I’m back

Where was I? Working, school and being lazy. I’m sorry! I know, it’s been awhile. Marisol and I were trying to get an apartment but we ended up working so hard that everything started to suffer. From now on I’m going to stick with contributing to our tutorial art gallery.

Anyway, here’s another art drawing tutorial on nothing specific in particular. This tutorial focuses on drawing face art, rather than body art, giving explanations on how to draw out each part. I added advanced sections, even though they’re not really that much more advanced. They’re really just extra things you can look out for when you’re trying to go the extra mile with your art lessons. Click to read more …

Tags: anime, Art, artist, Artists, bangs, cartoon, cartooning, coloring, colors, draw, drawing, Drawings, drew, emotions, eye, Eyes, face, hair, personality, tablet, Tutorial, Tutorials

The human face is capable of too many expressions to count. These expressions mostly rely on the positioning of the eyebrows, the shape of the eyes, and the shape of the mouth, though other features might come into play with some expressions. Cartoon emotions can also be depicted more complexly with facial coloration, sweat, tears, and body language. Since emotional expression is the best way to visually depict and personality of a character, it is important to learn how to use emotions effectively in your anime drawings. Before trying to depict more complex or subtle emotions, learn how to use the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth to depict the character’s emotional state. Three positive emotions that are easy to express are contentment, joy, and smugness. But what about other emotions?Anger, terror, anguish! These are negative emotions that some artists might want to create for whatever reason. These are emotions of vulnerability. They can also be called moment-of-truth emotions because they are emotions experienced in a do-or-die situation. These expressions mostly involve widened eyes, raised eyebrows, and opened mouths, but there are other variations depending on the situation. Click to read more …

Tags: anger, anime, cartoon, content, draw, emotions, expressions, face, fear, joy, manga, terror

I have had many ups-and-downs in my life, and recently, I have had more downs than ups. I had to give my Border Collie, Micah, back to the I Wanna Go Home Dog Rescue, which completely and totally ripped my heart clear from my chest. Then, I had other drama, which I do not want to disclose, and I almost lost the greatest love I have ever known because our situation just totally sucks. One of the events caused me to want not to survive any longer, but I made it through the event, even though I still have my down moments concerning that event. However, even though I escaped some of my heartache via homework and some really great movies– Hirokazu Kore’s After Life, Kim Yong-hwa’s 200 Pound Beauty, both of which I HIGHLY recommend—but it just was not enough. How do I fully escape my painful reality? I escape by writing and drawing, of course.

I love writing; I think it is one of my favorite art forms. Words are so beautiful to me, whether it be poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction; I have always been drawn to the words of others or creating words of my own to express my feelings. I wrote a piece of prose for my boyfriend this week in celebration of our commitment ceremony anniversary, and I poured my heart over the page. If I mattered, I am not sure, but being able to express my true feelings for him felt great. Additionally, I have also been “working” on a “novel” I am writing called All the Things They Gave; no, I will not give any details other than I am having writer’s block. But reading and writing helps me through anything. Reading and writing, like drawing, provides wonderful escapism because with all mediums mentioned, I get a chance to become someone else for a while, which is the best medicine for me, really. I have been reading Banana Yoshimoto’s NP and I absolutely love it! The story is so haunting and the characters are so mysterious. I love being in Kazami’s shoes as she tries to unravel the mysterious circumstances of NP, or North Point. If you are into Asian fiction, pick this and other books up by Banana Yoshimoto—she is a fantastic writer!

But I regress.

Reading and writing is a special art form because, like art, it requires IMAGINATION. Reading and writing is just painting with words, so pick up a good book today!

Drawing, however, allows me to visually vent my frustrations or express my emotions. I draw many things, but all my drawings are based on a particular emotion at a given time. When I am feeling empowered, warrior girls are in order. Sad? Meditative and sad girls and scenery fit the bill. Romantic? A kissing couple or an image of a warm embrace may be the most prominent image for me to create. If I am feeling scattered, soft pastels and random strokes or words across a page make me feel a helluva lot better. Mostly, however, I sit down with my Wacom Intuos3 and fool around with different drawing styles and manipulations. Whatever I am doing, I draw to escape and to have fun. Nothing makes me feel better more than drawing or writing… well, maybe a trip to the mall or to Starbucks, one of greatest addiction! I cannot wait for Gingerbread Latte time—the countdown begins!!!

So here’s your assignment: sit down, write or draw something! Afterwards, email your work to sketchinghouseonline@gmail.com. We will post your work in our online gallery! Have fun!

Marisol Dominguez

Tags: artist, draw, drawing, emotions, expression, novel, reading, write, Writing