Somethng Old..Something New.. Something Borrowed.. and LOTS of Blue

It's amazing to me how something old, can inspire something new. I love when I'm able to go back and look through some old work that I've done, and find something new in it. Which in turn, ultimately leads to something brand new for me to create. I find that in this process, I am forever evolving and building my own signature style. For instance, look at how this old drawing lead to this new painting in the making...


SOMETHING OLD:

So this was a random sketch I started at work that slowly developed into this full blown drawing of a mermaid face. I did this last year, added color and then completely forgot about it being in my sketchbook. I loved the face, her hand placement, the opacity of her eyes. It was very eerie but beautiful at the same time. I've become known for my "Afro Girls" and I just loved the idea and an underwater afro. I like how even with her being surrounded by water, her hair still holds its shape.

If we're speaking physics, I understand 100% that this is not a possible or believable concept. The water would manipulate her hair n some sort of way. But in my universe, her hair holds its shape so...... yeah lol. Moving on, let's see how she inspired something new.

SOMETHING NEW:

As you can see, I had a few underwater mermaid ideas stem from this original sketch. I love the soft poses. It feels very feminine, very girly and peaceful. My artwork has been coined "fantasy feminism" a few times, so I really wanted to stay true to that. I've researched a few poses a few model references to get these ideas flowing and I just really wanted to stay as close to the original idea and image as I possibly could. So I find it very challenging and rewarding when I can do that and I can see it come out the way I want it to successfully. Now looking back... you can probably see where the "something borrowed" played its part. Let's look at the original image again:

SOMETHING BORROWED:

Okay, so f we look at some of the details, you can see some of the things I kept in the new images going forward. The bubbles n the fore nd background I feel add a very nice touch to the drawing itself. I really struggle with drawing things like water, metals, woods... basically any element lol. Fire I can kind-of pull off but not really. I'm still a work n progress. So the best way I could convey an underwater feel, is to draw bubbles. Another detail I've decided to keep, were the shells and starfish. In the original image, I have them adorned in her hair as accessories. I've done the same going forward. But  also decided to incorporate them as tattoos as well. As  stated earlier, I like the way her eyes look. It's a ghostly film over her eyes but I love it. In the new sketch, you can't really see that because I have her looking down. But I may end up changing some things around in order to keep that detail. And now.... the LOTS OF BLUE!!!!!!

LOTS OF BLUE:

         

Without knowing it, I've somehow used the exact same color palette every time I draw a mermaid. Lots of blues, purples, soft greens and pinks. Very pastel in a way. There is a blue undertone in all the colors I use. So the image gives a cool feeling. from what I've studied in school and in my own personal training, blues, purples and greens are cool colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows are warm. So I tried my best to completely eliminate those colors so as not to confuse the viewer. This painting is still a work in progress. I have a ways to go. But I want you all to take this journey with me. I would eventually like to have a blog with a back story to every image I create from here on out. If you like and support this,  will continue to do so.

Please feel free to comment like and share as much as you like. Visit my other social medias and do the same. I'm everywhere lol. Until next time my lovelies

Love, Peace and Tacos for all

<3

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Artist Block Sucks!

Welcome back folks. As you can see from the title of this here "rant", I'm slightly off in my game.
How many of you have had sever cases of A.B? (Artist Block) I know I can't be the only one. The purpose of this blog post is to reach out to other artists, interact, and get some helpful feedback. First thing's first, let's break down the current situation at hand shall we?!

A few days ago, I began participating in a 30 Day Art Challenge. My first couple of days went well. I had an original concept in mind. I knew exactly how I wanted my final image to turn out. Color schemes and everything. First entry was a total success. Check it out below:




This is "The Elk Eldress." She's made up of  pencil,colored pencils, and ink on regular printer paper. Nothing too fancy or spectacular. Just small drawings for the daily challenges. This is where we run into the A.B problem... After completing her, and seeing how well she turned out, I had the "brilliant" idea of sticking to this exact style and theme. BIG MISTAKE. My goal was to make my drawings from the 30 Day Art Challenge into a small coloring book or a storybook for my daughter. An original just for her. However, I think developing a good story with solid characters is what threw me off.

