Gabriella Liv Eriksson

The Eye Cast

2012-02-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

I'm really, head over heels, in love with oil paint. Another painting after a photo of a cast, for Head Painting class with Vanessa Lemen.

Foundations A in retrospect

2012-02-18T05:47:00.002-08:00

I've put together a collection of my favourite work from my first semester at TAD. It was such a crazy, mind blowing experience that completely revamped the way I understood picture making. I can't wait to put all that new knowledge to use this semester.

New homework! Yay!

2012-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad to be back in school and drawing/painting every day. The creative energy is back! :D

This is some of the homework done so far. Abstract mark making experiments in oil and a "pick out" portrait also in oil. Oil paint is awesome, btw, totally worth all the toxic fumes ;)

Drusilla

2012-02-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

A fan art of Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm experimenting with mixing watercolor and digital, trying to come up with something that works.

Prints for sale

2012-02-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

Two of my recent paintings are now available as high quality prints at inPRNT :D Yay!

Photography

2012-01-17T02:23:00.000-08:00

Photos from Brent Watkinsons Digital Photography class. We had a lot of fun during those classes, and learned so much more than just how to take pictures.

Light and Form Exercises

2012-01-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

Fundamentals of Light and Form with Dorian Iten. All this was a complete mystery to me before, had a lot of bad habits to break.

Dremtellers and a new conglomerate blog

2012-01-03T03:02:00.000-08:00

I'm kicking off the new year by wrapping up the old one. Finished this piece today, the final version of the Dreamteller assignment for composition and color class with Marshall Vandruff.

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce this new conglomerate blog that I'm part of togheter with classmates from TAD. I did my debute today with a small post about this piece.

PixelDiggers

Final Figure Drawings

2011-12-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

My favourites from the final pieces for Figure 1 with teacher Jane Radstrom. I struggled so much with the materials and the concept of "shape" in the beginning but now don't know how I ever got by without it!

The semester is wrapping up...

2011-12-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Dreamteller

2011-12-12T11:15:00.001-08:00

Final assignment from Composition and Color I with Marshall Vandruff. Not quite done though, this will be a project for the christmas break =)

Homework Update

2011-12-11T04:36:00.000-08:00

Figure Drawing

2011-11-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

Figure drawing experiments

2011-11-15T11:52:00.001-08:00

Figure Drawing

2011-11-10T09:29:00.001-08:00

Figure drawing with dry pastell and kraft paper.

2011-10-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

Personal pen and ink, really loving the medium. And Marique from the new Conan is just my favourite character design ever!

Assorted Homework

2011-10-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry I never write anything here, but here are some pictures to show I have kept busy at least! :)

And one more

2011-09-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

TAD Homework

2011-09-28T00:34:00.001-07:00

Homework from the last month: perspective, figure drawing, sketchbook and media. We are doing a lot of master copies which is new to me, but getting that intimate with the images and really picking them apart is teaching me tons.

Lomography

2011-09-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

Since we're doing TAD-ography this week I thought I should get around to finally scan and upload my old lomography images =D Unedited of course, Diana Mini.

Air

2011-09-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

Fire!

2011-09-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Playing with matches, don't try this at home ;)

Homework

2011-09-09T03:43:00.001-07:00

I had no idea you could make a pen that sharp, isn't it cool! I just love it. This is some of the things I've been working on this week, practising value control and making a charcole portrait.

Sketches by the lake

2011-09-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

I finally have a proper moleskine sketchbook, it's lovely to use.

Exploring

2011-09-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

More pastell

2011-08-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

Scale

2011-08-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

Agent X9 - Modesty Blaise Fan Art

2011-08-28T03:51:00.001-07:00

I am very excited and happy to say that this month I have a piece of fan art and a short interview in the swedish magazine Agent X9! :D I made a previous post about it back in january when this piece was made.

Comp studies

2011-08-28T03:48:00.000-07:00

Getting friendly with pastells

2011-08-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

We had a rough start but now we're slowly getting there.

Master copies

2011-08-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Master copies of Fechin, with vine charcole and graphite sticks. The more time I spent with Fechins drawings, the more in awe I became. It's just genius.

