Malla's Portfolio

Ghost of a Crush

Malla — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:14:08 GMT

Ghost of a Crush

What would you do if the person you loved had died before you were even born?

And before anyone asks, no I did NOT get the idea of being in love with a ghost from the movie Ghost. This is a story idea that a friend and I have been kicking around for a few months. I was actually in a painting mood last night and worked on this for a while.

I like the effect of Painter's pencils and oils together. :) The coloring was inspired by Jonathan Boakes's newest ghostly adventure game, The Lost Crown, which I very highly recommend if you're into adventure games and are a very brave soul when the lights go out. ;]

Refs used. Painter IX.

Unicornis

Malla — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:54:50 GMT

Unicornis

Originally created for the MYFX Challenge "Horned", but I didn't finish it on time (damn full-time job...).

I didn't finish it on time and I've become totally bored with it. This is probably the sloppiest thing I've done in a while. I still think she's gorgeous though.

Painter IX.

Cyber Girl

Malla — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:53:08 GMT

Cyber Girl

Created for the "Cyberpunk" MYFX challenge.

I decided to go with a robotic woman trying to cover up her bits and parts with things like makeup and contacts. I always seem to go with the more subtle path in these themes.

3 days. Painter IX. References used.
The motherboard overlay is from a PS3, if anyone's curious.

Lion

Malla — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:49:23 GMT

Lion

Pretty lame title for something I've spent a few months on. Blegh. And also HOLY CRAP IT'S NOT A SPEED PAINTING! *shocked face*

This was painted for my great-aunt. She wanted a big, beautiful, realistic lion. Thank goodness for stock photography and a free local zoo.

I think his nose still needs some work (is something crooked about it? I can't tell anymore) but this is pretty close to done. I'm very proud of the fur, and pay no attention to the dark and lazy background. XD

Painter IX.

Spiders Scare Sally

Malla — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:48:23 GMT

Spiders Scare Sally

Speed paint, created for the PB Quick-Pix topic "Phobias".
Full-view pretty please?

I. HATE. SPIDERS.

I spent ages working on the face (okay, like an hour and a half) and I just couldn't bring myself to make a realistic spider. They just FREAK ME OUT.

And yes, it has too many legs on purpose.

Just under 2 hours, Painter IX.

Fall

Malla — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:40:20 GMT

Fall

I started this ages ago for Diane Özdamar's "Fall" contest on DA. As you've probably guessed, I didn't make the deadline.

References used. Took me a while to get it finished (life gets in the way, doesn't it?). I also pushed myself here to use more of Painter's tools, since I'd like to get out of my usual oils-blenders-airbrush rut. XD

Smoky Music

Malla — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:37:39 GMT

Smoky Music

This won a MYFX challenge ("Pop Star") a while back but I never posted it. I was reworking it (I actually DID rework it this time! I swear! I didn't just say that I would and then ignore it while it sank to the bottom of my hard drive!).

The title comes from what I've decided the music is like in this painting. Low female voice, jazzy background...smoky feel, you know? Like a quiet nightclub setting. References used. This took the better part of a week in Painter.

Dragon Wood

Malla — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:35:34 GMT

Dragon Wood

For the MY-FX Challenge "Magic of the Forest". Two dragons, one cheerful at the bright sunny day, the other hiding in the shadows like a grumpy thing.

Not my usual colors at all, but every time I tried to brighten it up the image was just too busy. I think I repainted this about twelve times. >.o I was just never happy with it, but I've skipped too many challenges recently and I need to get back into it. It's messy and disjointed, but I'm out of time (as usual) and I don't want to mess with it anymore at the moment.

Painted over 2 days with both Painter 9 and Photoshop 6. References for the trees and some custom PS brushes used.

Jenah - ANTM

Malla — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:07:57 GMT

Jenah - ANTM

Speed painting I just finished of Jenah, one of the girls from the latest season of America's Next Top Model. What can I say? I have trainwreck syndrome when it comes to trashy television.

Anyway, I think Jenah was totally robbed on that show...as was Heather (my #1 favorite girl!). Actually I was originally going to paint Heather...but I loves me some Jenah eyes. They just glow, you know? I put her in her Chinese couture dress from a few episodes ago because it played up those eyes so wonderfully! There was a lot of pausing episodes I'd taped and YouTube clips for references. For a girl who did nothing but have her picture taken for several weeks there aren't that many pics of her on the internet. >.o

So. This was a fun way to kill a few hours this evening. ^_^

Sea Witch

Malla — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:58:12 GMT

Sea Witch

Created for the MYFX Challenge 47 "Shipwreck".

I know, I know, it's not really a shipwreck so much as a ship about to be wrecked. XD Close enough. Even pirate ships are a bit too much on the technical side for my taste. Oh well.

This rather sexy sea witch is bored and wants to play. Those poor sailors.... I may go back and rework this later, but I'm worried about overdoing it at the moment. I used a photo of a bellydancer from morguefile.com for reference for the sea witch (especially those hands!).

