PERSONAL WORK | Killer Pinup

...A series I'm working on. Lovely real-life models turned into bad ass pinup-esque illustrations. This one likes guns... 

By Mandy JW

PERSONAL WORK | Time

Time may be decay of particles, but a paradox it is; life would not exist without the passing of time.

These illustrations were created in photoshop.

"The hourglass of life" By Mandy JW

By Mandy JW

PERSONAL WORK | Designs

Last year, for the end of my graphic design program, I decided to put up some of my work on photobucket. Here's a little slide show:

PERSONAL WORK | Come to life 2

Again, a piece that was in my sketchbook that I turned into digital art. 

Maiden Camele

I scanned the original image and drew the details in photoshop using my wacom tablet. For the tail, I drew inspiration from the Siamese Fighting Fish and used illustrator to achieve the precise line work. I wanted to also give the mermaid a cracked stone appearance, so I added a rock texture to her body. The background and rock were sampled from photos that I then edited in photoshop.

PERSONAL WORK | Why Education in Art is Important

These are some drawings that I made while I attended art classes on figure and portrait drawing a few years back.

Today I want to emphasize the importance of education when it comes to any facet of your life that interests you. If you want to do better, you must attain some sort of education. This does not mean you have to go to college. It could be as simple a picking up some books and doing some solid research, so long as you're combining what you learn on your own with what you learn from others. However, attending classes does give you an edge.

During the time I spent attending these classes, I learned quite a bit on a variety of techniques, tools, media and composition. Information on art can be found in many places, but the advantage of a classroom setting is the well rounded process in which you learn. It offers hands-on, visual and verbal instruction, plus the instructor can point out ways you can improve based on what he/she sees in your work.

You may also learn other things that may surprise you that you may have not learned outside of a class to help you in other areas of art. For example, my teacher was also a former business owner of a graphic design company who was kind enough to give me advice and answer any questions I had concerning the field of graphic design.

Classes are also important for the social aspect. Surrounding yourself with other individuals who are studying the same field as you will not only inspire you, but they will excite you and get you into the artistic mindset.

If not for anything else, attending classes will force you to practice which is one of the most valuable things you can do as an artist. If you are attending life or portrait drawing classes, you also have the added bonus of being supplied with a model.

So if you are an aspiring artist or if you just like to draw for fun, I encourage you to get out there and take some classes because you really will get your money's worth. It's a fantastic and fun way to learn and once you realize how education can improve your art, you can discover your full potential.