Observation

2011-08-15T11:49:00.001-07:00

TAD

2011-08-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

I'm now a full time student at The Art Department, living the dream basically. Working hard and learning more than ever before. I'll pour my work, most of it, into here.

Malkavian

2011-08-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

Malkavian Vampire from the rpg Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. The "best, buggiest game ever". One of the very best rpg's I've played. Especially enjoyable as an insane malkavian, with crazy dialog and mad insights into the storyline.

Sci-fi bookstore, 22 july - 26 august

2011-07-26T09:17:00.001-07:00

Some of mine and Enmi's artwork is now hanging on a wall by the stairs in the science-fiction bookstore in Stockholm. If you're passing by you should check it out!

Preparations

2011-07-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Getting things ready for mine and Emmy's little exhibition at the Science-Fiction Bookstore in Stockholm! Since I always work digital it's great to see these pictures in physical form, allthough I suspect none of them will survive the exhibit, the paper is extremely sensitive to fingerprints...

Morrigan

2011-07-14T14:11:00.001-07:00

For Bioware fan art showcase. I wish I had one more day to work on it but I'll let it go, better to move on to other things. Morrigan from Dragon Age Origins. She's awesome.

Skin

2011-07-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

"there is no right or wrong, there are only people"

Skin

My favourite window to the world and a life line when I feel suffocated by fear of what others think of me. I don't want to care, I just want to be.

I hope I can leave this fear behind me soon.

The Mirage

2011-07-06T10:34:00.001-07:00

I had almost forgotten about this one, that I had actually finished it. It didn't turn out as I had planned but that happens sometimes. This was originally inspired by a passage from Lilith by George MacDonald.

"Then I saw, slowly walking over the light soil, the form of a woman. A white mist floated about her, now assuming, now losing to reassume the shape of a garment, as it gathered to her or was blown from her by a wind that dogged her steps.

She was beautiful, but with such a pride at once and misery on her countenance that I could hardly believe what yet I saw. Up and down she walked, vainly endeavouring to lay hold of the mist and wrap it around her. The eyes in the beautiful face were dead, and on her left side was a dark spot, against which she would now and then press her hand, as if to stifle pain or sickness. Her hair hung nearly to her feet, and sometimes the wind would so mix it with the mist that I could not distinguish the one from the other; but when it fell gathering together again, it shone a pale gold in the moonlight."

Prints

2011-07-03T08:15:00.001-07:00

I've enabled some of my artwork as prints on deviantart.

How to paint a jedi

2011-06-30T07:03:00.001-07:00

GIF - deviantart link

Here's the promised gif file. =) I just can't seem to successfully upload the gif to my blog, so it's on my deviantart page.

Jedi Sage

2011-06-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

A Jedi Sage, the force is strong in her. Bioware fan art.
I've made a pretty .gif of the whole progress as well but so far I haven't figured out how to upload it here...

It's a jedi

2011-06-25T12:48:00.001-07:00

I decided it was a jedi, a Star Wars: The Old Republic jedi to be precise, so that it will qualify as bioware fan art. It's finished soon.

Another work in progress.

2011-06-23T11:24:00.001-07:00

A jedi, or a mage, not sure yet. I'll put together a gif of the whole process when it's done.

Scholarship competition

2011-06-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Please check out this competition and vote for those you think should win a scholarship to The Art Department! If you like my work I'd really appreciate your vote!

Talenthouse Creative Invite

It's not the votes that determine the outcome though, luckily, they just improve your chances.

Lilith

2011-06-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Aaaaand, it's done. Or is it, no, yes, it is! I feel I could continue on tweaking for ever, but it is finished now. I am really, really happy with it but when you stare at something for that long it's hard to let it go.

So, this is Lilith. Not the mythological figure but the character from the book by the same name by George MacDonald. This is not so much an illustrated event from the book though as it is a portrait trying to show the essence of the character as I see her. Although I hope that those who have read the book will recognise the setting as just after she is revived.

"The lady stood a little way off, looking, even in the clumsy attire I had fashioned for her, at once grand and graceful."

