Basic Illustration Class - Lesson 5

Today I'm going to share with you what we did for lesson 5. Sorry to skip lesson 4 as I need more time to complete it. 

In lesson 5, we learnt to draw the basic structures of animal forms and how we can then transform them into interesting creatures. Fun fun fun!

Jimmy's version:

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First of all we tried to get the basic form out. Boxes are great way to get the right perspective.

(I was a little upset by these images. They remind me of poor doggies trapped in tiny cages waiting to be slaughtered in some countries :( ). 

From these...

To this.

Moving on, we have our horses! Beautiful horses by Jimmy.

And mine. Jimmy commented that they looked like little pony. Lol.

Look at the transformation by Jimmy... Interesting eh?

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Here's my little pony... transformed into a flute centaur.

Birds! I've always been fascinated by their wings probably because of my obsession with Angels.

My lizard-looking phoenix. Ha!

And lastly, one of my worst nightmares... bats! 

Heh heh! What do you think of my bat creature? I find it so hard to draw evil/ scary looking creatures.. they always turned out looking cute or comical. Or both.

Okay, that's all I have for you today.

I've been working on a project I'm very excited about lately. A little hint: it's related to dogs; something I've been wanting to do for a while. I'll tell you more when the time is right. Stay tuned! ;)

❤ Blessings, Rheea


Basic Illustration Class - Lesson 1

Hi guys, sorry for the delay of this post!

Here's a recap on my first basic illustration class at Mages as promised.

For our first lesson, we were taught to create human figures using the 8 'boxes' method. Notice how I've divided the page to 8 different portions, each serves as a guideline for the length of various body parts. I think his arms are a tad too long. Lol.  

I felt as though I was being transported back to my college days when I was a fashion design student. Even then, the fashion figures we were taught to draw weren't as detailed (and fun).

Part two of the lesson was a real challenge for me. We had to work using a tablet! (I bought a tablet few years back and gave up after a few attempts. I guess I still enjoy the feel of traditional pen strokes. Or I was too lazy to persist).

Anyway, I was really thankful I have some basic Photoshop skills prior to that so I didn't pass out from hyperventilation in the class that day. We were asked to create a monster/alien creature and this was what I came out with. Of course I'm not a fan of ugly looking monsters and thus struggled quite abit before I gave birth to this one. I hope it scares you enough? 

The methods we used to create this piece were by using 'Lasso' tool to crop out the desired shape and filling it with a dark colour. After which, we used 'Multiply' to darken some areas and 'Eraser' tool to create the shadow/3D effect. Now came my favourite part - using 'Colour Dodge' to create the lighted-up/ fire effect.

Note: the monster has to be filled with a very dark tone (close to black) in order to get the nice glowing effect with Colour Dodge tool. 

The cool thing about a tablet is that you can create different 'tones' by exerting a lighter or harder pressure with the pen. This could save you the trouble of changing the opacity multiple times while shading. 

Here's another example of how a tablet can help us create this sphere without the need to adjust the opacity of the colour/tone.

I hope these sounds interesting to you because I really had a great time!

Well, after looking at some not very appealing art pieces, I'm going to share with you some mind-blowing art pieces by my lecturer, Jimmy Ling who specialises in conceptual digital arts.

Just WOW!

Now, this has to be my favourite......................

Omg, an ANGEL!!! (Screamsssss).

Can't get enough of Jimmy's work? You can find more on DeviantArt - http://dreadjim.deviantart.com or his facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Dreadjim.

Also, if you're free this friday, 8 Aug, the eve of our National Day, do come by to the Red Dot Design Museum at Tanjong Pagar. Because after 6 months, we're finally ready for our next MAAD (Market for Artists & Designers) event!

As usual, 10% of our sale proceeds will go to a local dog shelter we support. Please help us help our furry friends!

We'll be there from 5pm till midnight. Admission is FREE. More details about this event can be found on my Facebook page here, https://www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea

See you there! :D

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Picture Book Addiction

I'm so excited to share with you my two new picture books order! I simply loveeee the adorable illustrations by Jon Klassen and Alex Latimer. 

'The Dark' tells a story about a boy who was afraid of the dark and how he managed to overcome his fear. I'm sure all of us can relate to that as a child? I really love Jon's clever use of negative space in his illustrations for this book.

'Pig and Small' on the other hand is a light hearted story about the friendship between a pig and a bug. Just as the title suggests, one of them is much bigger in size than the other. It's amusing to read how these two friends learn to bond with each other!

Well, my one other book order is on the way. I can't wait! I think I must have contracted an addiction to picture books. :/ 

An update on the picture book I'm currently working on; I received some encouraging feedback from my agent, Anne after showing her the sketches I'd done. Now I'm good to continue with the second half of my book.

Stay tuned for more updates! ^^

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Love the storm whale!

Yay! I finally received my very own copy of Benji Davies's book (the book I've been 'hinting' the boyfriend to get me :p). There was also a sweet personal note by the author-illustrator himself!

I simply loveeee the heartwarming story and beautiful illustrations. Well, I'm not surprise he was the winner of Oscar's First Book Prize.

Here's what one of the judges, Dame Marjorie Scardino said: “It is simple and timeless. It covers ideas of friendship to conservation to the complicated relationship between children and working parents. It’s a book that doesn’t try too hard and that made it very soothing.” 

You can also get a copy of the book on his website, http://www.benjidavies.com/blog. Or follow him on his Facebook Page here.

I'll be back with updates of my newest work soon. Stay tuned! :)

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Insane

Recently, I fell in love with something I never thought I would – Instagram! The main reason is not because I get to share photos instantly with my followers but rather, I’ve found so many brilliant artists/designers from there! Besides playing Angry Birds on the train/bus now (don’t laugh!), I can also keep my creative juice flowing with creative stuffs.

In the midst of checking out some amazing works yesterday, I came across this INSANE guy (couldn’t find a more suitable word to describe him) – David Jon Kassan. Looking through his works just make me want to cry! They’re just so… INSANE! And I can’t not share them with you.

In case you’re wondering, David is NOT a photographer…….

These are real oil paintings.

You can find more of his works and tutorial HERE.

And speaking of Instagram, remember to follow us on Instagram! 

❤ Xoxo, Rheea.