Guen's Brand-Sparkling New Art Thread!

[Mistress Guendolen]

**grins wider** Oh, really? Y'know, I'd considered giving her the Southern Belle look, but went more generalized for this one.... Good to know future preferences. Maybe a special gown for spring, in a few months....

[Mistress Guendolen]

Okay, after a couple of months of inactivity, I'm finally posting another piece. This is a bit of art I did for our local anime convention, Tekkoshocon. See, every year they put out a call for fans and attendees to do images of one or both of the mascot characters in a specified theme. For instance, my first year it was sci-fi; last year, it was springtime cherry blossoms (the undercurrent being "unique to Japan things that can be related to spring"). Well, this year the theme was big robots, a little more specific than the more general sci-fi. Well, you probably know that I'm markedly fond of the big robot genre, but I'm hopeless at drawing them. I'm just not good at thinking mechanically. But I did manage to eke out a piece to submit, which I sent in yesterday (it was the deadline) and got confirmed today. Here it is:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... antics.jpg

Not my best work, I know, but not bad, either. The girl is known as Tekko-chan (in honor of the name of the con, of course); the boy is Hagane-kun, and he was just added last year. The notion here was to have him being silly and poking at her while she worked; instead it looks more like he's doing a silly dance or something, which admittedly works too. I figured doing something fun might draw attention away from my deficiencies in this area. I was told that it would "more than likely be used," I guess meaning that they might, for the first time, have gotten more art submissions than strictly needed. But in the sentence afterwards it was referred to as an "excellent submission," and I was told to keep an eye out for it to pop up somewhere around the con. I'm hoping this means the "most likely" thing was more of a means of covering a base than anything else. The con isn't until April, so you all will probably have forgotten all about this by the time I find out one way or the other, and what it was used for. In the future we'll be seeing at least one character design, a "moment" that took place a while back in one of my Universe roleplays, and a few other odds and ends. I think the warming weather is helping me shake my creativity slump. Yay spring!

[Mistress Guendolen]

Okay, the last post I made went over like a lead balloon, but I'm nothing if not perseverant. And this time I have a couple images, and hope at least one of them will garner some degree of reaction from people. First off, here's the costume portrait of my character in the Tokyo Mew Mew roleplay, Cassia Todd:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... cassia.jpg
In a way, you can blame this image for my joining that roleplay at all. See, I've never watched the show. But some time back, in the course of some research, I came across info that ultimately led to me getting the image of this here character in my head, and she wouldn't leave me alone until I drew her. So when the roleplay came up, well, I joined so I could use the design that bugged me over a year ago.... Yeah. I'm weird. If we ever get around to do the whole "food names" thing they seem to have done in the show (at least the original Japanese version, anyway), her code name will be Cinnamon. That's why I named her what I did; Cassia means "spicy cinnamon." Todd just means fox, of course, as she's a cheerful, tomboyish fox girl.

Now on to image number two. This too related to a roleplay. As some of you may or may not remember, my character in the Megatropolis universe has gotten herself into a relationship, one that surprised the heck out of both of us players, as neither of us was actively trying to establish one of those. But it's been a lot of fun playing. Now, the set-up here is that, to keep it simple, a lot of chaos happened that got them temporarily apart, both thinking for a while that he was dead/going to be killed and they'd never see each other again, when they were only just realizing their feelings for each other. Well, she pretty much saved his life (or at least had a hand in it), and well, here's what I'm thinking of as the "reunion shot": http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... d_kiss.jpg
Overall, I like this. Yes, I know it's not perfect; Elise's chin looks slightly weird, I think, and I noticed too late that one of her legs is a little thicker than the other. But I think the overall mood is appropriately matched. (And yes, it was specifically mentioned that he dipped her back like that.) On the whole, I'd say this is a good one.

And just for the fun of it, here's a catgirl I did as a Christmas present for a friend: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... _green.jpg
Yeah, I know the outfit's a little racy. But this is anime, which means it's essentially gravity-defying anyway. In real life, this dress would definitely result in a "wardrobe malfunction." In anime, it stays in place unless the plot creator decrees there should be some fanservice. So here you go. Hope at least one of these is liked by someone.

[Anamnesis]

Nice arts. ^^
That last one WOULD result in a wardrobe malfunction...hehe...

[Mistress Guendolen]

Thank you! Glad you liked them. Say, you going to get back into the Girl in the Field roleplay revival? I'd really like it if you did.... That was one of the most fun roleplays I've done here. And I think we played off each other pretty well. Though if you're disinclined to re-start, that's fine, too....

