Sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to posting photos. I received this ring for Christmas, but since it was a surprise, it ended up being too small and we had to return it for another size.
Once I got it, it’s taken me a while to get around to taking photos and writing my usual little review! Ha!
You can see the photos and info here.
I mentioned I was currently working on another drawing of Thorin (dA entry here, blog entry here) and there is a small section in the lower right hand corner I would like to have add another drawing (full-figured) of him walking.
I very roughly sketched that figure, trying to focus more on shape and shadow. I will have to reduce the size a little to get it to fit where I want it to blend in. I’m hopeful that I can scan and print the most important lines clearly enough to see through the final paper (thicker, Bristol) using my lightbox. Any final adjustments to lines and blocking in shadows will be done then.
View sketch here.
Still working on the parts for my next drawing of Thorin — Thorin Cloak Blue Pencil1. I’m still not sure if I’ll add this part, but if I do it will need to be reduced in size to go in the lower right hand corner of the drawing. I needed to focus on mostly shadows and shapes, since I won’t be able to add as much detail. Mostly for mood, and final lines can be adjusted before I ink.
Next steps will be prepping both drawings for transfer, and hoping I can see enough detail to use my lightbox to transfer the lines I want to Bristol for inking.
I’ve still been very happy that I keep working on it. I haven’t been overly frustrated or annoyed with it, much less distracted. So that’s a good thing. Still, I’m not sure how long it will take me to fully finish it. I’m sure I won’t just ink it, but also use ink washes as well and those tend to take some time for me.
But yay for continuing work instead of finding other things to work on instead! 😉
I admit, I was going to try my best to finish the Very Big In-Progress pile of art before allowing myself to add to it even more. But sometimes even the best intentions fail miserably, right?
I’ve been in a very blah mood so doing much of anything has seemed to take more energy than it should have. Why push it? Why make yourself miserable, forcing yourself to do things meant to be fun, only to end up even more miserable? Sure, there is that gratification of “Yay! Finished another thing that’s been nagging at me!” — but really, that’s not the whole point.
So, while I have plenty I could be working on already, I started sketching some things that have been on my mind even more.
First, there is a harp design for a Prince Thorin (pre-dragon attack) painting I hope to do. I have some slight changes to make to the design, but it feels good to be able to check *that* off my “To Do List!” Of course, stocking up on paints again since all the ones I’ve had for way too long have dried out, but that’s another list. 😉
View harp sketch here.
From the dA page:
I’ve been wanting to get back to painting, and one of the things I would love to paint is Prince Thorin playing the harp, back in happier days in Erebor before the dragon attack. Sadly, all of my paints are dried out so I need to stock up on those again…. as well as get back in practice (it’s been waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long). I think I’ve been “thinking” in B&W way too long, too.
So while I have lots I can do, I keep getting distracted thinking about other projects. And this is one of them… Thorin’s golden harp. I wanted to give it a dwarven design, and of course a nice tip of the hat to our favorite feathered friends. I’m hopeful that getting started on the design process will perhaps even give me a little boot to make more progress on this painting.
Drawn on drawing paper with a blue pencil, then scanned and converted to grayscale to darken the lines a bit.
Next up, is a drawing of… gasp… wait for it… Thorin (again! I know, I know). There is still some more work to go on it, but the basic lines and some shading “notes” are in place for me to be able to transfer and ink to better paper.
View Thorin sketch here.
From the dA page:
As if I don’t already have enough in my To Finish pile of art, I started yet another Thorin drawing. This time, because a spot on the wall was screaming at me. My husband framed and hung the AU King Thorin Pencil Study on his side of the bed and at the time requested that I draw something for my side of the bed and use the same frame. Instead of pencils, I’m hoping to ink this piece since my corner is a little darker and pencils won’t be easily seen.
My husband and I both squeed happily when we saw Thorin stomping around Bree wearing his cloak in the rain in the beginning of Desolation of Smaug, so I decided to draw him wearing his hooded cloak for this piece. I’m hoping to not only add more detail, but possibly layer another drawing where the text is on the image. We’ll see if I’m more in the mood to quickly finish it and keep it simpler, or proceed as planned.
