The Starving Arts

This will be a slightly different kind of character profile as most of my others only have one illustration. Not that the other characters don’t have other illustrations, but I felt that this one deserved to have a more in-depth examination–aside from the fictitious character himself.

Jackson stood impatiently next to Brink, examining the lobby with a bored expression. His tunic and thick pants accentuated more of his muscular physique. His golden blonde hair was combed back neatly, concealing its subtle waves. His light blue eyes were striking, a compliment to his incredibly handsome face despite his unpleasant expression. It was obvious why he got so many looks from excitable young women.

He was designed with a stereotype in mind: good-looking, charming, and yet lacking in selflessness and kindness.

2017

Think of him as Uncle Scrooge. 

He’s important to my story because his life weaves a tale of redemption.

His childhood is full of neglect and abuse which fuels his intoxicated and promiscuous adulthood. Which is super cliche, I know.

But I wanted a relatable–broken–man in this fantasy realm of mine. Pain transcends most genres, but why not a struggle that does that as well?

“My whole life seems like a constant struggle. Broken legs and all,” he continued, “always forcing myself forward, yet being held back.”

Without going into more detail about my story and the character himself, I wanted to take a different spin on this particular ‘Character Portrait’ and talk about my own journey with Jackson.

Jackson has been a concept rolling around in my head for some time (I drew this picture below MANY years ago).

And–like the character’s personal development–I grew in my own personal way (hint: it was a lot of practicing, torn sketchbook pages, and crying).

Jackson the First

The arts aren’t always easy–even to those of us who seem to have a knack for it. The struggle is real and will continue even into the advanced stages (hopeful sounding, I know).

But the important thing is to continue on. No matter how great you think a piece turned out or if you think it belongs in the trash.

It also helps to learn from others. They can aid you in your own artistic journey.

“Every painting and even every thought is a necessary step to lead to the next painting.”

Alice Dustin

The Progression

My next character I would like to outline has one name:

“Brink”

Well, actually that’s only a nickname. But I won’t spoil his real name for you. If I ever get my story published to some affect, you’ll find out.

You should know, he’s not an elf.

His race I’ve named Omati (oh-MAW-tee). Brink is actually only half, so he doesn’t exhibit all of the physical characteristics of his people, but one major thing he does have are his ears.

The ears are sort of their trademark–long and pointy (similar to elf ears, yes) but they are flexible and move much like cat ears. Brink, as well as his people, mostly express themselves with their ears:

Brink jerked back in fear and stood next to Harlow, his long pointed ears twitching in panic like that of a frightened cat.

Brink’s ears sagged and he swallowed the returning lump in his throat.

Characterized second by their poor eyesight in low-light situations:

Now completely blind from the darkness, he slowly felt, and listened, his way back towards his traveling companions, hoping the dreadful noises he heard were in their favor.

I must admit, he’s probably my second favorite character–Rando being my first–and not just because of his sweet and meek personality. As cliche as it seems, he has near perfect aim with just about any weapon.

Not that he hits his mark exactly on the dot 100% of the time–but he always hits what he’s aiming at.

He–and two of the other characters–work as “Hunters”. Which, as the name suggests, they hunt.

But they don’t hunt your typical animals. They hunt monsters, for a bounty.

Brink begins as the team’s sniper. Always attacking long-range, usually with a gun. Later in the story, he acquires a bow and arrow–essentially becoming Hawkeye. Not without practicing of course, his talent is not completely unrealistic.

To their amazement, Brink swiftly drew an arrow, one right after the other, and all three arrows met their intended targets before hitting the ground. Without warning him, Theodas tossed the rest of the fruit into the air in random directions. Brink, taken by surprise, watched the objects fly through the air with a careful eye. After only a few seconds, he drew three arrows at once and splattered most of the fruit. But not before shooting down the few closest with incredible speed.

His friends stood shocked at his superior skill. “Brink! You’re incredible! Why have you been using a gun this whole time?” Harlow exclaimed in amazement.

The Omati grinned, “I ran out of ammo less.”

“Where did you learn?” Rando asked.

Brink shrugged, “I practiced a lot at the Hunter’s Guild.”

Seems odd for a character with poor vision, right? Of course his superior hearing comes into play, but he’s a character made up of contradictions like that. His genetics are created from two very different and opposing worlds–humans and the omati. I won’t go into their history here, but it’s something that Brink struggles with and has to come to terms with eventually. He has to reconcile his identity and learn to live between them equally.

