Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Character Sketches

This is a super scary post for me, but I'm doing it anyway. Haha. :) Who cares -- right? -- because I didn't get anything else artistic done this week. Unless you count trimming my sisters' hair. Or, like... making desserts at work. Haha.

(Want to see one of my sister's beautiful hair? It makes me think of Rapunzel.)



Okay, I'm obviously procrastinating. So here are some character sketches from my most worked-on stories at this time. They are really rough, and I forgot that when I draw off the top of my head instead of following a reference, I get really mad at how my proportions and wrinkles won't work.

They are in order of oldest to youngest from the time they were born in my head, not what their ages are in their respective stories. Each of these three is the main character of their story.

The first is Cassie, who intruded on my peace in 2008. I wrote most of a series about her and her friends before my job sucked away my time and creativity. I don't have a title for the book. Or the series. But in the first book, she goes to camp and finds a treasure. And...she has super powers.


And here we have Henry, a budding chef who is having trouble in school. I wrote about him in 2012, in the summer between quitting my first job and starting my current. This story is also title-less.


Robin came along around fall 2015, but I just wrote her story the beginning of this year while going to art school with no job. The working title is Little Red Driving Hood, but that might change. Haha. It's about her getting her driver's license and getting re-acquainted with her grandma. And some other stuff. It's weird. With video games and cats and real estate.


I just realized every one of these particular stories was written while I was jobless. Anyway, they're all still in first-draft stage, yes, even the one from way back in 2008; but I'm really trying to learn how to move on to revisions and stuff. Pinterest is a great help in that department so far, but it's SUPER hard to find the time around my wacky and draining work schedule... We'll see what happens. And it definitely doesn't help that my brain is like, "Ooh, look! A new idea! Let's add to that mountain of first drafts!" Haha. Okay, it's not really that bad. I technically have only about six or seven COMPLETED first drafts on my shelf...I'm not even going to think about the ones that never reached "the end" right now. It's too much.

Okay, I have to work the rest of the week, but I'll squeeze in some sort of craft or something in the evenings. It's getting really busy for the summer, and Leah pointed out to me that maybe I CAN'T keep posting here...But I like trying. I like the reminder to do something artsy at least once a week. We'll see. I will let you know if it gets to be too much to balance on my plate. Haha. Happy crafting!


P.S. Sorry this is so weird and all over the place and stressy and stuff... I was going to try to trim it down better, but then there would be hardly anything left. Haha. Let me know if it doesn't make sense and if this type of thing is unfit for this beautiful blog, and I will return to my attempted-professional-ish posting. :)


3 comments:

  1. Ah, Sarah! Woo hoo! Love it!!
    It's great that you pushed past the super scary part to show us your progress! Do I understand correctly that you did these illustrations in the last week after being encouraged? So glad you followed through. They are great. More! More!
    And sorry, I know what it's like to have the full time job, but we all can use the "too busy" excuse. That's the point of the blog, to keep us motivated to squeezing something worthwhile into busy lives. Leah, too!

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  2. Of, Marvellous! You did show us some of your illustrations. I have been hoping you would. It is a big and scary step to take to put your creations in the wide world, but this audience is very supportive, so you needn't be concerned about getting torn apart. We are all more than happy to be encouraging.
    I agree with Pam that we need to push ourselves to make creative time in our busy lives. I signed myself up for several, probably too many, summer on-line classes, thinking I would have a quiet summer to concentrate on them, and it has gotten very full and busy with not much art time. But I am pushing to tuck in snippets here and there to accomplish as much as I can. having an in-progress work on hand and close by helps to get it done. I have a small pile of materials in the kitchen-dining room area, so I can cut out a pattern (I am presently working on a jointed bear), or stitch a seam, or gather a ribbon into a rose, or something between household duties. Of course I would prefer focused time, but we don't often get that luxury, so make do around what we have. The final bear (or whatever) is all the more treasured for having been made in the midst of daily life.
    So please do not give up. Little bits as you go each day will still get things made. Have several things in progress, like your crochet, or a story illustration, and add to it a bit each day. Things will get done. You will continue to hone your skills. And you will benefit from the creative effort.
    So, yes, as Pam also said, "More!" We love what you do.
    Your sister's hair is beautiful. It would make a marvellous painting.

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  3. Yes, Pam, I did these this past weekend. :)

    Thank you both for your kind words and encouragement! Little bits seems the way to go, I think I'm learning; and it's good to be reminded I'm not the only one in the busy boat. I wish you all success in your projects!

    (And don't worry too much about Leah's lack of art. Although she will probably not share here, she gets more of an itch to doodle and paint now and then than I do, so she won't be totally devoid of practice this summer.)

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