#lauramayscreative

[lauramayscreative]

"Only a metre or two away from the great log, Bold lay amongst the sprouting grass and the remains of the winter’s dead leaves. He was in no pain now. He felt calm. He had no desires. He was now too weak to move and he knew he would die where he lay. He saw Robber alight close by on a birch sapling and was glad. Despite his decision, he was glad he would not die entirely alone. He closed his eyes gratefully. When he next opened them he saw, as through a mist, four familiar and beloved shapes and faces. He blinked slowly, thinking he was a cub again back in White Deer Park.... A sigh escaped Bold's parted lips. He felt a sense of release. All had not been in vain. He looked joyfully towards the black, watchful figure in the birch tree and prepared to leave, at last, the real world."-Colin Dann (The Fox Cub Bold) WIP Illustration of the book version of Bold from The Animals of Farthing Wood's death. I was feeling suddenly very sad and angsty about my art last night and started sketching some foxes (seemingly I always go back to them when I'm feeling down). I've attempted to do a picture of Bold (one of my favourite fictional characters) several times and so I began sketching him again and well, I felt like drawingh how I imagined the book version of his death scene. I referenced his pose from a dead fox I encountered in my local park two winters ago. (Which became a special moment for me; but that's another tale) I'll brighten this up when I finish it, but for now I just wanted to share this WIP with you before I go on holiday! :D #theanimalsoffarthingwood #fanart #illustration #digitalpainting #digitalart #workinprogress #workinprogressart #art #instaart #artstagram #lauramayscreative #illustrationart #animals #animalart #painting #photoshop #huiontablet #bookfanart #artofinstagram #illustratorsoninstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B0wSj6nD1op/?igshid=1nyv4kuciy8mc

[lauramayscreative]

So, I was in a funk last night after hours of trying to draw my fox OCs (but only spewing out crappiness) and started doing some lethargic doodling to try and make at least something worthwhile. (is an art-block impending? I hope not. :S ) I've been looking at a lot of Digimon stuff lately with finishing Tamers and browsing at art on Pinterest and I've been really drawn to the eye that is being used for the Digimon 20th Anniversary logo. So, I started painting a pair of those eyes and ultimately decided to turn them into a green-eyed Koromon; since I felt it would be something easy to draw. Aaaand then it turned into a "drawing Koromon from memory" exercise since I didn't look at any references until after I finished. When I did though I was quite disheartened at the things I'd gotten wrong (my self-esteem is very low right now) but y'know-I figured, this Koromon could be different from the others with his many downwards facing teeth, big egg tooth and potentially dehabilitating lack of cheek muscles. XD (I guess he might even look a bit like Keramon?) I thought he's unique like that and he likes being that way. I guess it's rather fun to see the difference between this drawn-from-memory and the actual design. I've also had a really bad 5 days of not progressing on any of my 3 impending project deadlines and I feel like Koromon is pretty apt to draw to represent how much I'm eating into my time on this planet. (Since he eats a lot?) Do you know when you just feel this barrier between you and work-even though it's super-important you complete it? Yeah, that's me (again) right now. I am actually really happy with this came out! I'm going to be trying to add more colour to my pieces and I feel like this is a nice start. Koromon is (c) respective owners #digimon #digimonfanart #drawfrommemory #instaillustration #artsragram #myart #artoftheday #instaart #fanart #illustration #koromon #lauramayscreative #art #artistsofinstagram #colour #digimonart #digimon20thanniversary #digitalpainting #digitalillustration https://www.instagram.com/p/BwMqP9aFGqX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13qqup29tf3sc

[lauramayscreative]

