Misadventures in Art

Bruce Campbell Caricature!

2012-05-21T18:42:00.004-07:00

2012-05-16T08:23:00.002-07:00

It's been (what seems like) years since I last did a fantasy art piece. Have a look! =)

Napoleon Dynamite Caricature

2012-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Napoleon Dynamite Caricature Painting...one of my favorite movies.

Davy Jones Tribute Painting

2012-04-28T01:14:00.002-07:00

I keep forgetting to update this blog! It is difficult to keep up with all the different social websites, all the while doing the artwork! I'll try and make an effort to update this as often as I can from now on.

With that out of the way, here's my most recent painting video on youtube! =)

Madonna (Caricature) Speed Painting

2012-03-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

While I'm not a huge fan of Madonna, I will be honest in saying that I do like some of her older music. As far as her personal life, that's a different story...

O.k., I'll be honest. Madonna was actually pretty "rad" back in the 80's and early 90's. In addition to having a huge music career, she also used to be in movies and did an awesome job on shows like Saturday Night Live.

Having said that, I thought doing an 80's caricature version of Madonna would be pretty fun; and it was! This is the first female of this drawing/painting series.

In an attempt to make female caricatures "less manly", I try to use less lines in the face, so I don't scare away the children, you know? I think it's easy to get away with making male caricatures over-the-top with facial detail, but when you do women....you have to be a little bit more simple, otherwise it just doesn't look very feminine.

Hope you enjoyed this! Until next time!

-N.B.

"Reverse" Criticism

2012-03-21T17:32:00.004-07:00

I was having a conversation earlier today with a friend at work, and the subject of criticism came up...

One thing I have found strange about myself is that I do not mind criticism at all. I think the more honest someone can be with what I do, the more motivation I will have to prove them wrong and/or do it better the next time. That is not what bothers me; what does is this- being complimented.

Sounds a bit strange, doesn't it? I suppose so. Not so sound full of my myself or anything, but I remember always feeling guilty trying my absolute best in art classes back in school, because I knew I would get attention that I didn't necessarily want. At times, I felt bad that the person sitting next to me put in 20 hours on a project, and I only put in 10 - and mine (sometimes) looked better. Then again, sometimes another person sitting near me in art class made mine look like it was done by a 5 year old with some crayons, you know?

I guess it is part of being humble? I am not sure. For some reason I do not take compliments very well, other than a quick "thanks"...and that's it. That's not to say I don't want people to like my work; I do- I just prefer when people tell me something I can improve upon, as well as the good stuff!

Did any of that make sense to anyone reading this? I sure hope so, man...it took about 20 minutes for me to type all this.

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In WashedupTV news, I recently finished a Tim Burton speed painting video and A "50s Meets the Twilight Zone" video on my channel, so be sure to check them both out if you haven't already.

The next video I think I will be doing is a speed painting of Danny Elfman w/ commentary...so stay tuned!

-N.B.

King speed drawing & colored pencils

2012-03-11T01:23:00.000-08:00

Hi there! In this video, I thought I would just share some of my experience using colored pencils. I decided to draw a cartoon king, simply because I thought there would be a lot of different colors to work with; just a fun drawing I suppose.

I really enjoy using colored pencils; the problem is that my patience is very limited when using them. As strange as this might sound, I have much more patience doing a painting that may take 10-20+ hours total that I do with a colored pencil drawing that could take about 2 or 3 hours total. I find it difficult to explain. If anyone has an opinion as to why this may be, I would like to hear it!

Until next time!

-N.B.

How to NOT do drawing tutorials!

2012-02-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Lately... I have been watching a lot of various drawing tutorial videos on Youtube, and one thing I noticed is that when people make mistakes they are usually edited out. There are, however, times when people do make mistakes but do not call attention to what they have done wrong on camera. They just use a little bit of "improv acting" and play it off like nothing happened, or as if they meant to do it.

I personally find this amusing on so many levels. For starters, no matter how skilled you are- you are going to make mistakes now and then. Especially on camera- there are many things that can (and sometimes will) go wrong. So I thought I would make a drawing tutorial that starts off fairly normal, and gradually builds up the "mistakes" I make along the way. The ending of the video results in me having wasted a huge amount of time...

Anyway, I hope that everyone reading (and watching) this "gets" the humor of this video. Even though everything in this video was planned before recording, it doesn't matter! The moral of this video is to not be afraid to make mistakes! It happens to everyone!

Until next time, enjoy!

-N.B.

No humor in art videos?

2012-02-13T21:03:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

Lately, in-between working on animated shorts and painting, I have been doing quick cartoon drawing videos on my Youtube channel, WashedupTV.

There is something interesting I have noticed about "how to" drawing videos. Some are good, some are bad, and some are great. Most of them seem to have one thing in common- they are usually taken fairly seriously, without any sort of humor involved. Typically, the artist speaking sounds stressed out or bored. As much as I enjoy listening to "calm" and "relaxing" voices in tutorials, it does get a bit stale after awhile. This is supposed to be fun, man! If you aren't enjoying yourself, then what's the point?

That being said, here's a drawing video I did earlier tonight of an 80's chick. Enjoy!

-N.B.

http://youtu.be/NWEtgZqidC0

2012-02-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my first art & animation blog posting!

While most of what I post here is going to be directly related to animation and art videos I post on my YouTube channel, "WashedupTV"- I will occasionally post other artwork here as well.

Most people who are (some form of) an artist don't start at the top. I envy those who somehow do. This blog is my place to share, rant, criticize, and explore the experiences of what it is to start at the bottom and work towards the top- In other words, "making it" out there.

Some days are productive. Some are a complete disaster. Welcome to my misadventures in art!

-N.B.

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The Misadventures start here! : www.youtube.com/washeduptv