The Art of S.M. Bittler

Here’s some things I drew to help promote a Kickstarter...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:42:06 -0400

Here’s some things I drew to help promote a Kickstarter project for Ratha’s Creature, which will be a graphic novel based on one of my favorite books as a kid (which is also a great read for adults), by the wonderful Clare Bell. Though the Kickstarter has ended, pre-orders for the ebook and paperback versions can still be made here: http://rathakick.imaginatorpress.com

Note, I’m not involved with the project myself, but I love the book (and series), and I had a little time to draw back when snowed in (we got over 30”!), so I hoped to help by drawing and spreading the word. I have been a huge fan of the Named series (Ratha’s Creature, Clan Ground, etc.) since I was a kid in the 80’s, and have been dying to do new fanart, so here’s my little homage to a fantastic character from a wonderful author of an excellent series.

The first drawing is how I saw Ratha in my head when I first read the books. Now, I understand her species (a sentient prehistoric big cat) looks more cheetah-like now, but back in the 80’s I had pictured her as a kind of puma/leopard mix, with some prehistoric sabertooth too, so that’s what I drew (the author herself encourages artists to draw The Named as they see them, which I think is fantastic). The second is a detail, and the third is a big male “UnNamed” as I saw them in the book. This could be Shongshar from Clan Ground, but I think he would have somewhat longer saberteeth, so this might just be a random UnNamed instead.

Good Luck and Best Wishes to the Ratha Project! :D

She Goes Ding When There's Stuff: art, mass production, and you

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:25:35 -0400

She Goes Ding When There's Stuff: art, mass production, and you:

roachpatrol:

I think one of the most fundamental misapprehensions people have about the value of commissions is that no one really gets told how mass production defrays costs to the consumer. So, when they see the prices for custom artwork online, they expect the retail prices they see in stores, and it…

This has probably been out there a while already, so apologies if you’ve seen it, but DANG it’s a great (and important!) read, and I’m reblogging it for reference.

scenefux: aviantheatrics: here i have some chicks for you i...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:54:08 -0400

Blue Cochin

Golden Sebright

Blue Cochin

Porcelain D'uccle

Buff Brahma

Silver Silkie

Partridge Silkie

Partridge Silkie

Blue Silkie

scenefux:

aviantheatrics:

here i have some chicks for you i hope they help with any struggles you may have

what she said

ME TOO

Eskiworks: Getting the Most Out of Commissions

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:18:42 -0400

Eskiworks: Getting the Most Out of Commissions:

nightingales:

Purchasing & selling commissioned artwork is a commonplace event that happens everyday all over the internet! I thought I’d put together this quick guide (based on my experiences as both an artist & a client) on how to get the most out of commissioned artwork - whether you are…

Wow, this is great. This is definitely a must-read for anyone thinking of offering commissions!

animationart: suckmycockatoo: Fantastic reference for...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:59:00 -0400

animationart:

suckmycockatoo:

Fantastic reference for bears!

Kingdom Animalia is a new blog that features reference and tutorials for drawing animals, along with inspirational art.

Sweet! Love this.

Also, yay, Terryl Whitlatch. :)

laughingsquid: George Lucas Confirms Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:50:32 -0500

laughingsquid:

George Lucas Confirms Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher’s Return to Star Wars

YAY :D

Baby, life’s what you make it Celebrate it Anticipate...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:02:42 -0500

Baby,

life’s what you make it

Celebrate it

Anticipate it

Yesterday’s faded

Nothing can change it

Life’s what you make it

(Everything’s all right)

life’s what you make it

(Everything’s all right)

Life’s What You Make It

Here are some more ACEOs, done in the early spring and summer of...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:52:00 -0500

Here are some more ACEOs, done in the early spring and summer of 2012, except for the iguana-like reptile, which is from 2011. They are for sale at my storenvy store: http://synnabar.storenvy.com/ and you can see larger images and descriptions there.

More soon! Thank you for looking! :)

Hi everyone, as you may have noticed, I’ve been popping...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:33:00 -0500

Hi everyone, as you may have noticed, I’ve been popping online in various social networks, but figured I’d better update here, too! I’ve been trundling along, fitting in art where I can. ACEOs actually work out really well for me, as I like to draw small anyway, and the cards are easy to carry around and sketch on in bits of free time. Also, they are good for working out ideas that I may develop into bigger paintings later (like the unicorn). They are for sale at my storenvy store: http://synnabar.storenvy.com/ and you can see larger images and descriptions there.

I know, no big epic paintings from me lately, but it’s either this, or nothing with what time I have… and I’d rather do something small and achievable than nothing at all! XD I will get back to bigger things someday.

Thanks, as always, for looking! :D I hope you are all well.

photojojo: Ever been frustrated with photoshop? The folks at...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:10:18 -0400

photojojo:

Ever been frustrated with photoshop? The folks at Adobe have developed a new interactive game called Level Up that teaches you how to edit while you earn points and badges!

Level Up: A Tutorial Style Game to Teach You Photoshop

via Pop Photo

Wow, gotta try this!

While I still have not had much chance to sit down and watch the...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:36:00 -0400

While I still have not had much chance to sit down and watch the show, it seems I am one of the few who hasn’t! For my MLP:FiM friends.

From ThinkGeek; it’s here: Rainbow Dash Hoodie

(Thanks to lotuslion ) THIS IS AWESOME. I’ve always loved...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:13:51 -0400

(Thanks to lotuslion ) THIS IS AWESOME. I’ve always loved carousel animals and the various styles; this would be so much fun to try!

lotuslion:

Hello all! I wanted to share with you a creative challenge I thought up during some downtime. Ladies and Gents, I present to you the #CarouselProject!! I hope if you are an artist that you will all hop on board with this and most of all have some creative artistic fun! If you do- PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!! RE-BLOG! SHARE IT! let’s make this go viral!! There are no deadlines!! JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT! :)

Here’s some ACEOs I am working on, in various stages of...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:30:00 -0400

Here’s some ACEOs I am working on, in various stages of completion. Ugh, the dreaded “ugly stage” of painting——!

ACEOs actually work out really well for me, as I like to draw small anyway, and the cards are easy to carry around and sketch on in bits of free time. Also, they are good for working out ideas that I may develop into bigger paintings later.

I’m still not sure about big posts here, and I don’t want to clog your page with images, so if you’d like to see more about this, with more finished ACEOs and information about each card, please see my art blog post about them here: http://smbittler.blogspot.com/2012/06/aceos.html

I’ll try to be more active here; this seems like a good replacement for the fading LiveJournal scene, though I’ll miss the conversations.

Testing! :)

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:39:43 -0500

Testing! :)