Some (of the many) sketches I did today experimenting with the design of my creature the Pimmywog for my final major project. Taking inspiration from goats, sheep, beagles, rabbits and hares. Those of you who know my work might be familiar with the Pimmywog; the creatures featured in my poem 'Forlornia', one of the 2/3 poems I will be illustrating for my project. I didn't initially imagine them this way, but I think I prefer this direction much more now. Forlornia pratically serves as an anthem for ny life a lot of the time. (And yeah, I know the long ears makes him look quite a lot like Terriermon; I'm bearing that in mind and trying to ensure they don't look too much alike ;) ) #instaart #artsgram #sketches #creaturedesign #characterdesign #sketchbook #drawing #draw #design #creature #instaillustration #creatureart #pencildrawing #pencilsketch #myart #artoftheday #lauramayscreative #artistsofinstagram #illustration #tumblrart https://www.instagram.com/p/BxdNsjrFyUI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1asc4g39guk0f

[lauramayscreative]

Aaaand here's three Lera expressions as I don't have time to add a fourth... As mentioned in my previous post, these were part of an expressions exercise where I drew my characters emoting using stills of actors for reference. I used Amanda Seyfried as reference for these. I really love the one in the bottom left! She looks so much to how I imagine Lera to look. For these sketches I drew her with the fur that's supposed to mimic long hair as per her early designs. It was something inspired by the same feature in the vixen character designs in The Animals of Farthing Wood animated series, which I loved as a kid and still do now. I think I've found my new favourite colour to digitally sketch in! Also I am going to use actor references as much as I can to draw my character's expressions from now on. I think it's really breathed life into them! #ocart #sketch #instaart #characterdesign #characterart #lauramayscreative #drawing #drawingexercises #draw #foxcharacter #foxart #animalart #cartoon #artistsofinstagram #thefoxesoftheelements #fox #originalcharacterart #tumblrart #digitalsketch #digitalart #huiontablet #art #instaillustration #artofinstagram #artstagram #drawingexercises https://www.instagram.com/p/BxIsIWyFXFk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nwcg0zbsmpti

[lauramayscreative]

I was going to be good and work on my final project today (I was even stressing about it a lot last night and this morning) but instead I ended up (predictable me) doing my own thing for the entire day... Anyways! I discovered a few days ago that the 6th year anniversary for TFOTE's 3rd draft falls on the 25th of this month and so I've been getting stuck in with doing art to celebrate it. This afternoon I felt like drawing my characters doing different expressions. I tried a few just freehand before watching @bageldenizen 's new video on expressions and deciding to an activity he recommended where you draw your character using an actor as reference by using a still from a movie or TV show. I thus used several videos on Youtube to do sketches for the exercise using my OC (and beloved boi) Silver Paw! The top left and bottom two are using Mark Hamill in the Star Wars Original Trilogy as reference (I personally love his expression in the close-up when he sees his adoptive family murdered). At the same time I remembered how I used to think Silver was quite like Luke (Silver's more timid now though) so it kinda made for the perfect reference. ...And the top right is exaggerated from Christopher Egan playing Charlie in the Letters to Juliet Trailer (which I was using at first to use Amanda Seyfried as reference for drawing Lera). I'm glad I got to pay homage (albiet in a quirky way) to Star Wars-even if I'm a day late! This exercise was also a lovely breath of fresh air for me-especially since I've have quite a bad case of same-face symdrome. #ocart #sketches #artstagram #instaart #art #expressions #animalart #characterdesign #originalcharacterart #thefoxesoftheelements #artoftheday #artistsofinstagram #lauramayscreative #tumblrart #drawing #draw #huiontablet #drawingexercises #tumblrart https://www.instagram.com/p/BxGEwBfF0L4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=aseszwben9d

[lauramayscreative]

Posting this a little earlier than usual as I'm going to try to catch up on a few hours of sleep 😪. The last of the dragon sketches I made yesterday! I'll (hopefully) developing this one into a digital painting for a redraw of the second piece I ever created on Fire Alpaca in 2014 (swipe!). I was looking at draft horses for my current college project earlier on yesterday and so that inspired the new look of the dragon's face. #dragon #fantasyart #instaart #sketch #artstagram #creatureart #creature #dragons #lauramayscreative #artistsoninstagram #art #artofinstagram #artistsofinstagram #digitalart #digitalsketch #huiontablet #fantasycreature #workinprogress #myart #tumblrart #artontumblr #remake #firealpaca #firealpacaart #artwork #draw #drawing https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw44O9tFLmS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wjnymbmgz6io

