Dance of the Flames

This has to be one of my most experimentive pieces ever.

I realised that I never really stepped out of my comfort zone when it came to the body, so I decided to choose a dynamic kind of position so that I could learn more about anatomy. I referenced such pose from the lovely Jlior on dA, as her elegance inspired me.
I also experimented with different shading and colouring techniques, as I used various once for different elements; for example, for the skin I used a very minimalist amount of blur, relying on a low opacity hard brush to blend all of the colours instead. I really liked this technique and hope to use it again! 

Originally I was going to go for a different theme as I was listening to OBSESSION - SHINee, and their music really gave me the feeling of sadness, passion, and I kept having images of fire and explosions, and sometimes a bit of rain. Maybe next time I’ll add a bit of rain to this piece once I know how to paint rain. 

So tada! I hope to do more of these dance poses… Perhaps I could create a series?

References | Jlior on dA | My own photos |

© Liz Owen 

For the step-by-step process please click here to be redirected to my main blog 

Moving to Tumblr.

I've decided to move to tumblr because I really don't like using Blogger for my art... Even though I can view it from uni, it's just not the same D: It's harder to post inspirational pictures and what not on here which is really annoying. I love blogging, I really do, but tumblr is just so much better art wise~
I'm still going to keep this up here in case I want to come back to it, but for now I'm creating a new tumblr blog. My initial thought was to keep posting on here and keep a tumblr blog for inspiration but what's the point of seperating my art into two blogs when I can keep it on one?

So that's why I'm going to move to tumblr! It's just so much easier on there, and the layouts are much nicer to use.

Knowing me I will return to this site in a matter of hours, but oh well. 


[[EDIT]]
Looks like I did return after all.
I've decided to revamp this blog to make it look like my tumblr one (which you can view here), and this shall be my secondary art blog. I'll only post final pieces on here, and my work alone... And tumblr shall be my main art blog.
This is because I just love using tumblr, but unfortunately tumblr is blocked at uni so I can't really access it there~

To summarise:

Tumblr - main art blog where I'll post EVERYTHING; inspirational pieces, WIPs, written posts...
Blogger - final pieces (basically like a portfolio or something).

Inspirational Post - Week One

Hello!
Looks like I'm back in business... Kinda.
I've been so busy with uni and work lately that I haven't had the time to do any *proper* art work. All of my attention has been focused on the numerous projects I get that I haven't been able to just sit in front of a desk and draw whatever I wanted to. I've also been having a major art block as well, which doesn't really help things.

I'm hoping to post more on this blog just to keep me going because a) I love art and b) I kinda' miss it. A lot.
So I thought that I may as well start off by posting a weekly inspirational post! This includes tutorials and what not as well that I'm willing to try out ^^

This week I'm featuring this lovely lady: Janna. Her website is kuoma @ dA . She does amazing art pieces featuring fairies and I used to look at her site every day back in the day when I was caught up on fantasy art. When I looked at dA today and noticed that this was one of the popular pieces it brought back memories ^^ Her work reminds me that of Amy Brown, another artist who's amazing at fairy art.

Some of her art pieces:

And everytime I'm just staring at the same blank wall, again and again

I hate this feeling of helplessness that I always come across. Now matter how many days, weeks, months or years go by I always find myself hitting the same wall over and over again. I mean, how many times have I wrote about this problem here? Millions, perhaps. So many times that I'm surprised that people haven't given up on me.

I need to do art, I want to, and then when I get that feeling that makes me go, "Yeah I can do it!" I just fall back into the same lazy pattern that I've gotten accustomed to. Where I just can't be bothered to pick up a pencil, let alone look at a blank page. Why can't I just keep that enthusiastic part of myself running for more than just a day? What happened to the time where I just loved to draw and kept doing it day after day? I've always dreamed of doing art, of becoming a good artist one day, but something is holding me back...

Truth is, I really don't know what that "something" is.

Is it because of the lack of tutor? Guidance? Someone to help me each step of the way? Sure I did a hell of a lot more art when I was doing it for my GCSE's, and did many pictures when I was applying for uni. Or is it my lack of self-confidence? Skill? What the hell is holding me back? D: Whenever I listen to music or watch a film I find myself daydreaming, yet I never seem to put my ideas to paper even though they're still stuck in my head. Why? Why can't I just draw?

