even if it wouldn’t be the first choice for a character sketch), and not too old. Not at all. It’s just…like him. Even the perfect nose. Especially the perfect nose. The whole expression is amazing.
This is great. *much cheesy grinning*
And when I first told Kate it reminded me of Denholm she said it did her too. *triumphant dancing* Now we know.
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*snickers* I had the same thought. I wasn’t about to call your poor little perfectionist self out on it, but since my sister has no compunctions… XD
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You people have no idea how happy this makes me. You came to the conclusion that it was Denholm with no previous hints that it might even have a SLIGHT something to do with him. This… this is the greatest day of my life. Besides the poky hair. (Which is just the default style for most of my guys. Anna tells me I need to change it up sometimes. I agree with her.)
*betakes herself off to dance into a mole hill*
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It was a great discovery, I’m tellin’ ya. 😂
*points you to a field of mole hills* *joins you*
Good gravy. I love the instantaneous mental link that comes of knowing and loving the same characters in depth. XD
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*fills all the mole hills in with a shovel*
I KNOW, RIGHT? I like to refer to it as, “readerly patheticness”.
*is most wonderfully pathetic*
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“Readerly patheticness”. *firm nod* It works.
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Sarah, how do you manage to draw so PERFECTLY??? That nose = amazing.
I loved the wolf, its so cool. You’ve captured its wild, free, beautiful look. Also, the portrait of that elf is really, really good. I like her ear especially… its perfect.
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Aw, thank you! 💕
(Though if you want to forever ruin your opinion of “perfect” drawing, you should see some of the stuff I did a year or two ago. My mom and I nick-named them “Pin Heads”. Quite appropriately, I might add. 😂)
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LOL, I can relate! I love to draw as well, and my stuff from a few years ago is disgraceful! XD
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Why, Sarah? Why do you have to make me laugh so hard?
XD Nice nose. Yeah, all your people are amazing. 🙂
I am one of THOSE people. 😛
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Sarah Baran, Splitter of Sides. That’s me. It’s my master plan. *flies off on a broomstick*
Thanks. And congratulations for KNOWING. You have earned my respect.
Or, well, no, you’ve actually had my respect for a while. Okay, you’ve ADDED to my respect. Or however you say that. *rolls eyes* I hate words.
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I loved all of your art!! First: I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO KNOW!!!! Second: VIN! *throws coins right back at you and chases you around in the mist* Third: *very carefully does not mention the Disgraced Fanart* Fourth: Liriel looks so pretty!! Seriously, you are an awesome artist. Fifth: I like having five things to say, so this one is basically just here to fulfill that purpose…
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1. YOU KNOW!!! *gives you a lightsaber*
2. *deflects your coins and… does something cool*
3. *carefully ignores the fact that you just did*
4. Agh, thank you so much!
5. Ah, me dear fellow INTJ. I feel your pain.
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1. *rejects lightsaber* Sorry, I already have my own. *ignites bright blue blade and spins it around a few times happily*
2. *pushes the coins away from self and into the mists* Shall we duel?
[number three has been ignored]
4. You’re welcome!
5. Thank you, it’s a relief to know that SOMEONE does.
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1. THAT NOSE *squeals*
2. COLOR WHEEL *screams*
3. LIRIEL *shrieks*
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*hands you a glass of water for your poor voice* Careful there, dear, you’re going to hurt yourself with all that shrieking. 🙂
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The nose is amazing. I need that color wheel in my life. And LIRIEL IS BEAUTIFUL!!
You’re way better at drawing than I am. 😂
Also, I’m glad you’re enjoying this second semester of art (because the last one really sounded torturous)
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Aw, thank you so much! And YES, this semester is amazing. I probably make the last one out to be worse than it actually was, because my standards for a good art class are a little pickier than most people’s. *cough* Not because I’m a perfectionist or anything. *wheeze* But this class really is so much better. There’s been a lot more critiquing and constructive criticism, as well as as a huge focus on TECHNIQUE, not famous artists that we can read about in a book, if we so choose.
Like you wanted to know any of that. 😂 Oh well. Now you do.
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nice art fam
also nice vIN BRUH YOU’VE READ THOSE BOOKS TOO AAAAAAAHHHHHH FAM
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I’m starting to realize that my blog is just one big hangout for geeks. It’s amazing. 🤓
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Ooh! Art dumps! I adore art dumps! 🙂 That fan art you did for your friend’s story is cool. I love the whole broken mirror concept. 👍🏻
I still think you should start making Star Wars adult coloring books.
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Seconded. You should TOTALLY do a Star Wars coloring book 😀
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Hey, YOU NEVER KNOW. *mysterious twinkle*
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I was reading through your blog deciding whether or not to follow it, but you’re too hilarious to reject.
Plus you drew Vin! *tries not to wake up little sister from uncontrollable giggling* I looooooove that series. I just finished the first trilogy about three weeks or a month ago, but I think it will forever be my favorite!
You’re seriously good at drawing. The mirror is just… Whaaaa?
Nice wolf! My sister is obsessed with wolves so I’ve got to show it to her.
Good job on the nose. In that drawing, I also love the characters eyes and hair, those are really good too.
Thumbs up on the color wheel! I’m totally going to do something like that instead of a color wheel next time I’m asked 🙂
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AAAH, thank you so much! *feels immensely accomplished* So glad to have snagged your interest.
*manically cackles* Hehehe…. Yup, them books are good. I actually finished the first trilogy about exactly the same time you did. They say the Stormlight Archive is better, but I have a hard time believing that… 😏
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I do to and I’m already half way through The Way of Kings (first book in The Stormlight Archive.) I mean, it’s fun but I think Mistborn is best 🙂
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