[Chibi MitchellTF]

Reunion=So...cute...

[Mistress Guendolen]

Thanks! As I said, I quite like how that one came out, even with the couple of little wonky bits. They do look like they're quite enjoying themselves, don't they?...

[Mistress Guendolen]

Man, I haven't posted any art for a while now.... But here's a little piece I finished coloring and shading the other day, after having drawn it literally a couple months ago. I kinda forgot it for a while.... **sweatdrop** This is my character in the Oathbound roleplay in Fungus' Requiem universe. Or more specifically, her mortal side, Adrienne. See, this is a roleplay much akin to White Wolf's "Changeling" setting, wherein the players are all awakened to the fact that they are truly fae beings. I based her fae side off a picture, and I'm not messing with what I like. But this is how her mortal side appears to the outside world. She's a Goth girl, socially reticent and quiet, and excellent at blending into the background despite her often flamboyant wardrobe and striking appearance (the latter of which she really tends to be oblivious to). She's got her share of issues, but I won't get into those here.... Here's her portrait.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... h_girl.jpg

This is a little flashier than what she might normally wear on a day to day basis, but it is part of her wardrobe. I hadn't originally planned for the skirt to be quite that short, but it looked good, so I left it alone. I was going for a touch of the "Gothic Lolita" vibe, but more of an Americanized take on it that's less obviously (or at less directly) Victorian. I think perhaps it looks as short as it does because she has long legs, being tall. But I hope at least someone likes this design.

[Mistress Guendolen]

Yes, I know. It's been over a year since I last posted in this thread. Please do forgive me my lapse.... But I had a series of images I decided I wanted to share, here. In order of production, now:

First off, a "saloon gal" was inspired to do a few months ago, brought about by a memory of a real-life roleplaying character I played briefly in a "weird west" setting:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... on_gal.jpg

I, for one, really like the overall effect here. In fact, I liked it enough to tweak it. Specifically, to drop a sepia filter over it in Paint Shop Pro, and adjust it a bit more to make a "period photograph" rendition:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... intage.jpg

Now for one I just did about, oh, three weeks or so ago, maybe. This was a strong mental image that hit me, and I had to follow it; it's a different sort of design than I usually do. Rather more provocative than is my wont. But I really like how it came out, as a whole, so I decided to share:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... couple.jpg

This one's site-related. Specifically, a rendering of one of the characters in the "Tokyo Mew Mew" roleplay, as per requested by her player:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... s/mint.jpg

And lastly, a fashion design. Lately I've developed an interest in "steampunk," and in researching it, found out there was a whole fashion aesthetic that goes with the area of interest. This inspired me to do a combo- a steampunk Lolita outfit. Hey, the two are closer than you'd think. They both have a Victorian vibe, after all. It's simply all about the details. But either way, here it is:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/ ... ampunk.jpg
I have to say, I wish I had the wherewithal to make this outfit, as I'd love to wear it. But you'd need serious skill to produce it, not to mention access to odd materials, given that those are indeed gears and what not all over it. Tricky indeed. But hey, I can fantasize, right? At least, so I hope.

[Haylie]

Did you do this all on computer?

If yes, you've got a better imagination than me on paper. Not saying much, but still.

I guess I should revive my old art thread, since I've got a few new things that I just haven't uploaded, but...

Right. Not about me. Forgot. Sorry.

[Mistress Guendolen]

I did it partly on computer. I hand-drew the images, then traced and inked them and scanned them onto my computer. After which I then imported them into Photoshop for the application of color and subsequent shading, highlights, what have you. So I guess you could say it's half and half. I can't mouse-draw to save my life. Not enough control; I get curves when I want straight lines, straight lines when I want curves, etc. I can make small modifications to a design with the mouse, but that's about it. And yes, you need to revive your art thread. The way you improve is by getting better. I got to where I am now because I've been drawing for most of my life.

[Lanzerus]

T_T *walks in tosses guen an 'Arts level-up' cookie.* Your arts are better then my arts, mine aren't even colored...I is too poor to afford all them fancy-shmancy colored pencils or editing software....

[Mistress Guendolen]

Thank you! I got my coloration software for free, though, I must confess. I mooched Photoshop off a college friend who got her hands on it. So yeah, I got lucky with that one. And I got where I am through lots of practice, referencing, etc. Art books are your friends.

[Lanzerus]

>_> *goes to nearest book store and shoves several 'how to draw' books under his shirt, but fails and gets caught.*

"But...But...GUEN TOLD ME TOO!"

[Mistress Guendolen]

You have to pay for them. I thought that much was understood.