Drawn on 11×14 drawing paper in blue pencil. I will most likely transfer the basic lines to Bristol for inking with a brush on the finished piece.
The second one of Thorin will probably be my main focus for now. Given that I’ve been excited to keep working on it even on days I tend to not draw at all, and rewarding myself with eyestrain headaches, I’m hoping to keep riding that “yay I’m having fun!” mood.
That’s not to say I’m giving up on the In-Progress Pile — just that at this point, I’m going to do whatever it takes to enjoy this hobby. 😉
Unfortunately, this was started in 2014. Well, better late than never. 😉
View finished drawing here.
From the deviantART page:
I started this in August 2014 and let it sit for way too long. Way too many distractions, occasional confidence blahs, and plenty of “not sure if I like this anymore” moments. I thought I’d lost too much from the original sketch:
Blue pencil start here: Azanulbizar Thorin Sketch1
Darkened blue pencils used for transfer here: Azanulbizar Thorin Sketch GrayscaleFinally, January 2015 (*facepalm and blushes*) I decided enough. Power through and just finish it.
I also received Deathless the sword for Christmas, and I really wish I’d had it handy when I was working on this. I was squinting at way too many small photo ref’s for the costume and sword.
Drawn on 11×14 Bristol using Black Magic ink (and washes), a little black pencil for texture, and Dr. PH Martin’s Bombay White ink for a couple little shiny spots on the mithril. Brushes used are Winsor & Newton series 7 sable (sizes #2 mostly, with some #3 and maybe a little #1).
So hopefully I can get it in the frame and hung up, and get back to more art. I can’t believe how long that took me. Bad Cynthia, bad! But sometimes other things scream a little louder for attention, or one just doesn’t feel up to finishing things (hmmm… I have a few too many of those sorts of projects).
Keeping up with the past couple items I’ve covered, I just added my thoughts with lots of photos of the Noble Collection’s Deathless Replica Sword of Thorin Oakenshield.
You can see the item here:
Noble Collection Deathless Replica Sword
I’m waiting to get the Noble left-hand runic monogram ring of Thorin (we had to send the original gift back, as it was too small for my finger), but I plan on doing one of these for that as well.
—–
It’s now 2015, and vacations and things are starting to wind down. I’m hoping to get back to art and sewing again soon, but figured I would at least take care of some things like this entry first since there are still so many distractions.
It’s always difficult when interruptions to schedules and routines happen. I’m excited to get to work on projects again though, so hopefully I won’t take too long to get into the swing of things!
As usual, I dragged my feet to almost the last moment with writing this entry, but I am always glad now to write them. Because no matter how little I feel like I’ve done, I always surprise myself and remember things I’d forgotten about!
Yes, I could have been busier… but that’s not been the point. I want to be happy with my hobbies, not chained to them. I want quality over quantity. And no matter how behind I feel like I’ve gotten, no matter how much I kick myself that I should have done this or that… I want to look back and still be pleased.
And I am!
Sewing
I have openly admitted that my sewing/costuming side is mostly on hold (I’ve not been happy with the historical costumes I’ve had to push myself to “just finish” in the past, and I found that I was not ready to start actual work on the dwarf costumes yet — although I have started acquiring references and tools where I can). I have limited space, and this gal will wear regular clothes to the point of “time to throw that away!” and buy supplies for hobbies before buying new clothes. 😉 Still, I can’t part with old costumes even if I’m not happy with them. I’m at that point in my costuming still, where every little garment helps, and I’d rather fix what I dislike or re-accessorize before selling/tossing something old.
Still, I did work on some sewing this past year, despite forgetting a few of them!
Finished Art
This is the spot I kicked myself a bit when I did kick myself for not progressing very quickly. I blame some of it on poor eyesight, shaky hands, but also because I really need to buy a new portfolio and more frames so I can protect my finished art. Seeing the piles getting bigger (both finished and in-progress) is making me nervous, and it’s triggering my “nope! nope!” reaction.
I also used pencils more than inks. I think a lot of that was because of the shakiness causing my confidence to get a bit… shaky. Plus, I took longer and longer breaks, and that recovery time with being in practice and regaining confidence was a bit iffy. It was nice to have art that was a little different to throw into the mix, however!
