Monday, February 6, 2012

TJ's Project: The Red Dress Creation.

Hi Everyone!

Okay, I shall share a sneak peek of what went on in my brain when I created the Red Dress illustration.

After doing a bit of research I wanted to try and see if I could paint a flowy dress. It's all about leaving highlights and creating shading for movement and it's linked to the small project with my sister (which I'll tell more about next time). So I grabbed my brushes and started. No wait, I grabbed a pencil and sketched out a base...then I started painting hehe. The painting of the dress went surprisingly well and then...the head got messed up. I totally drew it too small, but it looked fine when I sketched it out. So rude of my own perspective. This was the first dress.
So I kept staring at the empty area, where the head would be, so I did the following....I started whining at  Cilla (my sister who is a Fashion Beauty Guru lady) that I messed it up. She was sitting on the couch and I sat at the dining table waving my arms from side to side, going like 'Cillaaaaa! Cillaaaaa I messed it up! The head is tooo smalll! I messed it up!!!!'

Yeah *ahem*. Let's continue. I re-drew it again and painted it with a more intense red and I double checked if the head was correct. But another problem started floating around. I did not like the head I drew nor the hairdo. It didn't fit the feeling I wanted the painting to have. However everything did match this time, but still not quite right.


Yes....I did what any normal person would do. I whined again. "Cillaaaaa! OMG! The hairdo is annoying me!! I messed up again! I do like the dress though, but the haaaaiiirrr! OMG"

Yeah. Some whining can be needed to get the frustrating out of my system and I think I used a stronger word to express how I messed up again, but I don't want you guys to faint...my apologies, Cilla. 

So I just put everything aside and proceeded to paint what now is known as Jello Lady. I'll give her a few siblings I think.
So after I got that out of my system. I picked up the first one and started sketching out a head again. I erased quite a few times, so the area was greyish, but finally I got a head I was more pleased with. I decided to edit it in Photoshop a bit to see if I liked the outcome.

I did, but the face still looked too 'muddy' even after enhancement in Photoshop. Plus, I wanted to have a good painting that I could sell, so I completely re-drew and re-painted it again, giving you the end result below. These are some close-ups. You can see the complete edited version in previous post.



So do you guys like one dress better than the other? One head better than the other? Let's compare and please do tell!
I need to work on my picture taking skills...hehe. Hope you liked this little peek in the mind of well..me. If you have questions, just list them below and don't forget to check back to see if I answered them. I'll do my best to answer them as soon as I can.

Ciaooo!

18 comments:

  1. Great post. Art is such a process! I actually like the hairdo on the right (in the bottom picture), but think your final painting is the most cohesive. Thanks for sharing your process.

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    1. Ciao Alysa! It's a big process indeed and I always find it interesting to see and hear how others see my work. For some reason the black hairdo didn't work for me, but I suppose it's just the feeling I wanted this illustration to have haha. Thank you for strolling by!

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  2. This was quite fun to read! The way you express yourself is just funny. I definitely don't know you, but I can almost imagine the whining and the stressing! :D
    All 3 of them look great! I like the hairdo and dress in the bottom right picture! It's a hairdo I'd like to carry myself :P

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    1. Hi there! Haha glad you found it funny to read. I often laugh when I write my own stuff, but of course this doesn't have to sound funny to someone else. Plus I can have a weird sense of humor (sigh) hehe. Oohhh another one for the black hairdo! Interesting!!! Thanks so much for strolling by!!

      I am still singing the snow song...but I think it makes the snow melt :|.

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  3. A little whining goes a long way!

    Seriously, I'm not a person who wears dresses, but this suddenly inspired me to go out and buy a fancy little red dress.

    Just popped over to your sister's blog-- I love it! All of the Lubrano kiddies are so attractive. It's something in the water over there!!

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    1. Hahahah! Yes indeed! I often whine, but Cilla is used to is and she often just stare and says 'put it aside!'

      You know...we have to wear a red dress one day and take a picture or 100...hehe.

      Thank you so much for strolling by her blog! That will make her very happy :D You're so sweet, Jen. Thank you! Maybe the ducks did something in the water...okay wait. That sounds odd...hahah! (waves) <3

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  4. I'm new to your blog but I love your artwork! I really like how the final drawing and painting turned out in the end. You made it look great through trial and error. I like how the dress color is more deep and the dress more flowy. Can't wait to see what you come up with next ^~^!

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    1. Helloooo! How lovely to see you here :) Thanks so much. It's always nice to read what others think about a certain piece and sharing my thoughts is a also a learning process as I tend to keep to myself and only show 'pretty art' haha. But I'm not creating good pieces in one go and a lot of time goes into sketching and trying new things out. Super happy you loved it! Hope to see you again soon and stay tuned indeed ^_^

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  5. Hahaha, I'm like that too xD I only like to show the 'pretty' stuff that I'm proud of also. I have a couple folders of art work I wouldn't dare show to the public x.x. And yes! I will be back for sure! :D

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    1. Hahahah same here! Sketches and 'unpretty' art locked away. BUT they help us to get the pretty art even prettier!!! :D Have a great weekend (waves)

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  6. Hey TJ! Haven't visited around here in a while. Looks like things are blossoming, and love that blossoming dress:D

    I kinda like the 'muddy' photoshop edit. It's cool in it's own way. And with the hair... I like the middle one the most, but the one on the right is really cool too, and sort of reminds me of the victorian era with all those big hairstyles (hope I got the right era. ;)

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    1. Hellooo Flame! Ah it has been a while indeed, but it's always lovely to see you :D

      Thanks so much! I do really like the sad expression of the Muddy Lady, but I got a tad annoyed by myself and the fact I didn't had a complete good illustration haha. You got it right! Victorian Era indeed, although I think most ladies had white powdery hair? haha. I'll pop over your blog later! Ciao Ciao!

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  7. TJ, sometimes I just cannot believe your genius. Such beautiful drawings. Wowsers. I love dresses that billow. Lovely, absolutely lovely.

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    1. Genius? Aww Janene haha!! I'm really happy you like the dresses! I love these types of dresses to stare at as they are pieces of art on their own. Thank you so so much for your sweet words. Stay tuned for the Belly dancing ladies hehe. (waves, waves)

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  8. This tutorial was really helpful for both newbie & advanced user. you've done really excellent work. I'll visit your blog again.

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  9. I really enjoyed your blog Thanks for sharing such an informative post.

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Yay! Thanks so much for leaving a message. I always reply, so do check back okay? Ciao!