[lauramayscreative]

Who like the Bongo? We like the Bongo! Oh oh oh We like the Bongo! -laughs- Wasn't that mango juice advert just great? Anyways-here are the Bongo sketches that I drew at @zslwhipsnadezoo ! There were two adult induviduals that I drew, and there was something else in the outside enclosure that I thought could be a Bongo calf, but now I'm really not sure if it was because it looked much paler and I couldn't see many stripes on it (but that might have been because it was in quite harsh sunlight). I loved drawing the Bongos; they really are so beautiful and it was amazing to see them up close! Their stripes are fascinating. My personal favourite out of all of these is definately the "Bongo Butt" sketch XD. #observationaldrawing #drawingfromlife #animalart #sketchesofinstagram #bongoantelope #myart #instaart #draw #drawing #sketchbook #zoo #zoodrawing #animalsketch #antelope #lauramayscreative #animals #zslwhipsnadezoo #sketch #sketches #pencilsketch #pencilsketches #artofinstagram #artstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BwfV3i3FSzl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gt4177rq4xmc

[lauramayscreative]

I've just uploaded a speedpaint video covering the whole process of making my recent fox study! It's the first video on the channel that's from a new piece and shows the whole creation process. I'll put the link in my bio. You can check it out on my Youtube channel, lauramayscreative! I'm going to endeavor to continue to upload 1 video per month in the next year. #speedpainting #speedpaint #youtubevideos #youtube #foxes #study #photostudy #foxart #youtubeart #fox #newyoutubevideo #youtubechannel #lauramayscreative #artofinstagram #instaart #animalart #animals https://www.instagram.com/p/BtJxxRPhSkZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=165epb6jq05tx

[lauramayscreative]

I ended up deciding to to have a chill day today and it felt really good to sit at my desk and relax. I watched two of @aaronblaiseart 's lessons from the How to draw Wolves, Coyotes and Foxes tutorials-specifically the fox characters and proportions videos. I had the idea yesterday to create some sketches exploring shape language to express character personality with the full original cast of #thefoxesoftheelements. I decided I would try Alphai first, and ultimately drew this headshot re-design of him using the previous digital art I've made of him as references. One of the things that Aaron Blaise emphasized was the need for characters to be clear so that they would be instantly recognizeable. My old fox character designs feature characters like Alphai having ear tufts (Alphai also originally has a beard), and aside from this you can't really tell exactly what species they are sometimes because of their head and body shape looking a bit like wolves especially. So I decided to omit the tufts and beard and used what I learnt on drawing Fox faces from the tutorial so as to try and make him look as recognizeable as a fox as possible. I wanted to keep in his grey cheek fluff because that was an interesting feature of his design. This time I changed his face and the said fluff to be more square so as to communicate his toughness. You can also see that I added features such as tiny scars to his face to show that he's been in many battles (as leader of a fox 'pack' in the original canon). I also came up with the idea that Alphai might not necessarily be an 'old' fox like the original story-but instead like (in human years) a 40 year old with premature aging due to stress. I really like how he turned out! I think he certainly looks more like a fox. I'm considering painting him! I think his deep blue eyes will look great coloured in! #foxes #foxart #foxcharacter #animalart #animaldrawing #animalcharacter #lauramayscreative #OC #myart #artstagram #tumblrart #creative #art #instaart #sketchesofinstagram #sketch #sketchbook #pencilsketch #draw #drawing #characterdesign #traditionalart #artoftheday #artofinstagram #instaartist #ocart https://www.instagram.com/p/BsglEg_h5BA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2e0c3vhlw1mt

[lauramayscreative]