I also got a little bit closer to finishing a drawing of young(er) Thorin in the Battle of Azanulbizar (shown as the small in-progress photo above), but decided not to push it. I’ll finish it in 2015.
And one of the best memories of 2014 regarding my art? The actor for Gloin, Peter Hambleton, seeing my Gloin’s Locket drawing on Twitter, asking for a copy, and then tweeting a photo of himself holding it! Awesome!!
Sketches and In-Progress Pieces
I’ll only include sketches for those pieces that were not shown above…
Facebook Tutorials
I also had a lot of requests for info and questions about how I work on things, so I made a couple of notes on my FB Page explaining my process. I considered making some video as well (there was interest in that too), but have not had the chance to sit down and work on those. Perhaps something for 2015?
Goals for 2015
I’d like to think I’ll go flying out of the gate for 2015, and powering through any To Do List and having a triumphant laugh at the end of the year, but realistically I know there will be times I won’t want to bother with anything. I’m far too easily distracted. So, I still utter my motto of “Quality Over Quantity!” and look forward to seeing what I do finish. And even start…
For art, I would like to see that in-progress pile disappear (not to mention things get put away safely!). I would also like to try painting again, but it has been soooooo long. Of course, it will still be Thorin & Company fan art, as I have NO interest in anything else (unless it’s a portrait of me or hubby in historical costume, of course… that has been something I’d love to eventually do… but I doubt that will happen any time soon).
For sewing, I would like to at the VERY least keep small hand sewing projects handy. Things like the cap, but also in-progress things I keep putting off. I have an 18th century gown to finish (the fabric sits there taunting me), and I would like to get back to starting my Regency wardrobe.
Events, however, I’m going to keep very limited. I don’t like feeling like I’m chasing goals. I’m slow, and I want to focus on eras instead of jumping around and starting from scratch every single time. My husband doesn’t have a costume yet, and we both prefer small, more laid back events with friends. To be honest, I think I need sewing-with-friends time more than dress-up time. So we will see how things go. I am only currently really allowing myself to think of two events, both picnics. There is a lot of work to do for both.
And while I am also keeping the dwarf projects on a “maybe someday” time frame (what’s the rush at this point with the movies over), I’d like to start putting some of the concepts to practice soon, even if it’s in a vague way. This continues to be a fandom both my husband and I share, and I am not ready to be done with it. Honestly, we both hope to NEVER be done with it.
So that’s my year in review, and my hopes for next year. I have no regrets… just realizations of things I need to work on better.
My Best Wishes to everyone for an amazing and fun 2015!
Sometimes I don’t like posts like these, because I feel like I’m bragging, however… with the limited budget I am on (I will skip buying “important” things like new normal clothes or shoes so I can buy fabric or reference books/material for my hobbies), I am truly thankful for those who send me gifts for my hobbies and interests. 🙂
I’m also very fortunate to have an awesome mother-in-law who loves that I draw and sew, and gets such enjoyment out of picking out gifts to give us too! This year was definitely no different… some of the items I received:
Prop replica sword “Deathless” from my amazingly sweet husband, and a Thorin iPhone case and soundtrack from AUJ from my mother-in-law.
My MIL also gave me this beautiful print of the Gates of Erebor from WETA — easier to show this screencap from their website, as my copy is safely rolled up in the shipping tube, awaiting a frame.
My big gift from my MIL — Thorin’s left-hand ring. She had to guess my size, and unfortunately will have to be returned for a larger one as this one didn’t fit. Now I have both of his rings. Yay!!! 😀
On the costuming side of things, I have mentioned many times how tiny this apartment is, and everything I use is buried and difficult to get to. She got me this awesome makeup case, so now I can keep my costuming makeup/wig styling supplies and my soon-to-be-growing (hopefully) costume prosthetic collection together and easy to find.
I admit, I let out a squeal when I realized my MIL also got me this book. I’ve had this on my wishlist for a long while now — seems like every time one of my costuming friends/bloggers makes a new corset, they always mention this book! I felt like the pitiful kid on the playground, left out, and wondering what information was in here. Oh my! I can’t wait to put this book to use!
