Metaninja

Another quick painting in ArtRage 2.5 that I did a week ago, but didn't have a chance to post. Click image for larger version.

So much for making this a regular occurence. I've been coming home exhausted a lot lately, so I haven't had a chance to do more of these paintings.

I have to admit being a little surprised that these paintings don't take more that an hour or two to create. Given how rarely I paint and how underdeveloped my art skills have become, I thought it would take longer. It's heartening though. Perhaps my skills haven't deteriorated as much as I originally thought.

With these paintings, I'm eschewing detail in an attempt to teach myself more about form. A mountain isn't a bunch of squiggly lines with even more squiggly lines to represent the crevices. Rather, it's a set of solid triangular blocks smashed together with a mass of trees planted near the base and a light dollop of snow near the top. With that in mind, a few blocky brush strokes can turn a mass of paint into a recognizable shape.

Second attempt at this painting. The first one looked like I randomly drew some lines on a page. Click for larger version.

My second attempt at creating a complete painting in Art Rage. I don't know why I chose this particular scene to try and paint, but boy was it freakin' difficult. I almost gave up many times (and completely gave up at least once or twice in the previous several months). It's still a work in progress.

Painting digitally again, for the first time in years. Trying to get serious, and seeing what I can do. Done using ArtRage 2. Click for larger version.

I've had a Wacom tablet for many years nows, but I've only used it on the rare occasion that I have the courage to pick it up and try to do something with it. A far cry from my original dream of putting away my traditional art supplies (which too I've used rarely, long story, I'll leave that for another day) and painting and drawing digitally all the time. The tablet is so old, it plugs into the serial port and has to be connected via the keyboard port (!) to work.

The biggest problem for me is that, whenever I sit down to draw something, my mind goes completely blank, and I can't think of anything to draw. Or rather that I suddenly realize how weak my painting skills are and all the things I have to think about (light, shadow, form, composition, etc.) that rather than taking a deep breath and approaching it one at a time I give up.

I picked up a copy of ImagineFX (one of my favorite magazines, after Fine Scale Model and Computer Arts) a couple of days ago, and seeing the beautifully drawn artwork made me realize just how much I miss painting and drawing. So this time, I've decided to seriously sit down and make an effort to paint regularly. Even if it's just scribbles, I need to draw something. I can only suppress the desire to create for so long before it drives me crazy.

Here's to being creative. Onward.