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A Glimpse Into the Eye of an Artist, FREEBIES & Thank You's


Well hello bloggy friends!! I am so excited at how many responses I am getting for the giveaway...I am so excited to find out who will win!!! I am still working on a few projects, but I had a pretty hard day. I really wish that hurt didn't cause so much anger sometimes...I really do not like the feeling of being really sad, but sad with a wall, which = anger...boo. I decided to do a little therapy, so what better therapy than some critter art (-;

Mercer Mayer's Critter has quite the personality so I thought I would work on him today! Better yet, I took screen snippings  along the way so you can see a little bit of what I do and how my art comes to life (some of it anyway). Many of you have asked what program I use and how I make my art, so I thought to myself...nothing makes me happier than to share & make others happy (okay, well I like to see my sales go up too...that's also a plus...hehehe).

Today I opened up Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended
Here is the link to the Adobe Website for more info...




I am not going to go through this as a tutorial, but just as a little glimpse into a few hours of my art therapy. I have quite a few snapshots, so try to bear with me here...THERE ARE FREEBIES AT THE END...lol


I begin with a large workspace and high resolution so I don't ever have to squint while drawing...bad for my back and my eyes... In some cases, I begin working with shapes to outline the proportions of the character and fool around with perspective before I get nitty gritty...The shapes help guide me as I begin to bring my little critter to life...

Because Little Critter books were some of my favorite growing up, I will draw a critter.... however, I will not be selling this or offering it for free... that would be illegal....hahaha








Next, I just continue working through the details...zooming in at 100% and then zooming back out to 25%. At 100% with 300dpi, you can see ALL your mistakes...something not too great for a bit of a perfectionist...
I just continue to draw, shape, revise, tweak, add, subtract, pull, tug, erase...well, you get the point...until I can begin to delete the shape outlines and work solely with my little critter. Mind you, I did not include every single step I did because that would be ridiculous...AND, you would know how OCD I am...hehehe. The Critter character is quite funny because his big toe is in the opposite direction as a person or a human character's would be. The Critter's small toe is on the inside, making his little body quite unique...Something I really never noticed before...hmmmm








Arms and hands are my ultimate challenge...I HATE HANDS..hehehe sometimes, I opt to give characters just little stubby's or "mitten hands". I will continue to work at it...



Now that I have most of the orignil shape guides out of my way, I can begin to give my Critter some personality. I was looking at the character from "I Just Forgot: by Mercer Mayer.That book has lots of attitude - just the medicine I was needing (-;






Okay, there was quite a bit more that went into the final touches...but I won't bore you with all the details...hehehe



 Here are the FREEBIES!!!! Enjoy!!
 Thank you for following...I feel happier already!!! Please read my Terms of Use before using any of my graphics for personal and/or commercial use.







Oh! Before I go, I want to thank a few bloggers for giving me awards. I have previously passed these on; however, I ALWAYS feel special when someone thinks to honor me with a little award...thank you sooooo much!!




I tried to get instant chat up on my blog today, but Google talk would not work and MEEBO kept logging me out! I will figure it out...any suggestions would be great...I would love the ability to just chat with those of you who are online (-;;




  Kindergarten, 6th, 7th, 8th - TeachersPayTeachers.com       Pin It

23 comments:

  1. Takes lots of artistic talent to see and create what you do with the graphics. Thank you for the tutorial.

    Cheryl

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    1. No problem!! Love to share...I would have done a video if I could have...hehehe


      Thank you!
      Michelle

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  2. Thanks for sharing! There certainly is a lot of time and work that goes into each little creature and graphic you make! Do you use a graphics pad to draw?
    I am glad you have an outlet for those feelings. I certainly hope it wasn't one of your customers causing you grief!

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    1. Thank you & yes, a lot of time, but I really enjoy it. I use the largest Wacom tablet and specialized pen (the one with a variety of tips that can be interchanged) for drawing. Using a mouse would be horrible on the wrist...yikes! And no, customers are keeping me sane at the moment. I am trying to trust a man who doesn't want to be trusted (if you know what I mean). My husband promises the world, but offers nothing and I refuse to work hard so that he can be trusted...meaning, if he really wants my trust, then all he has to do is be honest..Big lies can really cause a lot of pain...but the little, annoying, useless, "you wonder why there is even a lie", lies, are completely draining. We don't even talk anymore because I can't trust anything he says. He "offers" lies. I don't even have to ask him any questions or even hint that I am concerned the slightest bit and he will lie. I think he seriously has an issue that he can't control, but that I just don't have the stamina to deal with anymore.