I didn’t list everything (I’m so spoiled by my awesome family), but I can’t say it enough… thoughtful gifts like these just make me so happy and are such a huge help (yes, even the movie props/jewelry/soundtrack stuff… great inspiration)!
I will be doing a “not-a-review” page on the Deathless sword when I have the time to put it together (there are better reviews out there, but I took some photos and have a few thoughts to share on it… nothing much, but it’s fun to share).
I just have this to say about that sword: My sweet hubby and I don’t really exchange gifts often. We did not plan on doing it this year. He didn’t tell me about this — it was a secret between him and my MIL. We were at my MIL’s for Christmas Eve, and when we were finished doing the gift thing with her, he went out to the car. Leaving me asking my MIL “what’s going on?” Imagine my shock when he came back in with the wrapped gift that I immediately recognized due to the shape and size. I couldn’t believe he’d pulled that off. I’m still not sure how he did, but he must have been planning this for a long time.
So it’s been a wonderful year, and we’ve had some great holidays. I hope to do an end-of-year entry at some point as well.
I’ve been doing a little better with at least sketching, breaks here and there of course… especially on weekends, so I thought I would post my most recent finished piece. I also realized there were some sketches I did not share.
The first one is an Alternate Universe (AU) pencil study of an older King Thorin. My husband requested a painting of him down the line, so I thought I would figure a few things out and give him a pencil study closeup until I could get around to it. 🙂 Cutting and pasting some of the text from two in-progress updates and the final update:
My husband, a life-long fan (well, at least since childhood) of Thorin, asked me to eventually paint an aged/battle-weary Thorin on the throne for him someday. Since I am trying to keep sketching, I thought I would play around with his look for the eventual full-length throne room painting. I wanted to keep his decoration simpler, but a little bit of a cross between him, his father, and Thror. I also looked at some Battle of the Five Armies photos and saw a nasty gash on his forehead through his eyebrow. Sadly it doesn’t show up, thanks to the crown, but maybe in a colored painting it will be a little more visible… it kept looking more like Thror (in the beginning blue pencil sketch), so I pulled back a little (on the aging). Maybe again, color will be of a little more help showing weariness around the eyes instead of a monotone piece.
No idea when I eventually do the painting, as I’d like it to be rather big and a little complex with the background and figures, and I don’t even know if my paints are dried out or not.
I also won’t normally be doing AU art, nor taking requests… but since my sweet hubby not only is the one who got me into this whole fandom, but is beyond excited that I keep drawing dwarves, I figure I can do him a favor.
Drawn on 11×14 drawing paper, using blue pencil for initial sketch, then 2H, 4H, and 4B pencils. Along with some electric eraser for some quick texture on the fur pelt. I started taking a little too much time on this, and decided to push on and finish it despite having my eyesight go out (yet again, *sighs*) a little too quickly. So as usual, hopefully I didn’t forget something. I would have liked to have gone back and darkened some of the other sections, but I think it will just have to be like this for now.
To see the fullsized view, click the link below to go to dA (and here is the blue pencil sketch, and here is where I started lightly blocking in the pencils):
View AU King Thorin Pencil study here.
Some of the other sketches I worked on….
This was quickly drawn on a small piece of paper (Thorin is just over 4 and a half inches tall from head to toe on this drawing). Blue pencils first, then my drafting pencil. I purposely tried not to add much detail, or go back and fix things too much. I was trying to scrawl this down as quickly as I could as a warmup/speed exercise (I didn’t bother to time myself).
I’m wanting to get back into quick, low-detailed sketches again to work through ideas and to just keep drawing. And most will probably be small sized, since I plan to put them in a small, bound sketchbook. I used to work like this, drawing quick guidelines first at a smaller size, then enlarging the sketch to whatever size I needed and working any fixes and details in later while transferring to the final paper. It helped cut down on messy lines to erase later.
View quick sketch here.
A section of a very quick sketch I did using black pencil (first lines in blue pencil) on drawing paper for a friend (view here).