Bliss

2011-06-12T04:14:00.000-07:00

Lilith is almost complete, my tribute to author George MacDonald. I've had the idea in my head for almost a year now and worked on the actuall piece to and fro for about six months, at least. So in some sort of creative agonizing bliss, fueled by EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints, I'm adding the last strokes today.

Piece above is just a small part of the whole.

Merc

2011-06-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Not much have happened here recently but I've been working my butt off on a comic that I can't show you, yet. I'm also doing all that I can to prepare for my new school, which includes hunting for scholarships. I don't expect anything but I have to try. This mercenary was done exclusively for that. I just wanted to do a fun character that I would enjoy.

Show me you..

2011-05-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

Randomly finding this blog is one of the best things that has happened to me recently.

Show me you... the heroines project

See for yourself.

wip 2

2011-05-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Small steps. It will take a while to complete, but I enjoy the slow process.

Cyberdelic WIP 1

2011-05-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is the cyber punk painting I was talking about before, thought it could be fun to see the progress. Most of my inspiration comes from the X-files episode Kill Switch.
To be continued soon...

There's too much going on right now.

2011-05-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Good things mostly, but it's still hard to keep up. One tell-tale sign for me that it's starting to overpower me is when I start to have daydreams that trigger such violent emotional responses that I burst out crying or swearing, and if I don't stop myself in time they will invade my sense of reality and become like real memories, messing with my head.

So, I'm trying to slow down and divert my imaginative energy to a side project, a painting to celebrate my favourite counter-culture: the cyber punks of the 80's and 90's. I love their romantic view of cyber space and their intimate relationship with technology. Cyber space today, or "the internet", is such a mundane thing that we take for granted but to them it was like a new realm, or plane of existence, to be inhabited and explored.
I wish I could see it like they do.

The Art Department

2011-05-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've been accepted into The Art Department for fall 2011! Which is really, really amazing and I'm so excited about the journey ahead. Attending art school is a dream come true for me and I look forward to working hard and making the best out of these coming years.

http://www.theartdepartment.org/

Eleth Hawke

2011-04-14T06:35:00.001-07:00

Yay, finally done! This was definitely one of the most fun paintings I've done, and challenging too, as this was an all new technique for me. It's 98% Painter and 2% Photoshop.

This was my first character in Dragon Age 2, Eleth Hawke. The character customization in that game is such a pain! It takes forever to get somewhat close to the result you had in mind. But I still liked her, even though she looked a bit odd sometimes.

Eleth - the war godess

2011-04-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Dusted off my creepiest painting to date in order to make some tweaks and adjustments and now I'm really feeling the urge to paint more monsters. It's been a while, perhaps I should do her mate or something.

Revamping

2011-04-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Revamping stuff from last year and finishing up half done paintings. This one is one of my favorites, so it feels great to have it revamped and all finished. More to follow, hopefully.

Serious stuff

2011-04-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

I'm working on my graduation thesis right now and finally got done with these pics that will be the foundation off a survey later on. So it's pretty serious stuff, scientific and whatnot. ;P I try not to take it too seriously, although I am really looking forward to see how my survey will turn out. I can't reveal my hypothesis yet though, but I'll post my results.

u r 2 b submisive and not b defiant

2011-04-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

... if your a girl and play online games. The internet is a strange place, normal rules of conduct don't seem to apply and of course everyone gets harassed at some point but it's a different kind of “internet hate” being directed towards females in games. I've received my fare share and usually avoid gaming situations where I play with total strangers nowadays. However, it doesn't hurt like it used to thanks to a wonderful website called fatuglyorslutty.com.

They post messages and chat logs submitted by female players for the purpose of public shaming, awareness and, simply, a good laugh.

My elegantly written headline is of course a quote

A warning though, the language on this site is extremely crude and offensive!

Zeno Clash

2011-03-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

I finally bought this game yesterday, after having eyed it on the store shelf for about a year or so. I knew nothing about it except what it said on the cover, which was basically: weird, brilliant, brutal, beautiful, bizarre first-person melee/shooter. It had received excellent reviews as well, 8/10. IGN compared it to a fever dream. So I really didn't know what I was getting myself into, I had never played anything like it.

