Tag: creativity

Audition, Car Shopping, and a Sketch

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"Morning Begging" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
 “Morning Begging” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I took Koa to the regional band audition early in the morning. It was a long day for him, but he’s been practicing for this all week and the hard work paid off. He got second-chair and made the region band! I’m very happy for him because I knew he really wanted it and was nervous about the audition. Congrats, Koa!

Later in the day, I went to the Subaru dealership to test drive the car I am most interested in: the Crosstrek. I love this car! I’m pretty sure this is the model I will buy, and since the Odyssey is starting to have problems, it will be soon.

The model that I drove today was the trim level I want and had the options that I cared most for, plus the price was excellent. Everything was great, except for the color. Although the white is nice, I prefer the silver or the pale blue. In fact, I saw a “cool gray khaki” color and fell in love with it, so I’ll wait until one of those is available.

Later in the evening, I added some more to a portrait I sketched the other night. I think it came out ok, considering I only spend 30 minutes initially on it. I really don’t know how to draw a hoodie, and this one looks more like a parka-type jacket, but I like it anyways. 😄

"Hoodie" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/70 sec, ISO3200
 “Hoodie” Cedar Park, 2017

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

And today’s photo is of Koa and Lani at breakfast. Lani is so well-behaved when she wants a treat. 🐶

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね～

Tonight’s Sketch

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"2017.10.25 Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “2017.10.25 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。Tonight’s sketch. Nothing much to say about it, but it’s good practice. The version below is the earlier version.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice day!

"2017.10.25 Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO800
 “2017.10.25 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

Portrait (Blue Hair)

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こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I present a digital drawing I finished up which was based on a pencil sketch I did the other day. I actually wanted to re-draw the sketch at a larger size, so I scanned it into the computer, and displayed it on-screen. I taped some sketching paper on the monitor and traced the outlines, then started sketching the larger size.

After a while, I noticed that the paper looked whiter than normal, and then I realized that I had mistakenly taped up a folded piece of printer paper (that I use as an anti-smudge hand rest) and traced onto that. But I actually enjoyed sketching on that printer paper, and it held up great, even with all the erasing that I usually do! The sketch below is the scan of the larger sketch on the printer paper.

Then I thought that the positioning and sizes of the eyes might be a little off, so to test out that theory, I scanned this sketch and brought it into Photoshop. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up creating the lines in Illustrator and adding color in Photoshop similar to what I did in a previous digital painting. I think it turned out pretty okay!

There are only a couple things I’d change, such as the hair curl-thing at the bottom of the drawing, but I’ll just call this one done. 😀

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Tuesday!

おやすみ

Curry and a Sketch

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"Curry Nite" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO3200
 “Curry Nite” Cedar Park, 2017

Just like the title says!

For tonight’s sketch, I looked at a reference photo of Koshiba Fuka 小芝風花 for the hair, but the face I drew from scratch. I’m happy with how it turned out! 😄

"2017.10.12 Sketch" Cedar Park 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO400
 “2017.10.12 Sketch” Cedar Park 2017

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a great day!

またね～

Chili and Two Sketches

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"Chili and Egg over Rice" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO500
 “Chili and Egg over Rice” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Well, the weekend is coming to a close, but I had a nice one. Today I sold a lens that we don’t use and recouped a nice bit of money. Besides the extra cash, it’s a good feeling to clear a bit of clutter. Last week I sold a bunch of books, and while I didn’t get much money for those, it was nice to clean up the bookshelves here.

After selling the lens, I made a huge pot of chili. The photo above is an example of our preferred way of eating it. It’s chili, over rice, with a fried egg on top. I also added Serrano peppers because I like it spicy. I wonder if other Asian families have rice with non-Asian foods. I’m guessing yes. We actually call this dish “chili-gohan”, because gohan in Japanese means rice (or more generally food or meal). I actually bought hot dogs and buns for chili-dogs, but Bay said he would rather have chili-gohan, so that’s what we ended up having. 😀

This weekend I also did a few sketches, two of which are below. The first is a quick one (maybe 30 minutes) to see how quickly I could do a decent sketch with minimal guidelines. I just drew a circle and centerline, then a couple horizontal lines freehand before filling in the rest. I think the eyes are a little uneven, the nose and mouth are a tad small, but I am still pleased with it.

"2017.10.07 Evening Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “2017.10.07 Evening Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

The second sketch is from an angle, and I spent about an hour on it mainly working on the eye shape, angle, and size. Then the outline of the profile, nose, and mouth. Lastly, I outlined the hair, but I’m not so happy with that part. All the short hairstyles I draw look pretty goofy. It kind of looks like a helmet you might see in Star Wars. I realize that hair is something I need to work on in the future, but now is not the time so I just left it as is. Also, the eyebrow on the right side of the sketch is perhaps too high and thin. Despite these criticisms, I am happy with it, and the experience I gained drawing the eyes will certainly help my sketches in the future. 

"2017.10.08 Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “2017.10.08 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Sunday!

おやすみ