To Tumblr We Go~

Hey, all! I decided to move over to Tumblr as my main art blog. Here is a link: http://jamesdaviscourt.tumblr.com/ ! This will be my last blog spot post!

Frog Mage!

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   His magical career is hoppin'! Armed with an enchanted twig, this wizard wanders the lands aiding anyone who asks! One problem: the only magic he can cast is a simple frog charm! Someone needs a bridge repaired, whammo, giant frog! Measles? Swish, fully cured! Unfortunately, you're now a frog... Bothersome tax collector? Zing! That pesky fly is gone in a second!

   This was an old art night sketch that I decided to do a rough paint pass at! On another note, I will be transitioning to Tumblr from here onwards, and this will be my last Blogspot post! Don't worry, I have frog magic on my side!

I'm Bad, and that's Good.

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   Hey all! I just recently had internet installed at the new apartment---that was 2+ weeks without internet; I don't know how I survived! So here is my first post-dark ages blog post!

   Wreck-It Ralph is one of my favorite animated movies of all time, so I decided to start studying their designs by pausing the movie, and sketching away! The bad guy mantra gets me every time.

How to Use a Sunny Day

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  I ventured out to do some location sketching a few days back, in the neighborhoods around Hillsboro. I liked the accuracy of this sketch, so I toned it in Photoshop. 

Valiant Knight Sketch

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  He has fought countless battles, and seen much of life. Forged through many years of struggle, his sword his only equal, this knight embarks on one final quest--to take hold of an unending legacy, seeking true renown through one more act of bravery.

  This is a second pass of a sketch I did last art night with my friends. The first sketch had potential, so I slapped another piece of paper over it a few days back, and resketched the whole thing with the design changes I had in mind. I like to imagine his mustache bouncing up and down and he speaks--man that would be distracting!

  

Justin Chan Study Sketches!

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   Hey all, I am in the transition period between moving from my old apartment and into the new one--so I thought I would take this chance to start back up on some posting! I recently have been admiring some great designs by the talented artist, Justin Chan! He has an impressive ability to convey believable form on even the most ridiculous and stylized sketches--and his color sense is first class. These are a couple study sketches I did of his paintings. Hope you enjoy this art as much as I did!  

Art Night -- Merpeople!

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  Bouncing ideas off each other during art night proved very fun! We kind of did a Merperson themed session this last Wednesday, where after sketching we would hand our drawings across the table, and the other artists would do Merpeople drawings based off the unique themes of ours (and so forth~). These are a couple of my sketches, toned in Photoshop.

  In the top left design I played with a shell motif armor on the shins, and tried to see if I could get legs and a tail to harmonize in the design. The bottom right sketch was inspired by a graphic anchor weapon shape James Fenner illustrated; I tried to really bulk up this Merman, and really pinched his abdomen in to emphasize that upper torso--connecting straight to a lower body flipper seemed right for this design, and set it apart from the other sketch! 

  I'm looking forward to future art nights!

Color Mood Exploration - Monochromatic!

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   Ah, finally! It's been a really long time since I played around with color! Understanding color mood is very important for any level of painting--from simple shapes, to incredibly complex rendered scenes. As humans we react in very distinct ways when presented with different colors--like red instilling a sense of danger!

  Monochromatic palettes are very simple, and therefore give a simple read. The orange yellow I chose for the first bust conveys warmth, and an appealing deep richness to me--very much bringing honey to mind. The purple blue of the third bust feels jazzy to me, like there is a vibe or energy to it. It's all very interesting--my actual working files are full of notes I can use when presented with more complex subject matter/styles--and I think I might move into complimentary and analogous studies next!

Skeleton Enemy Sketch

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  Here's a quick loose sketch of a skeleton enemy for the maze. I threw some tone on to help the design read! Time for art night!

December Catch Up!

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     Hey all! Hermit mode is treating me nicely, and I've got a ton of stuff in store for upcoming posts! Here are some of my favorite sketches from back in December--I've really been focusing on working  in a loose, exploratory way. The top page is all Majora's Mask themed, and the bottom page is...wizard themed, I guess? Shout out to my favorite animated short: The Reward! Still love it.
     I think I will switch between catch up posts and showing recent work, just to keep things interesting until I'm caught up posting all my work!

Mages~

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  I'm about to head out on a trip back to my home town, so I thought this was as good a time as any to get back into the swing of posting! Anna and I had some really fun ideas for a board game, so in my free time I've been sketching characters in a bunch of different styles to feel out where the project could go. Here are a couple sketches of mages I did in the last few days.

  I thought it might be useful to show anyone who is interested what my sketch pages (bottom image) usually look like--yes, cluttered in my notes on thoughts, ideas, and things to remember (sometimes taking up more space on the page than the sketches!). I've got about two months worth of work to scan and organize for you guys when I get back from Medford; wish me luck!