But it was soo amazing. It unravels like a dream, at first it was just plain weird but after a while it all starts to make sense and before you know it your fully immersed. You just have to experience it to understand. Comparing it to a fever dream is probably as close as your gonna get. It's ugly but strangely beautiful at the same time. It's also very short, took me only 3 hours, but it stays with you long after. I warmly recommend it.

Sketches

2011-03-23T14:08:00.001-07:00

Mixed sketches and drawings, top 3 from school and the rest from my time in Amsterdam.

Agent X9 teaser

2011-03-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

This is a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of a Modesty Blaise fan art by me that will appear in the Swedish comic magazine Agent X9 sometime this fall. Agent X9 was my favorite magazine growing up and I still read it. I got a big, wide shelf in my bookcase filled with copies ranging from 1969-2010. My favorites of the many titles featured in it over the years are Modesty Blaise, Garth, Alpha, Rip Kirby, Bravo Tango and Agent Corrigan. So it feels pretty darn awesome to make my debut in this particular magazine.

They have a different fan art each month this year, you can read about it and see the pictures on their blog (in Swedish):
http://agent-x9.blogspot.com/

I've also done a touch up off my older Modesty Blaise fan art which I wasn't completely happy with before. I will let it rest now. My new piece is very different and you can check it out as soon as the magazine hits the shelves this fall! :D

Good times

2011-03-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

Good times are here! Spring is approaching, anxiety level on a minimum and I've found inspiration and motivation again thanks to the awsome artwork of Dragon Age II.

I hope good times are headed your way too!

Japan Aid

2011-03-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

I painted this today for an art project that raises funds for Japan. If it's accepted into the project it will be printed and auctioned, but no matter what, it was nice to work on.

Eleth Hawke

2011-03-12T09:15:00.001-08:00

I've started playing Dragon Age II and even though I would have wished the gameplay was a little different I'm completely blown away by the art, the characters and the locations. The city of Kirkwall is so extremely well done and the characters are unique and interesting. I wish the gameplay was more immersive, I don't feel it allows me to become the main character but I'm happy to walk beside Eleth Hawke in her adventure, because it's just so stunningly beautiful.

This is a portrait of Eleth Hawke, which is what I've named my main character, done in Painter of course. I plan to color it someday also, I really want to see it through.

Sketches

2011-03-09T13:19:00.001-08:00

One of the main reasons why I got Painter, is to be able to sketch like this with simulated pencils. I really love that tool.
This one is for school, for my graduation thesis on sexualized female characters. I'll get back to that another time.

Painter

2011-03-07T07:57:00.001-08:00

Painter arrived today and I instantly felt that this is just the right tool for me. To try it out I did this quick sketch, a portrait of P J Harvey with pencil and ink. Unofortunately I managed to trigger a bug related to the eraser and now I can't use the eraser from the toolbar anymore... but I found a way aroung it so it's ok. I still love you Painter, even though you crashed on me before I had saved...

Amsterdam

2011-03-06T04:31:00.000-08:00

Memories from our trip:

The really nice art themed hotel we stayed at, who played hits from the 90:s in their cafe. We had a huge art print above our bed, I really liked it there.

Beautiful and calm Jordaan with all the canals and bridges. You could also get sticky toffee cake there at Buffet van Odette.

Van Kerkwijk, where the waiters sat down and recited the menu and you could get meat with strawberry sauce.

The red windows and working women who met your glance as you passed by, they were all over the central parts of the city and certainly left an impression.

The wonderfully diverse population in Amsterdam, and the calm yet lively atmosphere.

Our friend Mo who we hadn't met in ages who came an visited us!

Seeing the Rembrandt and Gabriël Metsu paintings in all their glory at the Rijksmuseum!

I really, really look forward to go back, hopefully the much anticipated conceptart.org workshop will still, maybe, take place later this year and I will visit again.

awe-inspiring

2011-02-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

Just amazing, I feel so inspired and happy looking at this beautiful painting process. Also, this decides it, I'm gonna get Corel Painter asap! (i'm pretty sure that's what he's/she's using)

Music

2011-02-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

The marvelous P J Harvey recently released her new album, Let England Shake.

