The Art of Belit Rivers

Yeah, so I haven't updated in months.....

2012-01-09T15:31:00.006-05:00

But I come with updates, so all is good.

Concept sketches for a dragon piece that I'm doing. I've settled on what I want the function of the dragon to be but the appearance is stumping me a bit. To solve this issue, I've decided to start from the skeleton and work my way through.

New Piece and Future Projects....

2011-07-24T20:31:00.003-04:00

Well I got a new piece finished. Entitled 'Oya', it was specifically created for an online artshow over at FAE forum. The theme was "Summer and Fire" and I think that the mythology behind one of the most famous African Orishas fit the bill. Yet again, I'm posting a few work-in-progress shots. On future projects, I have two more scheduled pieces that must be finished by mid August. After that, I'm free as a bird to do whatever I want. I have a lot of good ideas to flesh out. Yey!

Just Finished....

2011-06-22T22:35:00.004-04:00

Yey, I got another painting done today. I am really proud of myself since I'm ahead of schedule according to my chart. My interest in Chinese folklore inspired this piece along with some religious imagery thrown in for good measure. My 'dragon' has Buddha-like features. My ideas get weirder and weirder. LOL

Second Place Baby!!!!

2011-06-08T11:28:00.003-04:00

Woooo, yeah!!!! So you'll know what the heck I'm talking about, this image: http://belitrivers.blogspot.com/2011/04/portfolio-piece.html from an older blog post was entered in the Artfreck Online Magazine cover contest here: http://the-phoenicorn.deviantart.com/art/Forumites-issue-5-212234538.
That means that you won't see my image all large-and-in-charge till the last page....but that's all right.

Print Shop-Yey!

2011-05-03T20:39:00.001-04:00

I now have a print store set up at imagekind.com. Check it out.

http://belitriversart.imagekind.com/

Portfolio piece....

2011-04-20T22:50:00.005-04:00

All right, I got another painting done today and it feels awesome. It was done for the IFX-Forumites online mag contest. Check out the creator's page here: http://the-phoenicorn.deviantart.com/

This picture drove me nuts!!
After I finally figured out what the heck I was going to do with the picture, the process went smoothly. I really need to learn how to figure out all of my art related problems first in the preliminary stages BEFORE I dive head-long into the painting. To illustrate the crap I went through to finish this painting, I'll only provide 1/3 of my wips and the final piece last....

'Everybody Was Kung-fu Fighting'

2011-04-13T10:32:00.004-04:00

Um, yeah. I love kung fu flicks, especially the oldschool ones. I loved the dynamism of the pose, so I snatched this image from the opening montage from the Forbidden Kingdom. (Watch this movie only if you love Jackie Chan and Jet Li.) Too bad I can't find where they took the scene from. But anyways, my copy isn't perfect because the proportions are off. It was fun to do anyway.

New Store!

2011-03-20T20:59:00.000-04:00

I now have an online store at Zazzle. There's a lot of merchandise to choose from, and of course, the more artwork I do, the more designs I'll have.

http://www.zazzle.com/klandestineone

New Piece Completed--Showdown

2011-03-15T16:11:00.000-04:00

Ah, a much deserved update for all my adoring fans....(snicker).....yeah right. Anyway, I just finished this one today after a lot of wrestling with the composition and color. (Note to self-get all of this stuff figured out in the sketch stage.)

Another Painter Update

2011-02-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

I admit that I'm not working as diligently as I should be with my Painter X studies. However, as a result of some practice yesterday, I think I might have a new technique to develop for future paintings. As can be seen, I used a black, blotted foundation for the painting (also know as a silhouette). I kept it visible for most of the shadows. That is usually considered a no-no because black can make a heavily rendered painting look as if it has a lot of empty holes. Usually your eyes will zoom straight into the black which may be something you don't want. Now that is not necessarily true for all art. If you check out comic books, most shadow work is inked with black and then colored in the typical comic book style way. The old masters rarely used black in their paintings, particularly the expressionists. Everything had color, even if it appeared otherwise. But anyway, I'm babbling. Here's the study. I think it makes for an interesting and dynamic look.

