Delving Into Digital Art

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! For today's post, I'm going to be sharing some of the digital art I have attempted over the last 2-ish months. I haven't been practicing regularly, instead mostly working at random times. 

I'm not going to be explaining what I did for every piece because there are about 40 digital art pieces in this post. Instead, I will be explaining the first three, then I'll just show them consecutively. I don't want to bog down this post with too many words; it's already going to be long enough as is. 

Let's get into my first digital art gallery!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

I have never given much thought to doing digital art. My only experience with digital art has come from playing Pokemon Art Academy and Disney Art Academy on the Nintendo 3DS. I don't have a tablet to draw on and due to my wrist issues, I can't use a computer mouse for hours on end. The movement and constant grip on the mouse strains my wrist. Then, I realized I could use my keyboard to draw on Microsoft Paint by simply using the direction keys and the space bar.

After finding this out, I decided to try my hand at digital art. I'm not good, but I want to get better. If I could do both traditional and digital art, I feel as if it'll be a useful skill, just in case I ever run into problems with either. At the moment, I'm just trying to get a handle on the space bar use. Using the space bar and direction keys is interesting because it functions kind of like an Etch-A-Sketch, which I loved using when I was younger, but I haven't used one in a couple years. It's a tiny bit harder on the Etch-A-Sketch though, due to the twisting motion of the knobs. 

After using Microsoft Paint a couple times, I started using Autodesk Sketchbook, which I initially found on my family's laptop. After this, I saw it on my desktop and experimented with it. The majority of the digital art pieces in this post were created using Autodesk Sketchbook. 

King, Alexandria. Stormy Gray. March 15, 2021. Microsoft Paint.

I was using the oil paint tool with my mouse. I took a break in between, so I was able to do something. As I mentioned in my creative block post (linked here: 7 Simple Ways to Escape Artist's/Writer's Block (opens in new window)), one of my favorite things to draw is eyes, so I decided to do a quick eye. I think this took me about 15-20 minutes once I got into it. It isn't great, but I don't think it's awful.

King, Alexandria. Vine. March 15, 2021. Microsoft Paint.

I also painted this vine (which is also one of my automatic go-tos for drawing). Personally, I don't like the leaves on this vine, but I do like the color I used for the highlights.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 28, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

In Autodesk Sketchbook, there are symmetry tools. You can pick one of three. The first is two halves divided vertically. The second is two halves divided horizontally. The third functions as radial symmetry (think of a pizza divided into at least 3 pieces that can quickly become 16 pieces) The radial symmetry tool is how I've done the majority of the following pieces.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 28, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 28, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 28, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 30, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. March 31, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. April 13, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

King, Alexandria. Untitled. May 4, 2021. Autodesk Sketchbook.

There you go! That's the end of my gallery. 

I know this seems like a lot of pieces (it is), but I've done about 180 pieces in total, quite a few following the same format as these, plus others that are completely different. The pieces here are just my favorite ones. 

Honestly, I don't understand why some of the picture borders and letters seem to be larger and bolded and why some of the spacing is off. I hope it wasn't that distracting (if I'm lucky, you didn't even notice until I pointed it out). I tried to fix it, but it was beginning to frustrate me and I didn't want to mess up the post, so I stopped.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what you think in the comment section. I'd love to hear your commentary. 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌

May the 4th: A Collection of Star Wars Art

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today is May the 4th! That means it's Star Wars Day! To be honest, I'm not a die-hard fan of Star Wars (any of the movies), though I have watched them many times. However, my sister and I tend to do something for Star Wars Day, even if it's just watching an episode of Star Wars Rebels or something. 

Today I thought I would showcase some Star Wars art that I've been working on for two weeks, specifically for this post. I thought it would be fun to draw a total of seven Star Wars characters, each for one day of the week. each one involving a different Star Wars character for May the 4th, Revenge of the 5th, and Return of the 6th. 

I don't own a scanner, so I apologize if the photos don't showcase the art as well as they could (I tried). I will include the media used, however only one medium was utilized when I was creating these pieces.

Without further ado, let's get into the post!

Stormtrooper

King, Alexandria. Stormtrooper. April 22, 2021.
Crayola Colored Pencils (pack of 100).