It is magnificent, it's poetry and it's about war.

All the small things...

2011-02-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

that makes me happy. (And yeah, I was humming the Blink 182 hit when I wrote that headline, childhood nostalgia ftw)

I read a journal entry on DA by ~detvarjohanna where she listed the small things that made her happy and it made my day a lot better, reminding me about things that makes me smile. So, inspired and encouraged by said deviant I'm gonna do a list of my own. Hopefully it might have the same effect on you!

So these are some of the little things that make my days brighter.

-Drinking perfectly flavoured Earl Grey tea. (I'm in an Earl Grey period right now, inspired by the gritty, brittish police novels I've been reading recently)

-Discovering long lost (and new) favourites on Spotify.

-Waking up to see my husband smile at me.

-Walking around at home with thick, soft, pretty socks on.

-The rare occurence when I manage to say something funny. (oh, how I savour those moments)

-Looking into the mirror thinking I'm just so happy that I am who I am. Rare but it happens.

-Seeing my cats curled up into little balls of fur and cuteness.

-Playing old games on my new computer. (It's a hobby of mine to get old games to work on my new Vista PC)

-See new mail in my inbox and new feedback messages on DA.

-Finishing a sentence on my graduation thesis. Every word is a small victory!

Now do your own! :)

DSU Showreel

2011-02-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

The new showreel from my University is here! Two off my paintings are featured in the early part and later there is some footage from Clean Up-crew, a project I was part off last year.

I'm so proud off my classmates :)

Bye Sketchbook!

2011-01-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna miss u!

It's off the states now, hopefully it'll get there in one piece.

Women in the Universe of George MacDonald: A work in progress

2011-01-13T03:21:00.001-08:00

I held a presentation of my school project, illustrations inspired by the works of author George MacDonald, yesterday. So the course is done now but some still remains to do on the paintings before I will call them complete.

From top to bottom:

Lilith -

"The lady stood a little way off, looking, even in the clumsy attire I had fashioned for her, at once grand and graceful."

The mirage -

"She was beautiful, but with such a pride at once and misery on her countenance that I could hardly believe what yet I saw. Up and down she walked, vainly endeavouring to lay hold of the mist and wrap it around her."

Eve -

"What a change had passed upon her! It was as if the splendour of her eyes had grown too much for them to hold, and, sinking into her countenance, made it flash with a loveliness like that of Beatrice in the white rose of the redeemed. Life itself, life eternal, immortal, streamed from it, an unbroken lightning. Even her hands shone with a white radiance, every "pearl-shell helmet" gleaming like a moonstone. Her beauty was overpowering; I was glad when she turned it from me."

The North Wind -

"He looked up to find her face, and saw that she was no longer a beautiful giantess, but the tall gracious lady he liked best to see."

I'm very happy with how they have turned out and I look forward to finish them in late spring.

Space Queen

2010-12-29T15:05:00.001-08:00

Oh yeah, an update! I put together a background for the Barbarella chow piece real quick:ish, to get a break from the more "serious" paintings I'm working on, heh. I've got tons to do until january is over though, so no more silly space squids for me for a while now.

You can check it out here aswell if you like:
http://gabriellaliv.deviantart.com/#/d35yo6x

Life on the farm...

2010-12-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

I'm taking it super easy right now, working on my projects and spending my spare time with light, casual games like WoW and Harvest Moon, which is a very charming farm life simulator (Gamecube version). I wont be posting much here until everything is settled because I'm very sensitive to stress right now and must spend my time and energy carefully. The project will be done in a few weeks however and then I will have a bunch of art to show! Until then I will just continue to paint and take care of my virtual cows and sheep...

The North Wind

2010-12-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a "Work in Progress" from my school project.

The North Wind.
"Diamond, I am afraid you would not keep hold of me, and if I were to drop you, I don't know what might happen; so I have been making a place for you in my hair. Come."

To all my friends

2010-12-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

and family and everyone who is somehow part of my life.

