Seeker of the Sun

Hey, guys! I have decided that I need to step up my game a little bit. Digital paintings, especially portraits, always seemed to scare the heck out of me. :') They're incredibly time-consuming and I don't feel like I am patient enough to study the human body. Because anatomy. Sucks. Big time. And while I certainly enjoy creating Disney-like characters with thick, black outlines and flat, happy colours (AKA the infamous lazy-ass method), I really wanted to try something different for once. Maybe for twice, who knows.

So, there we are, my first real digital portrait! This drawing took me about 12 hours to finish, so I would highly recommend checking out the full-size picture. :) The cat-eared woman depicted below is Y'shtola, one of Final Fantasy XIV's main characters. She's a "Seeker of the Sun" Miqo'te (kitteh), one of the six different races in the game, and she possesses the ability to cast powerful healing spells with her branch-shaped wand. Yes, you guys, that's a wand.

This drawing might not be perfect, heck no, but I have learned so many things this time! For instance, I ended up adding pink, yellow, and blue highlights, making the character look less detached from the background. The white highlights give the image more depth, and adding the loose hair strands made her haircut look less boring. I really think I should try this again sometime. What do you think?

Bye-bye!

Leen

Y'shtola, February 2016

Paint Tool Sai

Welcome, Little Nami!

Big news, guys! My friend Valérie, who also happens to be my gaming buddy Bart's girlfriend, gave birth to a lovely baby girl! I am quite surprised that I actually managed to shut up about the baby's name or gender for over three months. :P The reason why Val and Bart had entrusted me with these secrets, was because they asked me to design their baby card. That's right, I made my VERY FIRST baby card! I am so proud/happy/honored/emotional/insert more adjectives here. Val had a lot of cool ideas and I did my very best to make all her wishes come true. The card is Hawaii-themed and features the family's dog, cats, and rabbits. You might notice that we tried to recreate the Lilo & Stitch look and feel. The back of the card was Bart's idea. I think it's the cutest thing ever.

Nami is a healthy baby girl. It will be really cool to see her grow up. I hope she will become a gamer, just like her daddy! ;)

I'm working on a pretty challenging digital piece right now. Things are looking quite good so far, but I'll need some more time to finish it. See you soon!

Leen

Nami's Baby Card, December 2015

Paint Tool Sai

Nami's Baby Card, December 2015

Paint Tool Sai

Nami's Baby Card, February 2016

Picture of the card

We Came, We Saw, We Made Cupcakes

I love traditions, especially if they involve good friends and delicious cupcakes! Pieter-Jan, Eva, and Sam came over to my home to practice their cupcake skills. Our designs are starting to look very professional and we are actually starting to reduce the total amount of toothpicks that we need to keep everything nicely together. ;) The first row in the big collage below are my cupcakes, the second row are Pieter-Jan's, the third row are Eva's, and the last row are Sam's. We have been inspired by Studio Ghibli (Totoro, Ponyo, Princess Kaguya), Disney (Olaf, Sadness, Meeko, BB-8), and Pokémon (Mesprit, Flareon, Gourgeist). You might also spot Toothless, a beautiful rose, the Cat King, and Monokuma!

I would love to design cartoon cupcakes next time. I'm thinking of Steven Universe, the Powerpuff Girls, and Fairly Odd Parents. Do you have any good suggestions for me?

See you soon!

Leen

All cupcakes. Made by Leen, Pieter-Jan, Eva, and Sam! 

Toothless cupcake (How to Train Your Dragon)

February 2016

Olaf cupcake (Frozen)

February 2016

Sadness cupcake (Inside Out)

February 2016 

Totoro cupcake (My Neighbor Totoro)

February 2016