Professional Fine Arts Portfolio
About My Work
As a note for all those curious
Most of my work (read almost all of it) is incredibly self indulgent pieces about my own original characters- whether DnD characters or my own original work. I love to use a lot of story-telling and to make up worlds for the stuff I work on so almost every detail I include means something. Like jewelry given to the character by someone they love, or a pin that references a thing that they like, or similar coloring to another character to tie them together. I'm sure those sorts of details can get very easily lost- especially since I include a lot of them- but I love putting them in anyway. It's all about making the work meaningful to me.
It's not as direct as some people's ways of portraying the things they're worried about, but it's no less there.
If you're ever curious about the story behind one of my drawings, or a detail you noticed, please reach out and ask! I love talking about my characters and my art. Plus one of my ideas might inspire you, in turn, and I think that's what's best about art.
Some thoughts <3
Inspirations
As I've said before, I'm very inspired by anime-esque art styles. Though I try to keep my proportions and shading/highlighting rather realistic, I can't help my penchant for unnatural hair colors and far to big and shiny eyes and over the top outfits.
I've also been very into wuxia/xianxia stories recently so there's a lot of both Chinese and Japanese influence on my work.
I've had my own "style" for quite a few years now, but that's not to say there's still not artists I adore and want to take elements from. Sui Ishida and Shiwasu Hoshikawa are two that come to mind, but there's many more out there, and truly the list is always growing. There are some truly incredible artists out there and I'm truly lucky to be able to see them- and keep finding more.
My Art Journey
I started actually regularly drawing when I was in high school. I'm sure I had drawn before that point, but that's when I started taking a sketchbook everywhere. And by everywhere, I do mean everywhere. I'd always have one in my bag when I went to school, or out with friends, or even to visit family during holidays. It's a thing I still do today. I don't go to work without my pencil pouch and a sketchbook.
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I used to be strictly traditional- pencil and paper, for those unaware, until around 2019 when I got my first real drawing tablet. For my birthday that year I got one with an actual screen and that's the one I still use to this day. I'm obsessed with it. I'm almost strictly a digital artist nowadays except for initial character sketches or when I don't have access to my tablet (It's the type that connects to my laptop with cables which makes it a little bit clunky. Though I still take the whole rig on vacation.)
I'm constantly trying to improve- especially with the composition and posing aspects. I'm entirely self taught which is both a blessing and a curse. If I was smart I'd have gotten an art degree in college, since it's all I want to do- but I wasn't, so I didn't. (This is a joke I am smart I promise.) But there are plenty of ways to learn nowadays, and the drawing itself is truly the best teacher. training my eye and watching other people work is also extremely helpful.
What I Want to Improve On
Posing. Posing posing posing. I've definitely gotten better in the past few years (especially in the past couple years. some of the art on here is already feeling outdated), I still have a difficult time thinking up fun and interesting poses on my own. I've started doing more gesture drawings and trying to work on anatomy to help, but you know it's a process!
I am very very proud of how far my shading and highlighting has improved though. A younger me would be absolutely dumbfounded by my improvement.
The Future
The only goals I really have when it comes to art are two-fold. The more concrete one is that I'd like to write and design a visual novel type game using TU (which I briefly talked about in the above section). I have so many ideas for it and I think there's so much that could be gained from sharing it's stories, so it's genuinely something I really want to do. But I know it'll be a long process, so honestly I'm taking it slow. Putting lots of love and care into it.
The other goal I have is just to continue to get better. I love to draw, genuinely, I love making art and sharing it and making the stories around it, and I just don't want to lose that love. The more I learn and the more I grow, the more I find myself enjoying the process, not just the results, and I think that's just how I'd like to continue on. Doing something I love, for fun, for me.
About the Artist
Elliot Drinkwine
After graduating from Central Washington University (with honors in a non-art degree), Elliot now operates in Bellingham. Elliot likes to draw. Starting with just a small sketchbook and a mechanical pencil, he's now many sketchbooks deep and branching more into digital art. He does the most art under the umbrella of character design, but honestly, he loves drawing anything. Despite little formal training, he still does his best to keep learning and growing in the field of art. If there's anything more you want to know, don't be afraid to contact! Even just to talk, Elliot is super friendly and loves to talk, especially about art!