Invisible Fashion

Malla — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:32:02 GMT

Invisible Fashion

For the ImagineFX Challenge "Invisible".

An invisible model struts around in a stylish suit. I once heard a designer refer to models as "pretty hangers" and I've got to admit that it bothered me. *shakes head* Ignore me, I watch too much America's Next Top Model and Project Runway for my own good.

Here's a sketch of where I've positioned the head, in case the jaunty angle throws you a bit since the anatomy isn't visible.

Nymph

Malla — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:30:17 GMT

Nymph

2 hours? Something like that, probably less. Done while not sleeping, of course. Reference from sxc.hu. Mostly I just wanted to paint that hair. :D It's crazy and cute.

Death and Friends

Malla — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:10:36 GMT

Death and Friends

This is what I did after work. ^_^ Sandman fanart. I was originally thinking of doing all of the Endless and making a series...but speedpainting just felt like more fun and less work. ;)

Just a quickie (maybe 2 and a half hours? Sounds about right). I know there are some serious issues with her hands (hence the concealing sparklies!). Also i just wanted to do some goldfish again. They're so pretty.

Character of Death (c) Neil Gaiman, the genius.

Henna

Malla — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:23:08 GMT

Henna

Done for MY-FX #42 "TATTOOS". Reference used for the hands and the bracelets. I think I was on an India vibe, since my sister just did a ballet-flavored performance with the local Dances of India troupe. It was an intriguing show. ^_^

And if you choose to interpret it this way, there's something subtly sexual if you decide that the top hand reaching for the flower is a man's and not the girl's other arm. ;)

Here's a few detail shots:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w44/MallaArt/ImagineFX/HennaDetail.jpg

Rotten Teddy

Malla — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:00:10 GMT

Rotten Teddy

Created for the MY-FX Challenge "Plushtoy Freakshow" (great topic, Ivy!).

References used. I also employed some textures this time (burlap for the teddy, concrete for the ground). I'm not sure where I got the blood patterns from. He's a rotten zombie teddy! :D

Autumn Again

Malla — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:15:20 GMT

Autumn Again

This is a second version, one that I put aside and never should have left for that...less than stellar image I entered in the "Autumn" MY-FX challenge.

Sideways faces are hard. XD Face/posture from a reference shot from...either sxc.hu or morguefile...one of those stock sites. The leaves are a combination of slopping colors together, overlaying leaf patterns from photos I took outside the apartment last fall, and scribbling vague leaf-like shapes. I like the suggestion of leaves more than see lots of them. I thought it would detract from her face (...and I'm lazy).

This is the first time I've used acrylics in Painter (funny, I use them more than oils when I use "real" paint...). I liked the texture they gave me for the scarf/sweater/hat. ^_^ She looks comfy. I can't wait for it to be cold enough for sweaters.

Should I have cropped the right side? Sometimes I think it looks too empty...

About two weeks for this one, if you're counting the 4 or so days I was attempting something else and ignoring this one.
Painter IX.

Ditzy Demon

Malla — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:42:52 GMT

Ditzy Demon

Personal Commission for a friend.

It's an incredibly late birthday gift (January? XD) of a portrait of one of her original characters from the fantastic stories she used to write. This one was about Lucifer and his demon bride. They liked to randomly possess humans at different points in history, just to stir things up a bit. However, one time something goes wrong, and Miss Demon forgets that she is in fact a demon and believes herself to be a silly simpering giggling teenage human. Poor Lucifer has to deal with a cheerleader. XD The story's a bit campy, but it was great fun.

Worked from a reference pose found on sxc.hu. I've actually spent almost a year ignoring this piece for other things, so it's not nearly as good as my more recent stuff. And I now HATE her makeup. She looks like the whore of Babylon. Whoops. I think it's a more illustrative style than photo realistic.

There was originally going to be title text up in the left corner, but I could never get it to look good so I left it out.
Someday I'll go back and tweak it really good.
Painter IX.

"Ruff" Night Ahead

Malla — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:29:52 GMT

"Ruff" Night Ahead

Lame title. Done for the MY-FX "Outbreak" forum challenge. Stock reference used for the barking dog, and some tree bark textures added to the nasty rash-like wounds on their bodies. XD I grossed myself out a little painting this one...

I'll probably go back and clean it up more someday, but this is about as finished as time will allow it to be at the present.

Painter IX.

Rosalind

Malla — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:26:56 GMT

Rosalind

Personal commission for a friend's RPG character. Left messy and painterly on purpose (partially because it was a quick job!). Not my best technique-wise, but I love her expression, so into the gallery it goes.

Painter IX.

Swimmer Speedpaint

Malla — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:41:01 GMT

Swimmer Speedpaint

Spent about an hour on this while watching the Simpsons. Oily blenders make for good, fast water effects. ;)

Painter IX.