0peraGh0st In reply to Shimarina7 [2017-01-01 19:20:36 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for the welcome. 
I am still unsure why llamas make up such a strange currency here, but 'when in Rome', no?
Have a good evening.

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Shimarina7 In reply to 0peraGh0st [2017-01-01 19:36:06 +0000 UTC]

Well, I have been waiting for my llama to turn into a other kind of llama but this does not happen XD Have a nice  evening!

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0peraGh0st In reply to TheBlackCatMasque [2016-12-30 00:38:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, BlackCat. 

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0peraGh0st In reply to Cuwo [2016-12-30 00:14:37 +0000 UTC]

You are welcome.  

I have began to notice a bit of age-related (and too-many-years-of-loud-music-related, if I am being totally honest) hearing loss.  That has been a benefit to my misophonia, since it has rendered many of the sounds that often bothered me much less irritating.  I have so far refused to get hearing aids simply because I am quite glad that those abrasive sounds are no longer as demanding as they used to be.  

I still use my old tricks to avoid a sensory storm in some loud public place though... I'd have to be profoundly deaf to be unaware of the loud thumping bass issuing from certain cars, for example.. as the driver is playing some 'musical' travesty like rap at top volume.  Ugh!  So I still wear my best set of noise-cancelling earbuds whenever I must leave the house.  If wearing the earbuds is not permitted (it is, after all, rude to leave one's headphones/earbuds on/in when talking to another person), I make use of swimmers'-style silicone earplugs.  They mould to the exact surface of the ear canal, and they block out enough of the world's sounds to allow me some comfort.

As to sharing my work, I am beginning to lean in that direction.  

Have a good morning,
E.

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0peraGh0st In reply to Candy-Meow [2016-12-15 01:52:35 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for the welcome.
E.

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0peraGh0st In reply to ImaginaryRat [2016-12-13 04:22:19 +0000 UTC]

Hello, Imaginary-Rat

I rambled around DA for a bit before creating an account, so I feel at least passingly familiar with the process, but thank you for your offer.  The account is more a place for me to ramble and comment than anything else.  I have a bit of a weakness for beautiful things, so I seek them out whenever possible.  This medium has certainly created much more opportunity for that than I am usually afforded.  It is interesting, seeing what people are doing.
As to what I do, well, I'm mostly driven by music, though I do sketch and design now and then.  Less so recently, as my attention has been largely devoted to the online world, which I pick up and abandon in fits and starts.  I see that you work primarily via the computer... how long did it take for you to get a feel for your tablet?  I got a Wacom a few years ago and found it very difficult to get used to it.  I confess that, for me, nothing beats the feel of graphite against fine paper.  It was that disparity that made getting accustomed to the tablet frustrating.  I set it aside to work in a more familiar way.
The coffee painting of the lion - that one is my favourite in your gallery.  Of course, I love coffee, so it's almost destined to appeal.  But you have done lovely work with the shading that shows clear understanding of the anatomy beneath.  Have you studied veterinary anatomy? 
E.

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ImaginaryRat In reply to 0peraGh0st [2016-12-13 17:03:30 +0000 UTC]

Well, I was very young when I discovered digital art, perhaps around eight years old. I saw other people on the internet doing it and I became very fascinated with it so I started drawing myself, using a computer mouse. I'd never heard of tablets before but when I was 9 I got one as a Christmas gift from my dad, a gift that I've now held on to for 8 years. Since I had the technique of doing something with my hand whilst looking elsewhere, along with being familiar with drawing programs and such, getting used to my tablet wasn't tat much of a struggle. It felt really unusual holding a pen along with the tablet sensing location, but as I was really driven I got used to it quickly.

I'm happy to hear you like my lion coffee painting! It was lots of fun creating it! I haven't studied all that much veterinary anatomy, I've just done some skull studies here and there, but all in all I've been drawing animals for a really long time. I'm flattered!

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0peraGh0st In reply to ImaginaryRat [2016-12-14 06:11:25 +0000 UTC]

Perhaps my issue with the tablet is simply that I did not grow up with computers the way people do now.  My interest bloomed in the 90s, when the internet was very new and still very much a frontier. 
I also suspect that my frustration with the tablet had more to do with my perfectionism than any perceived limitations of the device.  I've always found it easy to take pen in hand and create something I felt was good without having to do much by way of preliminary rough work.  With the tablet, I felt like I was fighting against both it and the computer and was still not able to produce anything I considered even satisfactory.  Perhaps I will reconnect it and give it another go sometime soon. 
I was lucky in obtaining a certain degree of anatomical education, I suppose.  That has allowed me to create figures with much more realistic poses and expressions than I could have without knowing which muscle groups control which motions and which areas of the body will be in tension or relaxation in a specific pose.  Facial anatomy was especially important in learning how to portray subtle expressions.  I know I'd not be as able had I not had that information available, which is why a course in artistic anatomy or medical anatomy is something I always recommend to up and coming artists.  If there are no courses like this available in your area, you can always pick up a few anatomical texts and start working from there.  "Gray's Anatomy" is a great start, as are 'Anatomie Descriptive' and 'Anatomie Generale' by Marie Francois Xavier Bichat.  For a less human-centred approach, try 'Textbook of Domestic Animal Anatomy' by Konrad Ludwig Schwab and 'Handbook of Comparative Anatomy in Domestic Mammals' by Ernst Friedrich Gurit.  Both of these were written in German, but I'm sure translations exist.  Plus, I am sure you can find video of medical or veterinary school cadaver dissections online, which is likely the best way to learn about anatomy short of being the one actually holding the scalpel.  One can get a lot from life drawing and by observing people and animals going about their lives.
I've blathered on enough for this morning.  It's now just after 7am and I have to go get productive.
Have a grand day.
E.

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ImaginaryRat In reply to 0peraGh0st [2016-12-15 19:32:15 +0000 UTC]

I suppose it's easier getting used to a tablet at a younger age. When I got mine I was still learning to draw, so my expectations weren't too high. Of course my work did decrease a bit in quality when I switched to tablet at first but it didn't hold that much quality to begin with, and I only noticed it when looking back at my early work.
I heard a tip somewhere for getting used to tablet which is to practice writing the alphabet in a straight line.
Thank you for the advise! I'll be sure to check that out!
You have a grand day too!

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