Corel Painter

2011-01-24T20:09:00.000-05:00

Man, I love this program now! It seems so much more intuitive than Photoshop and I'm not gritting my teeth because colors aren't blending the way I want them too. Time to make the switch.
Portrait and Reference:

Taking a Break...

2011-01-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Not from art, but from the type of art I've been doing. I'm not abandoning what calls to me--fantasy/sci-fi--but I think it's time to set that aside and work on the basics again. I've been neglecting my studies lately and it's a shame. I can't improve if I keep doing that. So, expect to see more anatomy, color, etc. studies--all the foundations that make a good artist tick. To start off, I had to hit the ol' "Making Comics the MAH-VEL Way". It's a classic.

Another Painting Finished

2010-12-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

This is my submission for the ImagineFX challenge, Christmas in the Dwarven City. It was challenging but I learned a lot from the process and hope to do some more like this. Landscapes are actually kind of fun once you understand certain techniques.
WIPs and completed piece:

Stuff

2010-12-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

These are some sketches from work (as usual). I have some new character concepts starting up. They might turn into another serious project...like I need more of those.

Small Update

2010-12-09T20:28:00.000-05:00

These are some sketches I worked on at work earlier this week. I have a new project in the works. Progress shots will be posted soon.

Portfolio Piece

2010-11-25T00:16:00.000-05:00

Just finished this sucka tonight and I'm glad it's over. I changed a few things in my process and it seemed like my painting time sped up a bit. This image was done for another Imagine FX challenge, monthly of course. I don't think I'm quite fast enough to attempt a weekly challenge yet. But I definitely need to add one to my weekly painting schedule. It should help speed up my painting time even further.

A Proud Parent

2010-11-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

This is my son's first digital drawing. I have to admit that I was beaming with pride when he asked to use my tablet. He got the hang of it during this first attempt and is waiting to draw some more. He's only ten, by the way.

Awesome Stuff

2010-11-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

So, this past weekend was FaerieCon and it was my first time attending. Despite some minor setbacks, my son and boyfriend and I had a great time. It was a nice sized convention, not to large (like Otakon). However, the setup of the booths and such made you feel a bit claustrophobic. There were some really good artists there, amateur and professional alike.

The Bad:

*Iain McCaig had to cancel his attendance. That truly sucked and I'm so happy I didn't pay for the workshop he was supposed to run. It also sucks that I brought that heavy a** book, but oh well.

*I didn't get the chance to meet Brian and Wendy Froud. We got there too late to take advantage of the downtime between fan rushdown and panels. There were reasons for the lateness, but I'm not going to get into that. So that means that none of my artbooks were signed by either respective artist. Meh. I did, however, buy Brian Froud's sketchbook. Rather, my boyfriend--George--bought it for me. He spoils me, I swear. I am an absolute fan of artist sketchbooks. Seeing all the unpolished doodles and random scribbles is so intriguing to me.

The Good:

*Oh boy, the good. Through George, I managed to get two contacts (2!!!!) for possible art projects. The first guy is a writer of contemporary sci-fi/fantasy novels using small press. The second was from a genre magazine. They most likely wouldn't pay that much, but that doesn't matter. Man, I am stoked. I just have to kick myself in the rear more and get my portfolio together. It's coming along slowly. I'll be uploading some sketches and concepts soon.

Some Things Sketchy....

2010-11-01T19:01:00.000-04:00

I did these today while at work. I've been studying cartooning and animation, namely Preston Blair. It's sort of tough because I'm so used to rendering images semi-realistically. But the process has been fun so far.

New Piece

2010-10-31T19:05:00.000-04:00

This is my submission for the Imagine FX October challenge. The theme was 'Child's Play' so that left a lot of room for interpretation. It gave me some trouble, especially with the lighting, and I have to admit I'm still not that satisfied with the result...but oh well. Here are some of my work in progress shots:

Still Working On Stuff....

2010-10-24T15:01:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to finish a piece that I started for this month's Imaginefx challenge. It's been giving me some trouble, but I should be done by the deadline. Here's a sketch in the mean time which is for the October creature feature at Wet Canvas. The task was to draw a 'night gaunt' from H.P. Lovecraft's poem of the same name. Not bad, I think, but I want to do something a bit more finished.