So this is a character I sketched this morning (my circadian rhythms are out again and I couldn't get to sleep at 4am) after he popped up in my head. His story is that his family owns a farm. Scarecrow after Scarecrow fails to protect their crops from the crows and so the boy takes it upon himself after developing a hatred for them to stay in the field and scare away the crows. However, after spending time watching the crows he gains respect for them and befriends them. He therefore keeps the crows happy by feeding them grains and the crows, because they're being fed and because the boy is now their friend, don't eat the crops anymore. I watched my first studio Ghibli movie (My Neighbour Totoro) two days ago and I've seen pictures of the characters from Over The Garden Wall and I think they both inspired the style of this boy's design. (I was also watching an Omega Ruby Shinylock by PokéMENS before I tried to sleep and I like Wally's design a lot-that mainly inspired the boy's hair) I really like how he looks! I think drawing myself in my favourite Pokémon picture definately helped with his shirt and boots. Maybe try to imagine him and his story playing out like a studio Ghibli movie? #illustration #instaart #instaillustration #art #lauramayscreative #creative #drawing #characterdesign #character #tumblrart #artoftheday #artofinstagram #artstagram #pencilsketch #sketchesofinstagram #sketch #sketchbook #pencilart #pencildrawing #studentart #crow #scarecrow #boy #birds #story #design #traditionalart https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8h-ogBcnX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18ds4pp2cu2fg

[lauramayscreative]

Dragooooooons! 2/3 dragons sketches that I made this afternoon. I've been wanting to redraw a dragon that I painted in 2014 recently; and I've been trying to sketch foxes I've naturally been making these very elogant, whistful gesture lines...My subconsious and hands must have both really wanted to make some dragons. XD The first one is a wingless dragon and the second is inspired by the design of the aforementioned 2014 dragon. I used references of a swan's wing for him because I knew I would be stupid not to considering how little I know about wings. XD I like how it came out! All three of the sketches were really, really fun to do (most authentic fun I've had sketching or painting in awhile, actually) and were a nice change if pace from canids and humans. As soon as I put pen to tablet the whole experience felt so smooth...Aah, such a nice, rare feeling... #dragon #sketchesofinstagram #artstagram #instaart #artoftheday #lauramayscreative #art #creaturedesign #fantasyart #fantasy #dragons #dragonart #myart #digitalsketch #creatureart #sketch #creature #winglessdragon #dragondrawing #drawing #draw #huiontablet #huion #wing #wingedcreatures #creaturesketch https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw2nPJrF3wk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uj48gt95bs4z

[lauramayscreative]

Doodles of my fox OCs Silver Paw and Lera as humans (again!). So, I was drawing and sketching for around 4 hours early this morning and decided to try (inbetween studies) to update my design for a humanized Silver Paw. After many headshot attempts (where I realised just how much I've been opting for similar facial features in my male characters XD...) turns out these doodles at the end made the frustration worth it. I realised quite soon after my first picture of them humanized that Silver would look quite different. I wanted him to have longer, fluffy hair (rather than it being spiky and short) and-because he's a sweet, kind, timid boii-I wanted him to wear the baggy cardigans. His hair was the main bit of his design that I had to keep iterating over and over. For some reason I knew how I wanted it to look in my head-I just couldn't draw it right-so I was SO happy when I was able to get this out-and even happier when I managed to add Lera in there with him in the first pic. I'd like to imagine they're in Uni together smiling for a photo. I've been in a real SilverxLera mood recently and getting deeper into the Miraculous Fandom so I feel like drawing some cute stuff right now. ^.^ #ocs #humanized #originalcharacters #sketchbook #artstagram #myart #thefoxesoftheelements #lauramayscreative #instaart #sketchesofinstagram #artoftheday #couples #cuteart #cute #love #drawing #art #sketch #draw https://www.instagram.com/p/BwxgHmkF8cw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zgjtr5rbw8n2

[lauramayscreative]