      I am hoping that sales will continue and I will be able to purchase the Cintiq 24HD Display and possibly upgrade my computer...it's a long shot, but it's always good to have goals...hehehe..I would love to post a video tutorial, but the computer I work off of does not have a camera on the monitor. I was working on a duel monitor, but the one with the camera over-heated during the summer & I have not been able to replace it. I taught myself how to use my design program little by little, but I haven been drawing since I could draw.

      After meeting my biological mother two years ago (well, almost) after 24 years apart, she told me some "stories" about what I was like as a toddler. The only good (honest thing really...gosh, I have really allowed my past to determine what people I allow in my life....good lord...the more I think about it, the more I wish I would have had help as a child so that my choices later on would not cause me to be so vulnerable) thing she told me was that I was sooo independent & taught myself how to write my own name when I was only three. Mind you, she has a drug dependency and most of her memories are completely messed up, but this is one I actually believed. She said that I would look at a letter for a long time and then attempt to write it until I had it perfectly the same...something I can still do to this day. While painting murals, I never used a projection screen because I could pencil it out and then paint the correct proportions no matter how large or small. My most difficulty with art has been finding my own niche - I have masses of things that I like and like to draw that I don't ever have a "theme" or style of drawing/painting that I prefer. I prefer them all...hehehe.

      Sorry for such a long response...I must have got a bit of sleep last night...LOL!

      Thank you for the loveliness!!
      Michelle

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    2. um...oops, I don't know what happened during the last sentence of the second Paragraph, but I meant to say that I have been drawing from a very young age...LOL...

      Michelle

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  3. Love to see how you do this. Little Critter is adorable.

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    1. Thank you...wish I would have made his eyes bigger...hehehehe. Glad you like him and hopefully you can get some use out of the frames...

      Michelle

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  4. Dang! That's a lot of work! Makes me appreciate your insanely awesome talent even more! Thanks for the critter! I LOVE Little Critter! :)

    Hope today is a better day for you!

    Oh My Little Classity Class

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    1. Thank you sooo much!! I am glad you like the Critter Kid...

      Michelle

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  5. Loved that you showed us how you do this. Little Critter is amazing!


    Love your work (but you already knew that!) :)


    Journey of a Substitute Teacher

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  6. WOW! You are quite an artist! I'm in awe of your talent.
    ☺ Tanya
    First Grade is Fantabulous!

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  7. Your art work process is very cool. Thanks for sharing that!
    Barbara
    Grade ONEderful

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  8. I enjoy seeing the steps that goes into making graphics. Thank you for taking the time to share that with us. I always assumed there was more to it than what I knew about. So true! You truly have a gift! Have you thought about visiting a local art school? Not that I think you need lessons, far from it! You have a lot of natural talent. But, I think you would enjoy getting "networked" in with the art community. There are probably many opportunities out there that you could participate in.

    I also wanted to thank you for adding me to your list of "Brilliant Blogs". I get 25-50 page views a day from your blog. That's pretty amazing, isn't it!!!!!

    Michelle
    Teach123

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    1. Thank you Michelle! I have never really thought of taking art classes because my art has been more of a hobby than a career...well, until now! However, I am networked with many art and design sites and blogs - some of my favorites are in my links below the blog roll. I think you have a really great idea and I always consider myself a student...there is always room for improvement...hehehe.

      I think it is really great that I am directing traffic to your site!!! Thank you for sharing that! I love to see where my traffic is coming from! Hopefully you continue to get many more visits...

      Thank you

      The 3AM Teacher

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  9. ok - I've watched my hubs do his photoshop tricks and I just don't get it - lol...too many steps to take! But I'm glad you guys can do it!!! Because we LOVE LOVE LOVE your work!!!

    and I LOVE Little Critter!!! HOW are you going to get finished with all of these projects?!?! lol
    and as always - thank you for the freebies!!

    ♥ Jen
    The Teacher's Cauldron

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  10. WOW! I appreciate you and all artist! I can't even draw a circle. I'm thankful you are so talented. Love your graphics.

    Petersons-Pad

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  11. Oh to be as talented as you! I can barely draw a circle, so for now I'll just purchase my clip art from people as talented as you! Have fun with it!

    First Grade Delight
    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

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    1. HAHAHA!! You are hilarious & I am sure you have artistic talent, but I'm glad to have the honor to create for everyone....It's always a bit scary at first to think, "what will people think of my art?" And yes, I did think that...hehehe...to my wonderful surprise, the graphics are loved and being put to good use (-;

      Michelle

      The 3AM Teacher

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  12. Thanks for the freebie. It was interesting to see how you create. Lots of work and time.

    :) Sue
    theverybusykindergarten

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