This is the first drawing I completed for this post. I was originally intending to draw the VHS cover of The Empire Strikes Back from 1995, but I didn't like my proportions on the second drawing I attempted, so I decided to eliminate that completely and just go for the Stormtrooper. 

Like the photo says, I used the 100 pack of Crayola Colored Pencils and I used this medium for every drawing I did. I used to draw using graphite and then color with colored pencils, but I never cared for the gray graphite line that it would create. 

I attempted a drawing like this two years ago when I drew my sister a birthday card of Bo Peep and Woody from Toy Story 4, and it worked really well then, so I've just been doing it the same way for a couple years now. What I do is I get a light peach color (the color sand in my pack) and draw where everything goes. Then I fill it in with a more noticeable color, that way the drawing lines are basically invisible. 

I had to draw the outline with colored pencil here, but that was a personal preference. Since I was drawing on white printer paper and Stormtroopers are white, I wanted to make sure to include an outline, that way the shape of the helmet wouldn't get lost in the sea of white.

BB-8, R2-D2, and D-O

King, Alexandria. Droids. April 23, 24, & 25.
Crayola Colored Pencils (pack of 100).

This was the second drawing I completed. I have included three photos below that show them enlarged, so the full drawing of each can be seen. For this one, I drew BB-8 (my favorite droid), R2-D2 (a classic and my sister's favorite), and D-O from The Rise of Skywalker (when it comes to projects like this, I like drawing in threes; plus it gives the drawing a nice mix of new and old). I did this across a few days, drawing one droid per day, for three reasons.

1: So I wouldn't mess up my hand

2: So I could be sure that I could dedicate at least half an hour to draw them

3: I tend to step away from my pieces for a little while because I don't want to ruin them

In total, this piece probably took me about 3-4 hours. BB-8 took about 40 minutes, R2-D2 took 2 hours, and D-O took about 20 minutes.

King, Alexandria. BB-8. April 23, 2021.

King, Alexandria. R2-D2. April 24, 2021.

King, Alexandria. D-O. April 25, 2021.

Darth Vader

King, Alexandria. Darth Vader. April 27 to April 29, 2021.
Crayola Colored Pencils (pack of 100).

I drew this drawing of Darth Vader across three days. It took me 8 hours to complete. This piece was difficult to draw, mostly due to the shadows, highlights, and layers needed to effectively pull this off. The proportions didn't come out exactly like my reference, so I adapted it. The hand is drawn lower and the glove is drawn more. The mask is also more rounded.

I'm particularly proud of how the lightsaber came out, as well as the highlighting on the helmet and the fingers (hands aren't one of my strong suits).

The reference photo I used was a comic cover for Darth Vader (2017-2018). The comic issue was #12 (comic cover is below). The cover art was done by Giuseppe Camuncoli, whose best known works are The Amazing Spider-Man and The Superior Spider-Man. 

I'm honestly surprised this one took as long as it did. I was expecting it to take half the time elapsed, but I'm glad I didn't rush it (not that I was going to). This piece was incredibly challenging, difficult, and fun. 

It probably would've taken me two days, but last week, I had to stop to write my review for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (linked here: Is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes a Villain Sympathizer Novel? (opens in new window)). 

Mandalorian and Baby Yoda

King, Alexandria. The Mandalorian. April 30 to May 3, 2021.
Crayola Colored Pencils (pack of 100).

This piece took about 4 and a half hours. This one's pencil strokes are a bit more messy (particularly around the sun), because I'm a major procrastinator and rarely ever finish things before the ideal due date. I started this on Friday, April 30. Then, I took a two day drawing break for some reason that isn't valid, and finished it about twelve hours before this post goes up, so that's fantastic. 

However, this was actually a different drawing than I was intending to do. I was going to do something a bit different as far as the Mandalorian goes, but I didn't for two reasons.

1: It could've been a potential spoiler for Season 2

AND

2: Since I procrastinated so much, it would've taken a bit longer and required more research I didn't have time for

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I hate the feet, but otherwise, I like it.

That's it for my Star Wars art! I hope you enjoyed it! 

I'd really love to read your opinions in the comment section. Which one is your favorite? My favorite ones are the droid one and Darth Vader because it was an entertaining challenge. 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