5 ornyxes at @zslwhipsnadezoo ! They were all sitting down in a row but I felt more comfortable with drawing them (mostly) seperately on the page. My Dad thinks I should do a digital painting showing how they actually looked like! Do you like the idea? Stay tuned as I've decided to upload my art vs artist later this evening! #observationaldrawing #animaldrawing #sketch #orynx #sketchbook #zslwhipsnadezoo #lauramayscreative #draw #drawingexercise #zoodrawing #drawing #pencilsketch #animalsketch #zoo #artstagram #instaart #artistsofinstagram #myart #tumblrart https://www.instagram.com/p/BwhyVfSlJMR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18vty1p6g3mf8

[lauramayscreative]

Sketches of the lionessess at @zslwhipsnadezoo ! As a former Lion King Fanart Artist I was really excited to be able to draw some in person for the first time! Throughout my whole trip I was thinking of @aaronblaiseart and whilst drawing the lions I thought: "I think I might be feeling a bit like Aaron when he draws Lions"-it was honestly so magical to draw them and I'm very happy with what I was able to put down! (I'm especially surprised at how I was able to capture some of the different planes on their faces) Slightly side note; I went with my family (My dad and my sister) to Whipsnade and we were all surprised at just how much the big cats we saw acted like domesticated cats. Ocassionally one of the lionessess would roll onto their bellies and it reminded us of how our cat acts. (My sister and myself call any cat a "Kitten" and a common phrase of mine is to exclaim "What a Kitten!" when I am in awe of them in some way, hence why I scribbled that phrase on the second picture XD) As well as being quite nostalgic for me, I was also able to notice things about the lions that I never did before! It was really great. Coming this evening: Bongos! (If you haven't been introduced to Bongos-a type of antelope-look them up right now I promise you won't regret it ashkhfjjgv) #lion #observationaldrawing #drawingfromlife #lioness #sketch #animalart #animaldrawing #sleepinglion #sleepinglions #sleep #lauramayscreative #myart #artstagram #instaart #drawingexercise #draw #drawing #pencilsketch #pencildrawing #animalsketch #sketchesofinstagram #sketchbook https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwb5r6uljlv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=m5zg63rkn8dw

[lauramayscreative]

So, yesterday I visited @zslwhipsnadezoo and drew some of the animals there! Here are some sketches of Ljama the Reticulated Giraffe. I've decided to do seperate uploads for each species I drew, so you'll be seeing a lot of sketch uploads from me in the next few days! Tomorrow: Lions! #observationaldrawing #animaldrawing #sketch #giraffeart #giraffe #zslwhipsnadezoo #sketchbook #lauramayscreative #draw #drawingexercise #zoodrawing #drawing #pencilsketch #animalsketch #zoo #reticulatedgiraffe #artstagram #instaart #artistsofinstagram #myart #tumblrart https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaWC7Mlx8P/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15cf0ooc48fgh

[lauramayscreative]

(Swipe for close-up!) I've been working on this off and on for the past 3 weeks (Woah-it's really been 3 weeks?! Crazy!) and finally had the time to finish it off yesterday. It's not anything too spectacular, nor am I that proud of it, but I wanted to paint Silver Paw again after what I've learnt from my recent studies and tutorials. It was one of those pieces where no matter how much I tried it only seemed to stay the same, or get worse. The lighting was definately a huge contributor to this problem, and so I'm definately taking note to always plan out my light sources before I start painting. In the end I went for a diffused lighting source since I wanted to portray Silver on a cold, foggy day in winter. (You can bet your life that I listened to 'Let it Go' from Frozen to get me in the mood aaaaaaahhh XD) I do like the blue effects I put in there yesterday though c: I think Silver would best be portrayed facing the camera, since it showcases his eyes and nose marking better. (I'm actually also working on a face-on piece but in a different style...) Might turn this into a speedpaint for the channel! #digitalpainting #ocart #digitalart #animalpainting #artstagram #instaart #thefoxesoftheelements #Silverpaw #lauramayscreative #tumblrart #artofinstagram #artistsofinstagram #foxes #foxcharacter #foxart #foxpainting https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv9QOurlAqT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19chrzpk6wmo2