My Work :: Part 3: Sketch of a Girl

I have absolute faith, from past experience, that no one will come to my site, but since I just made my first sketch post ever to DeviantArt and mentioned this site in my description, I had better attach the image in question! =)

For the sketch: I just used one of those cheap Bic self-sharpening mechanical pencils on some sketchbook paper, nothing fancy. Here is the description I wrote on DeviantArt, to go along with my sketch:

"Just a sketch of a random girl to practice my proportions, especially foreshortening, and dynamic poses. I used a panel from Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon, final volume, for a starting reference point, though it is quite modified. I think because I was watching the Olympic speed skaters and Bleach that day, they also worked their way into the sketch. My first sketch posted to DeviantArt ever, and one i'm surprisingly pleased with. Too see the Naoko panel inspiring the sketch, see my blog."

So see, watching the Olympics was a good thing! =) Hah, I will find any excuse. If you've seen Bleach the answer is quite obvious, but I think she turned out looking an awful lot like Orihime. I watched Bleach in the afternoon and sketched this while watching the Olympics that evening, so I find the resemblance of the two very funny. Definitely not on purpose, but I'm glad it happened, as I think it gives the girl in my sketch a sweet vulnerability, in spite of the alarming situation, whatever it is, she is currently in.

I actually drew and compiled the jpeg I'm uploading to this blog a long time ago, way back in February. But as I wanted to attach it to a long post on plagiarism I was writing, which has yet to be finalized, it never got up. (Stupid hulking post, I will get it up soon, if only to get it done with.) I have another image for that post all ready to go, so I feel okay in including this one here.

I basically, in posting the Naoko pic and my pic, want to talk about the rule of borrowing others' images in your own work. One of my teachers put it this way: you are allowed to use another artist's pose/layout/idea/design as long as you change a certain percentage of the image to make it your own. I cannot remember the number anymore, I think it was around 20% but that seems awfully low. Anyway, the basic idea is that you can use images as references, but any artist worth his or her salt will take that reference image and change it to make it uniquely their own, in whatever way they deem best. Very very true.

Anyway, you can visit me at DeviantArt by clicking here, if you like. The sketch can be found by clicking on the "Scraps" icon. I actually like my blue kitty icon there better, because of the way I cropped it, but I'm too lazy to change it here and I like having the two. I am still so new to DeviantArt, but hope I'll end up liking it. If I even get one helpful critique of my work, it will be a site well worth it. Ciao for now.