I wish that someone was there to help me with this, to point me in the right direction, and actually help me overcome this once and for all. I'm sick and tired of this feeling... But I don't want to force myself into it either like I did before. 

Wow I sound like such an idiot.

Commission: Under the Moon

Commissions info: Click here

Was commissioned by Miss Shaw to do her a traditional painting of a peaceful fairy sitting under the moon. She wanted the colours pink and purple to be dominant in the piece, so I went for harmonious colours to create that tranquil setting~ I really enjoyed doing this, as it had been ages since I've drawn a fairy.

Artist  © Liz Owen
Characters © Miss Shaw
Tools: Watercolour pencils, acrylic paint for the clouds and moon, and biro for the lines

Commission: Harry Halloween

I've only just realised that I haven't shown you my finished commission that I did for the lovely Ms Yvonne! Well, here it is:

Under Con.

Thought that I might as well make some use of this blog, so it's currently gonna' be under construction while I make it pretty.

A little experiment

I was looking through the brief today and wanted to do some experiments with some pictures off dA (stock ones obviously). I am not sure what I'll do for the "Enviroment" project, so this is just a little test.

Before

After 

Stock image provided by Burtn

Update

Okay so today my laptop really has messed up; Google Chrome isn't loading and neither is Word and my Pictures.. Kinda sucks seeing as it's so damn slow as well :/ I can't wait to get my MAC properly set up!

BUT there is a problem with my new mac; my tablet doesn't work on it ;_; I guess my tablet is just too old as it only works on vista :/ fml. Eurgh. So I guess that when this laptop dies I can no longer do digitally art until I get the money to save up for a new tablet >_<"

I guess there is a good side to it though, because then I could focus more on traditional art instead of wasting my time in front of a computer screen :/ Still a bit annoyed though >_<"

Anyways, here's a sneak preview of my commission~ I've finally finished the sketch! Just a few more lil' details need to be added like on the book ^^

Inspiration Board

So I'll start off with one of my first posts with an inspiration board; a collection of images, music and artists that inspire me.

1. ImagineFX Magazine
I just love this magazine. Ever since I got my hands on it last year (or the year before) in Feb I immediately subscribed to it. Even though I'm not at that level to achieve the same level of skill in those step-by-step tutorials I try my best to look at them. I'm amazed by all of the artwork in there, and I hope to be featured one day!

2. Chinese/Oriental styled art
Since I delved deeper into Chinese culture back when I was doing A Level Product Design I fell in love with it. I just loved how artists made all of their pictures seem "magical" with the flowing robes, beautiful hairstyles and delicate features.
Such artists include Guangjian Huang, Heise, Qianyu, Phoenixlu,

3. Anime
I just love the style, and I love how people have developed this style into a more 3D form (much like the picture I've shown). Even though I don't really draw in this style anymore I still admire it, and I love how much detail is paid to their clothing and movement.
Artists: Shilin, Laverinne, Jiuge, Emperpep, Kaoru-chan,

4. Fantasy
No matter how many people tell me that I should move away form fantasy I never will, because I can't. I just love the stories that a picture could hold and the different points of view on the fantasy world.
Artists: Dark Spider, Amy Brown, Victoria Frances, Kuoma,

5. Angel Sanctuary
Seems pretty obvious: the artwork is beautiful! Pretty unusual storyline as well of love and fate.

6. Bride of the Water God
The amount of detail in each page is breathtaking.

7. Reading
I just love how I can enter a whole new world as I open a book. It kinda annoys my family as well when I completely blank them out as I read.

8. Gyaru fashion
This fashion is so so amazing! Just shows that you could tweak your appearances without the use of plastic surgery, and you could become a whole new person. They have such a good fashion sense and I love how much attention they pay to their appearances!

9. Music
Music is the reason why I work well; without it I just stare into space with boredom. I always find more and more artists to add to my list of favourites that I haven't really got a particular favourite anymore! However I will always listen to Lady GaGa <3

10. DeviantART
And last of all but definitely not least; DeviantART. If I didn't find it during my GCSE years I never would've thought that I wanted to pursue art and design as a career. I wouldn't have been able to improve in my drawing skills, nor would I have the determination to keep on going through thick and thin. I have met so many people on there and seen so many inspiration art pieces that I'm constantly amazed whenever I go onto the site.