Yet, despite his inner turmoil he remains kind and gentle, not wanting to inflict his pain on others. In his portrait, I wanted to incorporate that–giving him a subtle smile and distant eyes.

In fact, he even looks a little happy wouldn’t you say?

Let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me an email! And, of course, don’t forget to check back later for a new character story!

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If you follow me on Facebook at all, you’ll know that my latest project is “Dogmeat”. In case you didn’t know, he’s a companion in the game Fallout 4.

Although, I have yet to play the original Fallout games, it’s one of my favorite game franchises. My husband and I both played and replayed Fallout 3 and New Vegas until we knew every inch of those maps. So, it was natural that we were in line outside at 11 o’ clock on a weekday in 50 degree weather to get the early release of Fallout 4.

I’ve already done a sketch of Nick Valentine (my personal favorite companion) which is up on my Society6 store. But, Dogmeat was naturally my next subject. He has been as loyal as a dog should be–showing up again in the next installment to help the player. Nothing has really changed about him, aside from the graphics. Except, this time, he becomes a major part in the plot of Fallout 4–only adding to his loveability in my opinion.

I wanted to capture his loyalty and easy-to-love personality in this piece. He’s dressed and ready for battle, or exploration, or whatever adventure his master–the player–wishes. How can you resist such a sweet face?

Want to buy the print? Click on the “Buy My Art!” button. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Hayley Boothe Art, or instagram @h.boothe

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It’s come to my attention that I haven’t really told anyone the stories behind the character sketches I’ve done. My short answer is always an awkward “Oh, it’s just a random character” or “I don’t know”. Which, most of the time, is somewhat true. I often have images in my head of concepts–whether or not they go anywhere–especially of characters.

I’m also a writer. I don’t really talk about it a lot, but I really enjoy writing stories as well (maybe I’ll publish one of them on here). Thus, most of the portraits I draw are based on characters in my stories. My current work-in-progress is a brainchild that’s been floating around since high school. It’s changed multiple times of course, but I finally finished the first book a few months ago. It still needs quite a bit of editing as well. But, at least it’s on paper, right?

Anyway, I’d like to start telling the stories behind my portraits and introducing the characters. Ultimately, to give them more life because I’m tired of giving a bland answer (besides, who doesn’t like a good story?).

First up is my favorite character. Randolphus Koraenaz (cor-EHN-uh) (yes I made it up). He goes by “Rando” (and yes I realize that it’s slang for ‘random’–which is how I came up with his name to begin with. Although I didn’t know at the time–or it wasn’t slang then).

I introduce him at the end of chapter two:

What little sunlight illuminated the area, seemed to make this man’s hair glow. It was blonde, but almost white, which was in stark contrast with his dark tan skin.

His unique genetic makeup is a result of his Varoujian ethnicity. I could go into a long story about his home–the island of Varou–but I’ll skip that for now. Basically they’re known for the combination of tan skin, very striking eyes (usually a shade of green or golden brown), and jet black or stark white/blonde hair. Which is pretty bland for your average fantasy race, but I wanted it that way. Of course, I could’ve let him tell you that himself:

“I can’t place your accent,” she said, changing the subject. A wide grin grew across his face as he nodded slowly, his eyes seemed to twinkle.

“That does come out occasionally. My first language is not common-tongue. I’m from Varou,” He replied folding his hands on the table.

Harlow appeared contemplative, “The name sounds familiar, but I’m afraid I don’t know where that is.”

He chuckled in response, “It’s a tiny island in the Drumat Ocean. It’s not too terribly far from the shores of Casponica.”

“I thought you seemed out-of-place,” Harlow replied smiling.

“I do get a lot of stares and looks from strangers,” he said running his fingers through his hair, “bright green eyes and white hair isn’t exactly common around here. Not to mention my particular skin tone.”

“Is that common in Varou?” She inquired.

“Indeed it is,” he agreed, “although not all my people have light hair. In fact some have very dark hair and bronze colored eyes.”

The other character, Harlow, I’ll get to introduce later. Oh, and did I mention he was a sorcerer? With magical tattoos?

Rando’s branded back really was impressive. In the middle of his back was a large circle with similar word scribbles along the edge. In the center of the circle was a star design, also with scribbled word-like brands. Altogether it resembled a complex compass rose. Other, smaller, geometrical designs surrounded the outside to complete the composition.

