Welcome to My Gallery

Hi! I'm a Year 9 student who has been drawing horses since I was three (or rather, drawing excuses for horses. I say that because I'm a perfectionist, and really, they were terrible!), and have been sketching constantly ever since. When Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron came out in 2002, I fell in love with the style. I have never really managed to draw the same way as the animtors for the film did, but I continue to build and edit my own style every time I put pen to paper.

Any artist will tell you that horses are incredibly hard to draw. That is why my favourite artist is George Stubbs, because his paintings of horses were absolutely exceptional, and yet he still couldn't get it quite right (I guess he was a perfectionist, like me!), even after years and years of studying real horses. I respect him for all his hard work.

My fan character Jade is probably the horse you will see most in my gallery. I am working on a series of stories about her life, how she was tamed, how she met Durango, how she became free again, and that is only one story (well two, if you count it as Part 1 and Part 2). She is a palomino mare who is Spirit and Rain's daughter. She is a public character, so feel free to include her in drawings and stories, unless there are massive plot twists. I hope to make her a popular and well known as possible.

My Art

I was going to get Photoshop CS3 for Christmas or my birthday... that is until I found out the price. £255?! Get stuffed!

I am planning on downloading GIMP to use for my artwork. I'll still be sending in hand drawn art, but if I want to add backgrounds, linearts and realistic art to my gallery, I have to go digital. I did have two 30 day trials of Photoshop CS3 and Corel Painter X, but they've expired.

I have a graphic tablet. It is a Genius -Pen 450 wireless. I was going to get a cheaper model that had a wire, but the guy at the shop knew it was a birthday present for me, and so he upgraded it for no extra cost. That's one of the few lucky things that had happened to me when money's concerned.

At the moment all I have is MS Paint... yeah, I know, right? Blech! I can't be bothered trialing stuff off the internet - whether it's free or not. Installing and uninstalling takes time, and since my dad is the Administrator on my computer, he doesn't really want to spend all his spare time downloading new programs for me that I can't use in a month. Hopefully though I will be able to persuade him to download GIMP for me very soon.

I also have a scanner. I doodle all the time on paper, so I'm naturally better with drawing on paper than a tablet. But I can't be bothered with backgrounds on paper - they take too long and I don't have enough pencils. I usually use crayola cloured pencils (the 24 pack - I got it from Woolworths' closing sale near my grandparents house, bargain!). I also like to experiment with different materials, like on fabrics and glass, but I never have a camera with me when I do.

I recently opened up a DA account. I haven't got much up yet because I'm only posting my best work on there, but my gallery will include horses and manga. You know my horse art already. My manga style isn't actually 'manga' at all - it isn't chibi or anime, it's quite realistic and so it strays from the traditional way of drawing it. Basically - my way isn't simple, because I'm a perfectionist and like things to look real. Big eyes, long legs and shaded hair aren't my domain... I'll also be posting my Doctor Who art (well, the half decent stuff anyway) and maybe other characters that need a home on the internet. If you have a DA acount, search for me and give me a few tips - I'm very new. Plus I could do with having a few friends, and if we're both Animation Source members at least we'll have something in common.

Requests

No more requests! (see below)

I simply don't have the spare time any more. Year 10 (or 10th Grade) for me involves daily science revision, art projects, geography work, english, maths and one helluva ICT course called DIDA - which me and emandem could moan about till the cows come home.

I haven't submitted any work of my own in months. That is how busy I am.

Another thing - puppy. She's 3 months old on 17th December 2010 and is a complete handful - I'm lucky if I get on teh computer at all these days. I love her to bits, but my responsabilities with her leave me with much less time to do a three-hour-plus horse picture, request or otherwise.

So please, no more requests. And I'm going to say no more trades, but still feel free to ask as I might just give it a shot. With trades I know that you are doing the exact same thing as me and my characters get advertised for it.

So yes, apologies, especially to those who have asked since the last request. But I am nearly 15 and that means exams, coursework, revision, projects, ect.. If you're a few years younger than me you will know what I mean one day when I say that most days all I want after school is to listen to music and bum around on the internet for a bit before returning to the exhausting duties of life.

Trades

I'm not openly accepting or asking for trades, as I am short on spare time these days. Please understand that. But if you would really like a trade feel free to ask, I might say yes. But I have a few rules:

Rule 1: we use the same format. If you are going to do something on paper, so will I. I'm not spending four hours with a graphic tablet and GIMP when others are doing relatively uncomplicated sketches.

Rule 2: both characters must be on the 'characters' page. When I've got a visual source and lots of written details to work from I can draw a picture of him/her that is accurate and in character. I won't ask for a character that I have not officially created.

Rule 3: if one of us wants specifics, they ask. So if you would like your character in such a place or doing such a thing, just ask, because I won't redo it since I'm so stretched. I won't think you're rude or cheeky, jsut using your initiative.

Gifts

I might do a picture of one of my friends' characters, one of my favourite fan-characters or one for an artist who I think deserves it. That could mean a new budding artist or someone I respect for being all roundhelpful by giving people tips, requests, or if they do those things for me! But again, my time is limited, so please don't expect it in the near future (or next five years). If I feel like it, I might do it. We'll see what life serves me.

Thanks to Horsewriter, Ibanez-Angel, cowgirl645, Windancer, Emandem, KiaraFireGirl and Sofiel who have drawn/rendered my characters.

GIFTS - PROVE YOURSELF - Friends and people who have gifted/done requests for me are my top priority.

So please enjoy yourselves, ask questions, give advice (not critisism without ways to help me out please, I'm quite sensitive. There's a difference between giving someone a leg up and pushing them off their horse) and most of all...

FAVOURITE!