A female dwarf, Thorin’s sister (view here):
I’m still feeling really out of it and shaky, so I thought I’d work on some sketches. I already messed up on this one… I started drawing to the Bristol in blue pencil, and ended up digging too hard into the paper (so hard to see the lines right now, and I need to buy new pencils). And… despite thinking I was careful, she’s off-center. Oops! Oh well… I will need to transfer her to another sheet of Bristol to ink. I also changed her costume slightly. The version I had drawn didn’t work so well for this pose — too much covering details. I also chose to do the light jawline beard that many of the female dwaves designed for The Hobbit movie had. I had wanted to do a little more, but again… I didn’t want everything all jumbled together right in the middle of the drawing, making it hard to see. As for what she’s doing… I decided to imagine that Thrain’s war hammer was all they found when he went missing, and they brought it back to her. She is leaning against it, crying. Drawn on 11×14 Bristol, sketched in blue pencil first, then with my drafting pencil. Scanned and adjusted to make the lines a little darker.
And although I keep focusing on Thorin, I intend to work on some of the other dwarves in the Company (Dwalin sketch here):
I decided to work on a quick sketch/study of Dwalin for a friend as a change of pace. It’s very light – I used 2H and 2B pencils (along with the first lines in my usual blue pencil) on 8.5”x11” printer paper. I tried not to think too much about details of costume, since I think I’ve been getting a little burned out on squinting at tons of photos lately. I mainly wanted to get a feel for Dwalin’s face and the main details that really stand out to me (like the shape and flow of the pelt on his costume). I looked at a photo of Dwalin standing in Bilbo’s pantry, and sketched quickly.
Sorry for those of you who view blogs on iDevices — I know these thumbnail links don’t show up, but they are handy to use and also include a text link. Thanks for looking!
I’ve been a little quiet for a while — sorry about that! I’ve had various things on my mind, distractions, and bouts of “just not in the mood.” Heheh! It happens to the best of us.
I decided to push myself to do some facial studies in pencil yesterday, and ended up spending a little more time on one. I was going for a bit of an angry/extreme look to test out a few things. I was going to go much darker (which is why one side of the face is shaded so much), but ran out of time (I refused to make this turn into a multiple-day project):
I’ve been feeling rather crowded in my small living/workspace, and trying to get more organized so I have not done much with art lately. I was in a bit of a mood today, and decided to sketch a little more “expressive” studies of Thorin, and ended up spending more time on this one than planned. Drawn with blue pencil on drawing paper first, then finishing with F, 2B, and 3B pencils mostly, I believe.
View pencil study here.
So, as the quoted part above mentions… I am feeling so crowded lately. I live in a small apartment, and while it does have a study, there is no storage in that room. My husband uses it for work and writing. Plus it’s way too small for most of my needs. I recently bought a big scanner/printer (desperately needed that), and it currently sits on my sewing cart (while my sewing machine is packed away on a shelf). My art table sits in front of the fireplace, and I’ve always had to move furniture around to work on things. Even my laptop sits on the dining room table. I think the “clutter” was getting to me. Unfortunately, I have lived for far too long with hobbies packed away, so packing them away even more is just not going to happen. The flip side is, I sometimes don’t do them.
I recently acquired a nice rolling cart with drawers in it to put my art supplies. This is very nice, as I now no longer have to go into the study (bothering my husband) and digging through bins that are packed full, looking for what I need. Unfortunately, I’ve had to deal with more furniture in an already tightly packed living space. While I don’t clear off the dining room table unless we need it, I won’t let the living room become my “office” with projects everywhere. That’s something I can’t handle, and I don’t want my hubby dealing with the clutter everywhere.
Regardless, I need to find little ways to work again. I admit, I’ve had a craving to work on small accessories with hand sewing (we will see if I get around to doing that). And I had stopped doing quick little sketches and studies, because I felt like the To Do pile was growing out of control… now I want to pull out an old sketchbook and not only get back to them when I can, but also keep it simple. I’ve been pushing myself harder with my current art, and it’s slowed me down. The great thing about sketches that don’t need to be finished… I don’t have to dig for reference photos for costume details. I’ve probably spent way too much time hunting down photos that show details on character costumes that are difficult to see. Ha!