Oh my friends I've
Begun to worry right
Where I should be grateful
I should be satisfied

Oh my heart I
Would clap and dance in place
With my friends I have so
Much pleasure to embrace

But my heart is
Returned to sister winter
But my heart is
As cold as ice

All my friends, I've
Returned to sister winter
All my friends, I
Apologise, apologise

And my friends, I've
Returned to wish you all the best

Returned to wish you a happy Christmas

To wish you a happy Christmas

Faeries for my sketchbook

2010-12-05T11:36:00.001-08:00

Another sketchbook page, this time with faeries. Tried to make it more sketchy, not caring to much about how it turns out and just let the pen flow.

Winter Soundtrack

2010-12-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

Winter is here in full force and Christmas as well. I've found it hard to keep up with myself lately, so I need to slow down and focus slowly but steadily on my three main projects that are all on a deadline in january, my other projects will have to wait. It used to be only two but I got an awesome job offer that I just have to follow up, I'll show you in January. I don't think it's really classified but I prefer to keep it to myself until then.

Winter Playlist - Spotify Link

Merry Christmas!

2010-11-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Merry christmas to you all! A crasy snow storm has raged the entire day, keeping us indoors, celebrating with icecream instead of traditionall christmas cakes.

I finished my Barbarella CHOW entry today as well, like last time it's not really finished but good enough to be submitted. I have an idea for a background I want to do before I upload it to my galleries. I'm happy with it as it is though, learned a lot working with it.

Barbarella

2010-11-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

This week I'm working on my version of Barbarella and I learned a new word while researching, campy!

"Camp is an aesthetic sensibility wherein something is appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value"

I like campy stuff and I really, really like the Barbarella movie from 1968. It's one of my favourites.

Hopefully my Barbarella pic will be finished within a few days, so far it's coming along nicely. I'll show you when it's done!

My Modesty Blaise Tribute

2010-11-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

My tribute to author Peter O'Donnell who passed away May 3rd 2010.

I grew up reading the Modesty Blaise comics/novels and she has always been a role model to me, and a big part of my life. I have a painting on the wall in my bedroom, or rather a framed print of an oil painting, depicting Modesty Blaise by the original artist Jim Holdaway. It has always been special to me since it's the only MB picture in colour done by Holldaway that I've seen and this piece is very much inspired by it.

This is the first time that I've painted an original painting of Modesty although when I was a kid I sometimes praticed drawing off the covers of my Agent X9 magazines, I still have one of those sketches somewere.. Anyway, this won't be the last Modesty Blaise tribute coming from me.

CHOW

2010-11-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Character of the Week, a weekly challenge at the conceptart.org forum. This is my entry for "Steampunk Superhero", it was such an odd mix that I had to give it a go. I didn't finish in time however, I handed it in and all but the image is missing some final touches. I'll upload it to my gallery when it's all done, probably later tonight.

I have participated in four of five CHOW's so far and I always learned new things every single time. It's rather stressful though so it's not something I can do every week.

But this week it's Barbarella... which is like sooo awesome so I might just have to do two weeks in a row, this time.

CHOW

If you like my entry you can vote for it in the poll...

+DeviantWatch 3

2010-11-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

~daarken

~Nachan

~Scebiqu

My First Mod

2010-11-18T03:41:00.000-08:00

Before and after.

So yesterday I modded a game for the first time ever! I'm still amazed that it actually worked, even though I've studied game development and seen the process of constructing a game from beginning to end I've always felt that the "real" games I own where untouchable and that they would break if I tried to meddle with them.
This here that I did was only a simple modification of the original texture and portrait which I put in the very convenient "override" folder which is found in the games main folder but still, it works!
The original main characters found in the game were just not... ok. I tried several of them but I just couldn't picture myself playing through the game looking like any of them. So now I get to play through the game with a character that is partly my own creation, awesome!

