Hey! I'm bloggin' here!: Storytime:
When I was thirteen I had this friend named Betsy. We only got to hang out once because she lived in Ohio, but I mean we talked on AIM all the time and she would send weekly “Babble letters” (Emails that were ridiculously long because they contained stories of what she did throughout the week)….
Can’t believe you saved this all of these years!
adwohs-likethis asked: What is the key for being successful?
Hey there!
This is kind of a broad question that could have a whole range of answers. I don’t even know that I’m the best person to answer—there are artists out there that have done far greater things than I have.
That being said, I think if you want to start building a following for yourself and your art you should make things that make you happy, make them well, and post them on the Internet consistently. You wouldn’t believe the number of art directors that search for freelancers through blogs. It’s astounding, really!
But really, just do things that make you happy. If you’re happy, it will shine through in your work. Happiness breeds more happiness. That’s what this whole thing is about anyway, right?
Here’s a personal illustration I started a while back. Finally finished!
Quick sketch of Kobie, as seen from my standing desk
Personal goal is to get better at sketching crowd scenes
molinatwins asked: Just wanted to say work is amazing and very inspirational! please keep creating and inspiring!
Thanks so much! Hearing about spreading creativity is equally as inspiring!
Realized I never uploaded this! This was my piece for “Sing that Movie” at Susanita’s Little Gallery. Acrylic on cold press watercolor paper.
shitiseeinmybeerwhenimhigh asked: Hello Betsy, I was curious what show your Sleeping Beauty piece was for, and if it would be for sale?
Hey there! Yes, it was for sale—and has been sold! It was up at Susanita’s Little Gallery http://www.susanitaslittlegallery.com/en-US/Home.aspx . Not to worry, though. I’ll be making more traditional art to sell soon! :)
Today is Ella Fitzgerald’s 96th Birthday, and I had the privilege to doodle a tribute to her! My first attempt at paper cut out illustration—LOTS of fun! I did a full WIP blog post, which you can read here!
Early morning session on a new piece…almost done!
prismafox asked: Isn't it amazing to think that your Google doodles are seen by MILLIONS of people when they're up?!? Congrats so hard!! Keep up the fantastic and inspiring work!
I try not to think about it, haha… But thank you!
I drew all of the dogs on the Doodle team—the “dooglers” if you will.
chrispycanvas asked: Hey Betsy, i have question regarding how you approach character design. Do you start your designs through shapes, and if you do, how crucial is understanding structure/anatomy or any basic before you start to 'stylize'? -Chris Powell
Hey Chris!
I used to have a much more specific process when I was in school about how to approach character design, but I don’t take things so step-by-step anymore.
I like to make sure that I am exploring all kinds of avenues when designing. I think that your first try is rarely the best idea you’ve got in you, so I usually keep going until I find something better. I used to just push and pull shapes like crazy, but I don’t think that makes sense if the project is more realistic. You probably aren’t going to use a super squashed head as a final design.
If your designs are for a personal project I think it’s hard to know quite when to stop. When a character’s appearance is appealing, unique, AND fits the personality you’ve developed, you’re done!
As far as knowing anatomy, yes, 100% know the structure all the time! I didn’t used to believe this, but I watched Andrew Shek draw while he was on Tembo, and that guy KNOWS anatomy even though his designs are flat and stylized. He would sketch in the skull, the spine, and all of the basic planes before stylizing. Aaron Blaise would do a character sketch, put a low-opacity white layer on top, then redraw the character until the structure was solid and the pose was golden. Sometimes he’d do this 3-4 times!
I think especially when designing human characters you should have a strong sense of anatomy since everyone out there is at least slightly familiar with how people are put together. That’s where life drawing comes in. Strong life drawing feeds SO much into character design. My character designs look more and more like my cafe sketches each day.
Another thing semi-related to note is that I have a difficult time designing AND posing a character out of the blue. A lot of times I have to separate the two tasks. First, design the character in a boring pose—maybe even T-pose. Then, start a new drawing of the character doing something interesting.
That was really long, but I hope it helps!
Quick sketch before bed.
chadilaksono asked: Howdy! I had one of those amazing internet moments yesterday. After meandering through a maze of many links I somehow landed on Mike Dutton's tumblr & then I found yours. I'm envious of your life & talent, in a "Now-that's-what-I-want-my-life-to-be-like-one-day" kind of way. It's a bit weird to be envious of your life since I don't know anything about it. But all I wanna say is I'm glad I found someone I can look up to. Now there's a much clearer goal in my mind of where I want to be. Thanks!
Wow, thanks so much! That’s incredibly flattering. There are certainly others doing far cooler things than me, but that’s very very nice of you. :) Best of luck with everything!
