Nailed It! The Art of Pinspiration

Bird's Eye View

Have you ever wanted to draw, but had no idea where to begin? This sort of creative block seems fairly universal to most any creative avenue (writing, painting, cooking, you name it), and one of my favorite ways out of this rut is to step back and do a little R&D. 

 When it comes to art, for me that means working from a reference. This not only gives your creative brain a break while still flexing the muscles, but also gives you a chance to study up, refine your skills and experiment with new styles. Where can one find references like this, you ask? Pinterest, of course!

Hey, fancy ladies!

 These fancy ladies were inspired by this Fashion Photo which struck me as soon as I saw it. I referenced the clothes, hair and postures of the ladies, but gave them to a few of my own characters instead. (If I really wanted to maximize the learning experience, I should have gone after that background, too, but... maybe next time!)

Women's Fashion Sketches

These sets of sketches are based off pins curated by Pinterest's Men's and Women's Fashion categories. As you can see, photos of people are great examples of how clothes hang, fit, etc. on a body, as well as a person's stance, weight, expression and so on. As usual, I took all of the above and gave them to my original characters to add a little of my own style and fun.

Men's Fashion Sketches

Along with photo references, I've also recently delved into my Art board for inspiration. For this study, I picked out a few pieces with a slightly abstract, colorful style I seem to be drawn to. I didn't have my watercolors handy, but I did have a nice set of very inky markers I wanted to test out, so it worked out rather well.
Color Study x3!

 I based these exercises in color on these awesome pins: Horse, Face and Bird. Of my own renditions, the bird is by far my favorite, partially because it turned out so well and also because I like the original so much (it's the cover of my Art board!). In my opinion, the face turned out pretty well, too, and the horse is... okay. And you know what? Okay is okay because this is practice. Phew! It's amazing what a little grace can do for the creative process!
Face & Bird... Take 2!

 These two pieces are based on Face Profile and Bird Profile, because apparently I'm fascinated by faces and birds! Once again, the originals were watercolors and my renditions were done with marker, but perhaps I will bust out my watercolors to practice those awesome effects soon. 

 In the meantime, to see how fashion advertisements and costume catalogs can also be handy (and hilarious) references, check out my Guess Who: From Catalog to Coloring Book and Halloween Costume Art blogs!
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Posts

Painting for Peanuts: A Harvest Festival Cut-Out Board

Image
Happy Halloween! Nothing makes a party quite like a character cutout board. Sticking your head through a wooden mural to become someone else is especially advantageous for Halloween - instant costume!  My friend Erin had the brilliant idea of making a Peanuts themed one of these for the harvest festival her church was hosting this year,  but she needed a little help pulling it off. Hmm, did I hear someone say project? I'm in! Tabula Rasa From the very start, our materials for this project came together quite nicely. For instance, our canvas was actually the back of an 8' x 4' wooden board used previously by the church for a sign. For our purposes, we simply flipped it over and got to work sketching out our ideas on the back. You're a good reference, Charlie Brown. As for the art, we chose to paint the famed cast of Peanuts by Charles Schulz chilling in a pumpkin patch. Specifically, we had Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Sally and Linus (complete with
Read more

Return of the Ewoks: Star Wars Themed Sushi

Image
Sushiwoks: Adorable & Delicious   One of the great joys I have in life is celebrating with friends. Beyond the typical birthdays and holidays, I make it a point to find and/or create as many reasons to cook, chat and laugh together as possible. Luckily, with friends like mine, that’s not too hard. The reason behind this particular occasion? The continuation of our three part Star Wars marathon. Three movies (the classics), three hosting teams, three batches of awesome thematic food. The first two hosts raised the bar high with colored white chocolate dipped pretzel rod lightsabers and Princess Leia cupcakes, so I had to think of something good. It didn't take too long, though, as the third Star Wars film stars some of my favorite fictional creatures, the Ewoks. Since I’d already had it in mind to make sushi, the answer was clear – Sushiwoks. The Dark Side of the Rice Come party day, the first thing on my to-do list was prep the rice. I was fortunate enoug
Read more

2024 NorCal Escape Rooms Rated (Spoiler-Free)

My husband and I love escape rooms. So much so, in fact, that I started putting together a list of all the local offerings complete with links, pricing and themes. It's proved so useful, I thought others wishing to explore the escape rooms of the Sacramento area might be interested, as well.  ABOUT THE REVIEWS Every franchise offers something a little different, which is great! On this page, I'm mostly detailing the basics, including rooms, cost and general impression. In my full reviews, I try to note what makes each place unique, including but not limited to: costumes, leaderboards, props, photo ops, puzzles, room themes, timers, hints, fun and cost. The vast majority of these places I would happily recommend and return to if they had more rooms to try. Unless otherwise stated, all rooms were played as a team of two (my husband and I). While I will mention a few specifics, I will make sure everything is spoiler-free because I don't want to ruin the fun!  Without further a
Read more