Anyway, I’m still around, and I’m working on things when I can. 🙂
I’m just getting slower and slower these days, but I admit I also am trying to push myself to try new things (or more complicated things).
I started this drawing a little while back, and ended up frustrated with it while in the blue pencil/sketch stage. I ended up working on another drawing, before finally getting back to this one.
I am still doing ink and inkwash, so my work is still black and white, which can sometimes drive me crazy trying to find ways to make the image pop a lot more than just a grey puddle. 🙂 I’m discovering I have some limitations, with what I’m using (waterproof ink) and the paper. I use smooth Bristol, which is a dream to ink with a brush on. Sooooo smooth, but can also buckle badly, and start losing top layers of paper essentially. If I keep going over and over a spot, especially before waiting for the paper to fully dry, I’ll end up with specks of paper that I can brush/rub off the next day when everything is dry again. Unfortunately, even if I mix a darker inkwash, I’m finding the paper is almost too saturated to accept more, and it becomes difficult to add more layers (something I like doing bit by bit, so I can build up an image as needed for depth and clarity).
I’m also starting to get a steadier hand again with inking delicate lines and marks. Even while using a #2 brush (which is bigger than the #1 brush I always used before and can no longer use because it’s starting to lose its point)! Since I probably need to get glasses, I tend to work really close to my paper and don’t realize how delicate my marks are getting, and if I keep going over those areas with inkwash, I start losing those lines or they fade. I finally had to go over a few areas with ink again, and the paper didn’t seem to like that even while trying to make sure it was smooth. A few tense moments! I could always go over them again with a black pencil, but I like the fact that the ink is waterproof for sections as important as main drawing lines.
Anyway! Here is the latest drawing I finished yesterday. I will also quote the text from the deviantART page. Some spoilers are in the italicized part, from the book The Hobbit, so careful if you’re trying to avoid those:
Slight spoiler below, from the book The Hobbit, if you have not read it. This is a rare time I was inspired to draw something that has not happened yet in the movies. I have a bad feeling the ravens will not be showing up, but I enjoy mixing things from the book and movies together anyway:
“Your own wisdom must decide your course; but thirteen is small remnant of the great folk of Durin that once dwelt here, and now are scattered far. If you will listen to my counsel, you will not trust the Master of the Lake-Men, but rather him that shot the dragon with his bow. Bard is he, of the race of Dale, of the line of Girion; he is a grim man but true. We would see peace once more among dwarves and men and elves after the long desolation; but it may cost you dear in gold. I have spoken.”
Then Thorin burst forth in anger: “Our thanks, Roäc Carc’s son. You and your people shall not be forgotten. But none of our gold shall thieves take or the violent carry off while we are alive. If you would earn our thanks still more, bring us news of any that draw near. Also I would beg of you, if any of you are still young and strong of wing, that you would send messengers to our kin in the mountains of the North, both west from here and east, and tell them of our plight. But go specially to my cousin Dain in the Iron Hills, for he has many people well-armed, and dwells nearest to this place. Bid him hasten!”
Drawn on 11 X 14 Bristol, using Black Magic ink and ink wash, Winsor & Newton series 7 sable brushes (#2 and #3), and black and white pencil. Ended up rushing it towards the end with the background out of frustration (and nearly shredded the paper trying to add more layers of inkwash). My poor eyes! I honestly don’t even know if I’ve typed everything on here correctly, much less missed something important on the drawing.
I was also working from very small images of his new costume, and for my own space could not get all the detail correctly like the movie costume (for example, the trim is more simplified).
Link in the Scraps section to the blue pencil sketch:
cfgriffith.deviantart.com/art/…
View finished drawing here.
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. I don’t think I was necessarily getting tired of hobbies, but I have picked up a few more and I guess needed to give those a little time as well as cut loose and have some much-needed fun. I do need to start getting back to sewing, so I think today I might work on some handsewing for an accessory that’s been waiting patiently for me to finish it. I also would like to work on more dwarf fan art, but I know how slow I’ve been so hopefully I can at least plan those a little better so I can put out a few more than I’ve been doing.
Thanks for looking!