Another Portfolio Piece Finished!

2010-10-03T21:39:00.000-04:00

Woot!. I managed to cut my painting time down to half. Now it's one month instead of two. Okay, I'm joking, but it usually does take me a long time get a painting done. But, I'm working on it. Next thing you know, I'll be down to two weeks. Here's a few of the progress shots including the sketches I posted a couple of weeks ago.

Today's Sketches....

2010-09-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

The skies literally opened in Baltimore today. There was non-stop rain from morning till when I got off from work in the afternoon. Of course, when it rains and pours near the Downtown Aquarium, people decide not to go to the tourist hot spots. Needless to say, today was very slow...and boring. So, when I am bored, I draw...a lot. Today, National Geographic was my friend. Here are a few of muh sketches, some of which are my sad attempts at bad caricatures.

MOAR SKETCHES!!!

2010-09-27T15:54:00.000-04:00

I can't figure out a way to misspell sketches to make me seem even more bubble-brained. But enough of the silliness. I've been so bored at work that there's nothing better to do other than draw copious amounts of images. So here be moar sketches for ye viewing pleasure. Arrgh!

No, I'm Not Dead...

2010-09-17T11:05:00.000-04:00

I felt half-dead last week though. (Damn flu.) But anyways, I'm in the middle of playing catch up on personal projects. The list is getting kind of long, however, which is not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes you have to limit yourself.

THE LIST:

Concept designs for a friend's book
T-shirt design for a friend
Mini-comic (yes a mini-comic)
Fantasy art show piece (due in October!! GAAAH!)

Here's a sneak peak of the art show piece I'm working on. (Pencils only though.)

Stoked

2010-08-31T20:37:00.000-04:00

Baltimore Comic-con has just passed and I'm still pumped. Everything was inspirational, from panels to the great people that I met.

First, I met Bernie Wrightson......

.....OMG!!!! (Fangirl moment)

(Ok now that I got that out of my system.)

This man is a Master inker! He gave me some valuable advice about art in general and even told me to copy him as a learning method. I do master studies anyway but someone of his caliber giving me permission is incredible.

And then I met David Mack....

......
......

OMG!!!!!!! Kabuki is an awesome comic series. The presentation is very unique and David Mack has an interesting art style. He seems to be a very nice person as well. Considering how broke I was, he decided to hook me up with a free Kabuki comic...that he signed....

.....

OMG!

Now I am obligated to do a Kabuki fanart. My first ever.

I also got the chance to finally meet Andre Campbell and Tyran-sorry-I-forgot-his-last-name. Mr. Campbell is the president of Heritage Comics here in Baltimore, Maryland. Both of them were a pleasure to speak to. I saw an old acquaintance again, from back in my Security Square Mall arcade days. I also hopefully got a new friend but who knows.

Every panel I attended was awesome, especially the one from Howard Chaykin and Klaus Janson. The information was invaluable and because of Mr. Chaykin's personality, was delivered with much gusto....and cursing.....lol.

I am so ready to start some serious art making. Many projects are floating around in my cranium but unfortunately there isn't enough time in a day. For certain, I'm very serious about getting back into comics. They were one of my first loves next to kung fu flicks and such.

Speaking of kung fu flicks, I got into a really great discussion with Ronald Salas about some of his prints. He's done some awesome artwork based on icons like Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, etc. I was hoping he would make some more.

Well, enough typing, time to draw.

X-That

2010-08-25T19:41:00.001-04:00

Ok, totally forget about the last image I submitted. It sucks. Here's the new and updated version.

Whiney Pantsy Time

2010-08-08T02:05:00.000-04:00

I'm about to come off of vacation and return to the wonderful place I call work. It sucks, really. Over the last few days, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what kind of art I should make. It's so hard.
I like so many things and I don't know what type of art represents me. And then there's that whole "only have 24 hours in a day thing." But anyway, as I ponder and ponder some more, bask upon this glorious creation! (Yeah right.) An interpretation of the myth of Adonis, well his death anyway.

Weekly Updates....Yey....

2010-07-24T21:19:00.000-04:00

And finally...the beginnings of a "A Personal Project"!