Troubleshooting

2010-11-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

I've spent this morning trying to get Knights of the Old Republic II to work on my computer. It's been sort of a hobby of mine actually to get old games working on newer computers ever since I was a kid, I love it when they put up a challenge and now when I'm using Vista they really do. It's not that I really know that much about how computers work but when it comes to games it's really just a matter of being stubborn enough.
My greatest achievement was getting Tomb Raider 1 to work on my XP PC, unfortunately I was never able to reinstall it after it vanished in a computer crash so it's lost now. So perhaps that doesn't really count but I've got Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, SW: KOTOR and SW: KOTOR II working on my 64bit Vista right now which I'm pretty damn proud off. ^__^

My next project will be try to get SW: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II to work on my vista but I fear it might prove impossible, we'll see.

On a more personal note...

2010-11-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Recently I've gained a lot of confidence in my own abilities as an artist, I like the direction I'm heading and I'm happy with the things I can do right now. That is something I could never have admitted last year, being caught in a "nothing I do is ever good enough" evil spiral striving for perfection, trying to be a "good girl" who's always perfect and never makes mistakes and never does or says anything wrong. Creativity exhausted me, I was completely drained after drawing a few brush strokes.
To make a long story short I fell into a black pit of anxiety but I got out again and after that I started to see real improvement. Of course it had a lot to do with me not being a stressed out emotional wreck anymore but it was also much owed to the fact that I had started to draw stuff that was meaningful to me and joyful to work with. I did not have the idea in my head anymore to draw only to become better and that each piece I did was just a means to an end. For some people that works just fine but I think that for people like me, who easily gets caught in the "good girl/boy" trap, it's better to create for the sheer joy of it and just let the "improvement" come by naturally, focusing on having a good time rather then being good at it!
That's my advice anyway, do with it what you will. :)

Home Alone

2010-11-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

I'm home alone for a few days, so my plan is to play music really loud, draw to my hearts content and stay up playing Knights of the Old Republic until I can't keep my eyes open. It's nice to be home alone every once in while but a bit scary at the same time for me. So far so good however, Marshmallow Dream cereals for breakfast and three cats keeping me company.

Yesterday I got the idea to do a quick practice portrait from the movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice, it's a good movie and stunningly "good looking", I'm not sure what the term is actually when referring to movies but I hope you know what I mean. It was harder then I expected though to find nice footage on google image search, probably not the best place to look but I managed to get hold of one at least. While doing this I realized the importance of a good internal visual library because I was totally lost when painting this face and my fingers had no idea how to move to get the strokes right. So I'll probably be doing more of these.

Muddy Colors

2010-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon an amazing illustration blog a few days ago, Muddy Colors, which is run collectively by some of the best artists in the field. Jon Foster and Dan Dos Santos just to name a few. What's so great about this blog is that they share their processes and thoughts around the subject as well as showcase finished work. If you're interested in illustration I would highly recommend it as a wonderful source of information and inspiration.

Muddy Colors - An Illustration Collective

New Design

2010-11-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have just completed the first version of my portfolio, yay! It felt about time since I have recently started to look for freelance work, which feels awesome! I hope something cool will turn up and it seems like it just might very soon...
And so I felt that the blog could use a new design as well, I hope you like it.

+DeviantWatch 2

2010-11-12T02:11:00.000-08:00

Another round, enjoy!

~Jeffsimpsonkh

~Colorbind

~wakkawa

~rogner5th

Can't sleep...

2010-11-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

I couldn't sleep so I ended up here, in front of my computer. I'm not sure what I wanted to write about but I found this little sketch I did about a year ago. It's a scene from the novel "At the Back of the North Wind" where the little boy Diamond is sitting in a tree house looking up at the stars. I can't quite remember what happened but I know it made me feel really safe reading that chapter, it's a good book.

I did a fan art portrait of Modesty Blaise today, in honor of her author Peter O'Donnell who passed away a few months ago. I was very sad to paint it even though it felt good at the same time, I hope my painting would do O'Donnell pride. Modesty Blaise is an extraordinary character and I can't quite find the right words to express how much she has meant, and means, to me. While growing up she was a guiding voice in my subconscious and she is still present. I will never read the final episode, never. I can't bear to lose her.

I will upload the painting later on there is just one thing I want to check first.

Another Page

2010-11-10T03:49:00.001-08:00

I went ahead and did the first page in my sketchbook this morning. It was so lovely to sit and look out at the white landscape while drawing and it was nice to get a break from the computer.