Okay so obviously from looking at the first character, I wanted this to be woodland inspired fairy-tale of sorts. Since that seems to be the phase of girlhood she's going through at the moment. Fantastical creatures, magic, romance, blah blah blah (^_^) My issue is trying to come up with other characters to link up with the Eldress. Also working my daughter in as one of the main characters herself. So now I'm stuck trying to figure it all out.

Here's where you beautiful creators come into play. What do YOU do to counteract A.B? Any tips you wanna share with me and the other readers? I'd/We'd really appreciate it. Let's throw some ideas around. Show me what you got!


Keep Creating,
Karii J.

Character Development

Okay folks: 
So do you remember when I posted the Twin Pic and asked "Who is #KiyoshiYuuko?" 

Well for the ones who were paying attention, you might recall me saying that I had something big coming up. I've been working on my comic for a while now, and I've finally decided to release some background info on some of the main characters. All of this is copyright #KareemahJohnsonArt so I'm not worried about people trying to steal my ideas; lest they want to take the chance of having a lawsuit on their hands.

Anyways... Here it is. Please check it out, let me know what you all think. COMMENTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT WITH THIS SO PLEASE HELP ME OUT 

Kiyoshi Yuuko©

An Original Story Created by Kareemah Johnson

Character development:

1.Kiyoshi Yuuko:


Daughter to Takashi and maka yuuko, kiyoshi was the second and last born to her parents. she grew up leading a very privileged life. her father being a general in the army and a very prominent leader in her village, and her mother being a well-known and sought after geisha. Though she was raised to be a geisha, like her mother, she was also taught the way of the warrior. Trained by her father as well as some of the greatest soldiers in his army, including her brother, lu. Kiyoshi witnesses the death of her parents at the age of 9 and grows up vowing to seek revenge. her entire life becomes consumed with the obsession of finding and killing yuji kizaki, her father's once trusted friend and close advisor. she also is seeking her lost brother, lu yuuko.

2. Takashi Yuuko:


Father to kiyoshi and lu, husband to maka, takashi was the general of one of the greatest and most powerful armies in all of northern japan. a feared man, yet greatly respected by the people in his land. takashi also acted as the mayor of his village. under the threat of another army coming from the east, takashi sets up troops to guard the village, only to fall to his death at the hands of his once trusted friend, yuji kizaki.

3. Maka Yuuko:


A very beautiful woman in her mid forties, maka was one of the most well known geishas in all of northern japan. with the voice of an angel and talent beyond belief, maka had a great reputation and was highly admired in her village. she was a loving mother and a devoted wife. she raised her daughter to be very delicate and often took kiyoshi to the geisha house where she was being trained along with her best friend Tsubaki. maka was tragically slain alongside her husband during the battle against yuji kizaki and his army.

4. Lu Yuuko:


Eldest and only son to takashi and maka, lu was a very stern and strong young man. he began training at the early age of 5. his father put him through daily rigorous exercises and mental training. he is a master swordsman and honorable soldier. at the age of 17, lu was the highest ranked soldier in his father's army. during the battle against yuji kizaki, lu is kidnapped and held prisoner in yuji kizaki's camp where he is beaten and tortured repeatedly.
5.Tsubaki:


Love interest to lu, tsubaki is kiyoshi's best friend. they grew up together in kiyoshi's palace, where tsubaki was the daughter to one of the family's loyal servants and gardener. tsubaki was taken under the wing of maka, and trained to be a geisha along with kiyoshi, who is six years her junior. a very timid child, tsubaki has an internal strength that is the glue which helps to hold kiyoshi's sanity together even through the worst of times.
6. Yuji kizaki:


Former best friend and sworn enemy to takashi yuuko, yuji kizaki is the most feared army general in the east. once serving in the same army as takashi when they were younger, yuji's jealousy began when takashi was promoted to general and given a mayoral position in the village. takashi was given, fortune, fame, high levels of respect, and most of all... fear from other armies. everything that yuji wanted. vowing to never again live in the shadows of his best friend, yuji fled to the east, where he made a name for himself as an evil viscious man with an incredible mean streak. after killing takashi and maka... and kidnapping their only son, holding him prisoner, yuji becomes the new mayor of the village and general of a bigger army (taking over takashi's men). starting his tyranical reign for the next 7 years, yuji has no idea that his time is about to come to an end...