Art by Blythe

I’ve started taking an continuing education class at Minneapolis College of Art and Design in children’s book illustration, and this is the completed first assignment. We had to pick a random prompt, and come up with fully illustrated page spread. The prompt I chose was “Hello Summer”, thinking a book about a dog’s favorite parts of summer would be cute. I also took the opportunity to sneak some of my own doggos into the piece. 

I absolutely loved Detective Pikachu, so much so that I went and saw it twice. 

I haven’t had a lot of creative ideas lately, so I’ve just been honing in on my painting skills. With this one I was working on realistic faces and moodier lighting, especially on the skin. I relate to Wednesday Addams’ soul. 

A few weeks ago was my 3rd time participating in the Unicorn Art Show, and it just so happened to be the 5th anniversary show! I was able to finish and submit these two pieces, and I’m so pleased with how they turned out. Initially I wasn’t a huge fan of the farting rainbow unicat, but he’s turned out to become one of my favorites. This year’s show was fantastic, and I’m looking forward to participating in the future. 

The Mighty Pigeon Wizard! I’m a little obsessed with birds, and last year for Halloween I dressed up as a Pigeon Wizard. It’s kind of turned into my thing, and i had to draw him! For this piece, I wanted something a little more realistically shaded, like something you’d find in a fantasy board game. It took me quite some time to finish, but was really good practice. 

A French Goose, inspired by a little plush I picked up while in Paris. 

I guess I have a thing for seasonal drinks 

Another portrait practice piece. I struggled with the hair on this one, and ended up redoing a few times. I might go back and touch this up later on; I’m not crazy about how heavily I relied on textured brushes, and I think there’s a few anatomical things I could upgrade. 

I’ve been working on various portrait illustrations, both at work and at home, so I feel like I’ve been maybe changing/growing in how I paint. I really like how this piece turned out, but I’ve been deviating from my normal style. Also, I have a thing for 80′s colors 

It’s this time of year that I sacrifice all dignity and order an obscene amount of Ho Ho Mint Mochas 

#inktober day 02 with a surprise guest appearance by Catt Damon!! I did the #mabsdrawlloweenclub prompt, black cat, today.

#Inktober day 01! Had to redo this one after I smeared the first one with my freak left-handedness 😐 this one’s half the official prompt, half #mabsdrawlloweenclub because I like snakes in hats

I realized I never posted this here! This was my finished piece for my 2nd year in the annual Unicorn Art Show. I wanted to practice painting people, and also start working with gouache. I chose to use gouache and acrylic on a wood panel, which was definitely a new experience. I also was terrified of painting the face for whatever reason, and avoided that until the end. Overall, I’m happy with how this turned out.

Here’s to an awesome 2018! Happy New Year! 

Today’s sketch. Reference photo used

Face practice, reference photo used

Cat skull sketch. Been trying to have more fun and be looser with my sketchbooks