    Extending up over his shoulder blades and his upper arms were more organic looking patterns which mimicked vines or branches. On his lower back appeared lines of text, like that in a book. These however were not the common scribbles, but took on more hieroglyphic characteristics instead.

    “You’ve gotta show off too,” Theodas prodded. Without protest, Rando turned, extended his arm towards his curly-haired friend with his palm facing him. The whole group jumped back in surprise as a blue flame ignited on his arm. It then abruptly blasted a wide-eyed Theodas over the table and onto the floor.

Without spoiling the rest of the story, I’ll leave it here. Intrigued? Good. I hope you can see his portrait through a different lens now.

Let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me an email! And, of course, don’t forget to check back later for a new character story!

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For this post I’d like to talk about movement and fluidity in your artwork. Which encompasses both action and stationary poses, living or inanimate. Many beginner artists seem to forget to add this to their pieces. Of course, it depends on what you’re trying to create—you won’t always use movement. Some abstract pieces for example (although movement is still important there as well).

If you really want your artwork to come alive, movement is important. Otherwise you’ll get stiff or odd looking people and objects. One perfect example is this sketch I did of my husband awhile back:

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I chose to lump these two together because they’re basically the same, just different people.

Week 16 is a caricature of myself and 17 being a caricature of a friend (I chose my husband).

The one of myself is my D&D character (yes I am that geeky) so she doesn’t look too much like me, but it IS supposed to be a caricature, not a self-portrait.

I may have cheated and used an old drawing >_>

aaaaaaand my husband as an Attack on Titan character.

You’ve probably already seen this…

I’m so behind on these…

#14 is “something metallic”. Metal is one of my favorite things to draw and is definitely good for practicing good observational skills.

Next up is week 15, “Glass”.

I chose to do a more quick-sketch version of this wine glass, so it looks a little less detailed.

It’s no secret that art supplies are expensive. There’s a reason for the term “starving artist”. It’s difficult to be one.

But, I want to share with you some secrets on saving money when it comes to art supplies. Actually, they’re not really all that secret, just common sense.

Tip #1: Sales!

This might be an obvious one, but even I forget to do this. It’s a good idea to watch out for sales when shopping for supplies. If you are able to check in advance with your local craft store, do so and plan ahead what you want to use. If not, just be sure to check back frequently. Most places have sales often. I know Hobby Lobby seems to have paintbrushes on sale every time I visit.

Tip #2: Go Hunting

If what you want is not on sale and you’d rather not wait–check online. Compare prices from different stores in your area. A lot of times you can find the exact same thing, but cheaper. Not always of course, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

Tip #4: Buy Wholesale

Coupled with tip #2, if you are able to, try to find wholesale websites and buy from them. You’ll be able to find name brand stuff, in larger quantities, for almost half the price–or less.

Tip #5: It’s OK to buy cheap supplies–sometimes

I know I’ve said before to spend that extra money and get the better quality stuff–and I still recommend that–but there are a few things that are OK to buy cheap. For example:

• Canvases
• Acrylic/watercolor paint
• Paint thinner
• Containers to hold paint
• Containers to clean your brushes
• Sketchbooks

Tip #6: Use alternatives

Sometimes you just have to make due with what you have. I was lucky enough to come across some very large canvases in a dumpster once (gross, I know, but have you seen the prices of large canvases??). But you don’t always have to use specific things. Like canvases for example, you don’t even have to use one. There are plenty of alternatives you could use including:

• Wood (be sure to cover in Gesso first!)
• Sketchbook paper designed for paint
• Glass
• Cardboard (I’d paint with Gesso here too, first)
• Foam/poster board

That’s just one example. If you can’t afford certain paints, go with acrylic rather than oil–it’s usually always cheaper anyway. If it’s sketching materials you want:

• Facial tissue in place of smudge sticks
• Regular office supply pencils (equivalent of an HB pencil)
• Regular office supply erasers/sharpeners
• Crayons are a good substitute for oil pastels (not as high quality, but it still works)
• Off-brand chalk, or even sidewalk chalk, can be a substitute for chalk pastels
• Hairspray in place of fixative

Don’t worry about fancy materials. Keep in mind it’s how the artist uses what they have–not what the tools do.

Comment below and let me know how you save money on art supplies! If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Just look under the ‘about’ section.