This Week's Studies

2010-07-16T23:16:00.000-04:00

I feel a bit ashamed. I should have way more sketches than this. Laziness is a terrible thing...

Weekly Studies....

2010-07-10T18:44:00.000-04:00

Work has been kicking my butt this week so this is all I've got. It's better than nothing, I suppose.

Studies and more studies....

2010-06-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

None of this stuff is new but I failed to upload it when I had the chance. Various studies from landscapes to animation. Prestion Blair for the win.

Master study personal project....

2010-06-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

My first study of a Leonardo DaVinci sketch, done in pencil.

A revelation...

2010-06-20T20:26:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about the amount of progression I have made in art since the beginning of the year. I feel that my creative mind has become stagnant. Sometimes I have an image in my mind and cannot find the right way to render it onto the paper (or screen in the case of digital). What I want to do, I discovered, I have not learned 'how' to do. There are so many areas that I need to develop; it's a bit overwhelming. A friend told me to concentrate on drawing and composition. But what about color, value, perspective....and the list goes on and on. Dear lord, color.

So I think that I've come up with a solution. The art students of the past learned from copying their teachers. They took paintings and rendered them from scratch, stroke for stroke, learning and developing their techniques. Sometimes they would do this in more than one type of medium.

Doing master copies is not a new concept but it's something that I have neglected in my own studies.
The assignment:
Take an admired (hopefully high resolution piece) and try to render it using different media. As I slowly progress, each piece will become more of a challenge. Half the artistic journey comes from setting goals for oneself and reaching them.

Ahoy! An update!

2010-06-06T18:35:00.000-04:00

I've been really lazy about uploading my sketches. But here be drawings to see, yaar....

RIP to a Master

2010-05-12T19:11:00.000-04:00

Frank Frazetta has passed. I'm still in shock even though I shouldn't be. Death comes to us all, but when it concerns such an icon that has impacted the imaginations and dreams of so many aspiring artists, you wish that it wouldn't. Master Frazetta had the distinction of becoming a 'Legend' long before his time had come. Any artist would only hope that they could achieve that esteemed title. Frazetta was a genius with his skillful techniques and creativity. He was a a master at things that I, as an artist, continue to struggle with everyday: value, anatomy, composition, depth, color. If I could attain even an iota of skill that Frazetta had in one of his atoms, I'd be doing something.
I may sound like I'm beating myself up, but no. To look to someone you know is greater in skill than yourself is the only path to excellence. Mr. Frazetta, I hope that you continue to paint with fire in the Heavens. You have inspired in life and you shall definitely continue to do so in death.

Power and strength.

Wow, an Update!!!

2010-04-14T22:03:00.000-04:00

I feel so ashamed that I haven't updated anything in over a month. It's not that I haven't been drawing or anything; I've just been too lazy to upload and find some meaningful thing to say on this blog of mine.

I've been thinking a lot about what I really want from a career in art. During my commutes to and from work, I listen to a lot of podcasts. To name a couple: Big Illustration Party Time and Ninja Mountain Podcast (I will refer to them as BIPT and NMP respectively). I enjoy the camaraderie among these artists. When I was in high school, my teachers made such a big deal of mentioning the fact that the art industry is so competitive, and that I would have to bust my tail to have a voice in that industry. That is true, but it's not as cut throat as some might imagine. I've found inspiration from the art community and have also found friends/mentors as well. A cool artist by the name of Phong Nguyen (check out his blog here:

http://lemonlips.blogspot.com/) has been a great help to me. He's got a lot of patience, because I ask a lot of questions.

Going back to podcasts:
Because of these two 'casts, I've considered the paths that my art could take me. BIPT is hosted by two guys that happen to be comic book artists on the side. I love comics. I was named after a comic book character for goodness' sake. (Belit from Conan, for those who are wondering. Yes, I know that the comics are based on Robert E. Howard's books, which are quite good. Yes, my parents are strange.) The first comic I fell in love with was Elfquest, and the first artist I wanted to emulate was Wendy Pini. This series was an obsession for me (still is kind of). Runner-up is definitely X-Men...oldschool X-Men up to when Storm became all badass and donned a mohawk. But anyways, I have a lot of stories in my head that I have started on but never finished. It's time to do something about that and give them some life.