I will add some finishing touches to it later on, when more of the other pages are done and also write an introduction. My theme is "... you'd be home by now" and this woman is waiting for her lover to come home.

Fan Art

2010-11-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

The snow has arrived here today and I love it! The dark grey has been replaced with white and it's really cosy to sit inside and watch the snowflakes fall.

I finished this fan art pic today which I've been working on during this last weekend. It was really fun to do and I hope my friend Heidi will be glad when she sees it! It's a surprise.
Its Lulu from Final Fantasy X, she's my favourite character from that game as well so this was a real treat to do.

Adventure

2010-11-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today we booked and paid for our trip to Amsterdam, it's all set except for my ticket to the Art and Design Symposium which isn't released yet. We're gonna travel by buss from Copenhagen and stay a whole week at an art themed hotel right next to Westergasfabriek which is where the event will take place. I can hardly believe it's true but there it is, all done and paid for and it will be more than amazing I'm sure. A real adventure in a very unique city which I can't wait to experience.

Early Winter Playlist

2010-11-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

I've reached that point again when I've grown sick of my current playlist and the new season calls for something different. Whenever fall and winter arrives I like to bring out my Nick Cave, P J Harvey and Kate Bush albums, somehow i find comfort in the dramatic vocals and existencial lyrics, it suits my mood I guess.

So right now I'm either listening to The Glitch Mob or this:

Early Winter Playlist

Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
There She Goes, My Beautiful World - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Bringing Meaning To Winter - Timbre
In This Life to Live - Jennie Abrahamson
Wuthering Heights (New Vocal) - Kate Bush
Lights - Jennie Abrahamson
Islands - XX
Equilibrium - Blue Foundation
Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation
And Dream Of Sheep - Kate Bush
Volcano - Damien Rice
Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush
Spell - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Lover/Brother - Jennie Abrahamson
Carry Me - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
This Womans Work - Kate Bush
Ghost - Blue Foundation
When Under Ether - P J Harvey
Teclo - P J Harvey
I Remember - Damien Rice
Jig Of Life - Kate Bush
Send His Love To Me - P J Harvey
Morning Yearning - Ben Harper
Delicate - Damien Rice
Kinderly - The Mediaeval Baebes
Better Way (War Mix) - Ben Harper
Soul To My Soul - As In RebekkaMaria
Gooseberry Boy - RebekkaMaria
Mother Woman - RebekkaMaria

Winter Anxiety

2010-11-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Winter is a difficult time for me, as it is for many. The absence of daylight brings about the darkest fears in me and I sometimes feel slight pangs of anxiety late in the evenings.

It's important, I think, to find things that make you feel safe and have an escape plan when these dark winter evenings hit you. Like this poem, it's my little enchanted amulet that always makes the bad thoughts go away.

+DeviantWatch

2010-11-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be neat to do a weekly feature on some of the awesome people on deviantart.com! Just click their names to see more.

~Enmi

~Falk2021

~arcipello

~Okmer

Stay tuned!

Motivate

2010-11-05T03:22:00.000-07:00

So I was watching videos from previous Massive Black Workshop and wondering to myself, am I ready for this, am I good enough, you know? And right now, na probably not, but in February... definitely!
I've never been this motivated before and I actually believe this will work!

So let's put on some awesome music and get creative!

Work in Progress

2010-11-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I moved my big, main computer out from our tv/computer room and into the little "studio" room next to the kitchen. I miss sitting next to J but I need perfect silence and stillness around me if i am to pull off this huge project of mine. There is so much depending on it since this will be my portfolio and I can feel the pressure.
Because of this I have to keep reminding myself why I do this. The reason I started this project was not to get a job, not as some smart "career move" but because these characters that I portray mean a lot to me and I do this as a tribute to their author, George MacDonald. I owe so much, everything, to him for his writings, I always turn to him when I feel lost in life.

This project of mine is simply put a series of poster sized illustrations portraying characters taken from the novells "Phanstastes" and "Lilith". There is tons left to do, so I better get to it!