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Another step in technology connections

Connecting the world…well, the world of blogs, emails, and social interaction sites! :) Now I can edit through my windows live programs....which makes life feel kinda like option overkill, you know, like how many ways you can adjust the volume on a song you are listening to on the computer? I have external speakers, which I then hook up to my nice stereo, so they have their own control. Then the computer operating system has a volume control, and then the program you play music in has one too. Its pretty nuts how there are like 10 ways to do something. I hope options don't kill our society. :)

School finals

My semester at the Academy of Art University is over now. I was up till 6:20 doing my final for one of the classes, but yeah, its done. I am pretty happy about my drawing from imagination class even though, I still have finishing touches to do on my final for that class. I am kinda worried about the figure drawing class though...man I struggled on that one. I did get the final done in that one though. I'm gonna post the finals for those classes as they are. Now it is down to job searching in this struggling economy. Whether I do art, Melaleuca, or find a job digging ditches, I hope I make some money soon. Good luck everyone. Enjoy summer!

Finally

All thumbnails are now "clickable" to open in their own window. This is again, a modification for touch devices where rollovers do not bring up the image. I have added a row on the bottom of the Sketchbook page as well as one more oil painted piece on the Traditional page. Done. Finally. Enjoy :)

Brushdragon site update

Finally I updated my site. The contact page is now current, as well as some new options to see the thumbnails on thier own page if you click on them. Previously the pages were only rollovers. With the advent of the Ipod touch, there is a need for the thumbnails to be clickable. I have an Ipod Touch, and it is nice now to be able to see the images from my own site. It is slow going converting all of the thumbnails. Some work, some don't. BFA page is where I have started, so go there to enjoy the upgrade. Its a small change with a big impact on portable devices!

Its a mad mad mad world

This was an assignment for my masters degree class. We were to make a combat scene with two combatants. I didn't have much enthusiasm until one day browsing images of cool fantasy and scifi concepts I ran across Alice in Wonderland images. Suddenly I thought " Why don't I have The Mad Hatter attacking Alice in a swordfight?" Ok, it sounds crazy (and I threw in the March Hare too), but I have seen way too much Anime and several Jet Li movies like HERO. With that in mind, I came up with this peice. I am fairly happy with it although it is more of a peice to go to paint being that it is so detailed. Were I to keep it in drawing form I would have focused more on dominant and subordinant line quality. I did the whole thing from start to finish in Photoshop too, so I would have done a traditional pencil render of the line to make it a full finished peice in line form. Its pretty high res, so I could still do that, but I'de rather spend the time painting it some day if I get the chance! :) Everything had research reference, but it is all out of my head. I mean come on, where would I get models for this pose?

P.S. I imagine you noticed that color is a really quick throw in, but it does unite the peice a little more. I didn't handle the value separations well either, but I had to see some color. Notice also that the swords are specific to each character...A porcelain teacup sword for the Hatter, rabbit ear shaped short swords for the Hare, and Alice couldn't do without a sword which is actually the Cheshire cat in awesome sword form! :)

P.S.S The instructor mentioned the busy nature of the table as well as the direction of the sheath of the Cheshire sword and Alice's leg. I have a different position in the drawing versus the color. See if you notice where the difference is?

Tiger

Had to pull out the oils. I haven't painted in nearly a year with my oils. I had to scrape the oils off the pallet because they were dried up. :( This is the work of about 6 or so hours. That includes finding the image, tweaking the colors and values in Photoshop, and then putting it to canvas. It's about 10"x10" roughly. I was thinking of portraits, but ended up doing this Tiger. Go figure. Well, enjoy!

Where have I been?

It has been a bleak year for this blog...and mostly I mean about the "art" portion of artbyshaunwilliams. :) Really I have been doing a lot of sketches and things worthy of posting, I just didn't make the time. Some of the task is still in scanning images from my sketchbook, and the other is merely uploading them. With school two weeks from completion for this first semester, work being a little bleak, and wondering where I am going with my life....its been fun. All the kids are growing up fast. Take a look at the blog link on the right of my blog to williamszooof5. This is my wife's blog for family updates...where I should have posted all of my other crazy posts. I'm keeping this solely for the art from now on. Sorry for the soapboxes and whining in previous posts. I'm sure you would rather see my art. Thanks all and will post soon. ( I hope)

Subtract

So, every week, an email comes in from Illustration Friday. Bringing illustrators together to show our work and skills, the email is based on a word or phrase. This time it was Subtract. Immediately I thought of a cliff side with a building on top that had been eaten away by the tide. The precarious effect seemed fun, so I did it. It is fairly simple in execution. Lately, I have wanted to have more color and a brighter influence to my work. I still have a lot to learn, but this was fun, and has a look unlike what I have done before...except maybe my Wizard of OZ piece. Anyway, enjoy. I haven't posted any art for while, so this should set me back on track...I hope. And otherwise, visit Illustration Friday to see this as soon as I get it posted. Thanks

Onward and Upward

A new year offered unexpected opportunities and challenges. When talking to a friend from school who just graduated, he explained that he was going to attend the Academy of Art in San Fransisco and achieve his Master's Degree there with their online program. I had thought seriously about the same thing a year earlier and opted not to do attend due to questions of affording it. From several ponderings, prayers and talks with individuals I decided to go the doctors route, and live on loans until my degree was finished. The Academy has an impressive placement program, and I otherwise could teach on the university level with a Masters. I am impressed more with what a Masters is economically nowadays as well, since a Bachelor's isn't what it used to be. I had several points of unfinished ability in my artistic learning I wanted to formally achieve as well. The business of art is difficult to apply onesself to also. Art is simple enough for me, but the business side of things is a migrain headache for me. My wife is currently enrolled in the school I finished at, BYU-I, and has 4 semesters to go. I do not want her to wait to finish either. We are not getting younger, and by the time our kids are old enough for us to go back (pending on the number of kids we have too) we will have lost so much time, energy, and application of the education. It means that life is complicated and tough, but we are people of faith, and we work with the goals we have to better ourselves. Whatever else falls out of the picture we strive primarily to stick together as a family, have a home, transportation, and education through the work that we do. We will hav a more competent internet connection this Thursday installed to handle the school loads, and we will be purchasing a computer for me so that my wife can have her computer to do school work on. With the obviousness of Loans we have opted to handle some also obvious outstanding financial needs during the demands of schooling. The kids are still adjusting to the move and the stresses of life. Everything has happened. From Taylor cutting Elizabeth's hair, Taylor getting really sick, and car wrecks ( nobody was hurt) that cost 3200...thank goodnes for insurance and a 250 deductible! Also my car is dead, or more appropriately, my fuel pump most likely. The only way to fix that, is to wait for the summer when it is warmer though. The house is in better shape, but still needs a lot of work. We found out the electric bill was about 70, but that the gas bill was 270!!! Needless to say, we were a bit shocked. a 650 or 700 3 bed rental apartment utilitis paid doesn't sound too bad anymore. Remember, this is Rexburg too, very few people make more than 9 or 10 an hour, and most make minumum wage at best. Well, the excitement of school has only just begun, and I will see if the Loans can cover us with the help of some freelance jobs, or if I will need to continue on with part time Walmart. I would really rather not work at Walmart, but all advice from others says to keep jobs, because they are so hard to get into to begin with...and Walmart is a good company apparently in this economy. Best of Luck to everyone, and keep your spirits up. Help someone in need, take a walk and think, sharpen your blade before you try to cut down the forest, and say your prayers. Later.