Whatsup in Painting Class

^--Oh hey, look who got a 4.5/5, the first A I've ever gotten in color theory. Booya.

I enjoy painting when it comes out mildly the way I thought it should in my head. Well, not the last one, but still

Hark! A real update!

I am loving my drawing systems assignment....I had to take a picture of a building (a cabin I grabbed off google images) redraw it (as seen above) and then totally change it up and make something different...still a WIP but I managed to kill 2 hours working on my modified building today when I should have really been doing some homework due tomorrow...oh well.
Now that we're past all the boring "draw boxes in perspective" crap, I'm really enjoying this class. Our first week our teacher gave us an in class assignment to do a quick composition of buildings on a sheet she gave us, we all had to vote which ones were our favorites and mine was one of the ones that won ^.^ Yay extra credit!
But yea....layout is kind of like solving a math problem, except that I actually know how to do it. It's fun, it's challenging, and yea....I like it, even though I'm only kind of mediocre at it.
Some sketches of cats and random animals I made up over break. Got a white china marker and brown paper. I love it, but this was my first go at it and I think I kind of went overkill with the white
Our drawing class last week had the same pose for an hour and half....this becomes really tiresome when you're only doing line drawings. Sigh...We start value this week and I am excited.
I have only gone to extra life once in the past two weeks *guilty look* I'm kind of burnt out on it, but I really need to go and get some drawings for my portfolio, although I have quite a few I still like but couldn't fit into my calarts portfolio from last semester...We'll see. I'm not terribly worried about the life drawing portion of the sheridan portfolio, that's probably what I'm best at actually.



I painted this cat in gouache. Maybe to add in as a personal work...if not I'll frame it and give it to my mom. I bet she'd be thrilled. I was thinking of her and our calico cat when I did it anyway
Aaaaand another random sketch. Of no one, just effing around.


I did some really cool painting in Color theory last week that I really really wish I had taken a picture of it, because it was headed in the style I've always really admired. I'm so happy I have a new teacher this semester, he doesn't scare me or stress me out nearly as much as my last teacher, and his technique is very different, it's refreshing. He's been showing us a lot of paintings by Lucian Freud, which I am really digging.
I also did a cool pop up in 3D during class last week. I didn't take a picture, but I'm sure I'll get it back soon. I have a really great plan for our pop-up book assignment and it might turn out really nice if I actually work at it.

Ayep.
I have been way too preoccupied with socializing and being sick lately. I guess I missed my friends and stuff, although it has been kind of weird not having classes with any of them now. Going to class is rather mundane, now that I have no friends. I am hoping to make new friends in my new class, but I'm struggling a bit. Half our classes we're not supposed to talk in because we have models or a really crazy teacher (coughcoughdrawingsystems) and yea.
But I have been in three alcoholic-party like settings in the past week and it's been very distracting...and last weekend I got super sick and sat in bed all weekend reading Harry Potter....which has also been very distracting since now I'm on a mission to reread the whole series in lieu of my renewed/remembered love of fantasy novels and the fact that I'm going to start rewriting some old stuff I had.
I really miss the days when I did nothing but read all the time. I ate fantasy novels like I eat pasta. It was great, and reading Harry Potter reminds me of how much an escape it is. It spurs my creativity and motivation to be so much more....It's wonderful. Everything feels simple when I'm reading.
42 days til the sheridan portfolio is due. I never thought I'd care so much about it, I mean, after all, it's calarts I really want to go to...but sheridan might be nice too....ugh. I don't know anymore. And a little part of me just wants to run off and write young adult fantasy novels for the rest of my life....It's very confusing.

Help!

So, I posted this in my DA journal, but considering no one really reads that, and I really would like some help, I thought I would post it here too, in case any wandering soul can help me:

I really, really, REALLY want to get better at digital painting this year. I was wondering if anyone had any tips, or knew any good tutorials out there for me? Whenever I open GIMP and get out my tablet it's like someone stuck a pencil in my hand for the first time ever, I swear. It's embarrassing, what with everyone I know pooping out amazing paintings all the time. Besides, it's something I've wanted to be able to do since maybe 7th grade...and I still have no idea how

Also, I got this really neato brush pen for christmas. It's a Kuretake brush pen and it looks super cool, it's straight from Japan. Which is sweet and all, except everything written on the box in in Japanese and I've never used a brush pen before, so I have no idea how to load the ink. Does anyone out there know??

I haven't updated in what feels like ages. I know all 1 and 1/2 of my faithful readers are really upset. I have a lot to say about the past few weeks, but I don't have any drawings to post so I'm kind of holding out until I do.
I'm also feeling the pressure of portfolio crunch time for sheridan, since it feels like everyone in the world is applying, because pretty much everyone in MY world is applying. Literally, every other kid I see in the hall is my competition. I don't do well with competition. Ugh.
And it's winter, and I always get a little depressed in winter and today was discouraging to my emotional health for other reasons. So yea.
I'll have art to share soon enough though, I've got some great things going on in my head.