NMP has put the bug in my head to become a sci-fi/fantasy illustrator. I was never a D&D nerd but I liked the pretty pictures. Fantasy is my thing and will probably always be. Most of my favorite artists fall into this field so I have some big shoes to step into. But enough talking; here's a digital painting that I submitted for an ImagineFX art challenge. The theme was 'Cybernetic Fae'. I didn't get enough votes to win, but sometimes the finale is not always the most important part. I learned a lot from doing this piece, but I don't think I'm quite finished yet.

Study

2010-02-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

Just a little something I did a couple of days ago. I'm not very satisfied with the value range and the colors look a bit dull to me, but meh. Whatareyougonnado?

OMG MOAR Speed Paints!!

2010-02-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

It actually only took me an hour a piece to do these two. I'm getting better with this speed paint thing. For landscapes, I really need to learn how to lay down textures. It's tough. The other image is Ten Bears from the Outlaw Josey Wales movie. Damn I feel old......

Speed paints...

2010-02-14T16:44:00.001-05:00

My name and the word 'speed' simply don't mesh too well. But anyways, here are some speed paints that I did in photoshop. I managed to get some great photographs from National Geographic Magazine. One of the artists at Ninja Mountain podcast recommended it as a magazine that all artists should collect. Now I see why. National Geographic has some of the most gorgeous images you will see in any periodical. Oh yeah, and the other image was snatched from google images, I think.

WIP

2010-02-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

This is a new portfolio-worthy piece (hopefully) that I'm working on. It's untitled as of now because I'm last minute as heck and I don't think that far ahead.

Random Stuff...

2010-02-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

Nothing really important as far as concepts but gotta draw nonetheless....

Studies...

2010-02-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

I've set up a schedule for myself for doing my art exercises. Monday happens to be figure drawing and anatomy night. I did some 'sketches' in Photoshop so that I can learn how to create the silhouette of the form without actually drawing it first. It's a little difficult, but I'm learning.

More Designs....

2010-01-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

Man, I'm on a roll. I'm loving this character creation kick I've been on. The ideas are flowing. Inspiration is coming from everyone and everything. This feels good. Doodles from work and a couple of assassin ideas I came up with.

Tired but Happy New Year nonetheless...

2010-01-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

I am tired. I am tired of being lazy. Tired of being uninspired and complacent. With the new year comes new resolve. I have made a resolution for myself. By the end of 2010, I will be a freelance illustrator. There is nothing that will stop me from completing this goal.
Also with this new year comes new works. Nothing overly important, but I'm learning anyways.
Another Seegmiller tutorial study and an image I threw together using Photoshop's pen tool.

Practice Makes Perfect...

2009-12-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

For the last few days, I have been working diligently on studying digital painting. I received this wonderful book written by Don Seegmiller:

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Character-Painting-Photoshop-Graphics/dp/1584505338/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260502597&sr=8-2

This and the older version, published in 2004 I believe, has been a godsend to me. I have found digital painting to be a frustrating animal to grasp. This includes both Photoshop and Painter X. But after reading through the pages (skimming really) and then following the instructions within, something just 'clicked'.

Here are my exercises, completed in less then 2 days. I am painfully slow when it comes to my art. This is the first real thing that I have created digitally that I actually feel a little pride in. (Yes, I must stroke my own ego occasionally. )

Scribbles

2009-12-09T16:26:00.000-05:00

I decided to post some random doodles that I did from home and work. Yes, I draw at work when I'm actually supposed to be...you know...working. Either that or watch paint dry.

I'm starting to develop a sort of fixation on faces, particularly faces of the elderly. I like to study all of their wrinkles and folds. Yeah, I know, it's weird.

Creative Juices

2009-11-16T11:38:00.001-05:00

I pushed out a few character designs yesterday. The ideas were flowing. Must've been all that cold medicine I was ingesting. For a few of them, I actually have a background story thought up already.
I like to create a story for my designs. It makes them seem a bit more believable, in my opinion. I do plan to go full scale with color, but I like to do pencil renderings to get an idea of value.