A New Chapter – Finding My Own Style (Part 1)

It’s been a long break but it’s been a wonderful time of reflection and contemplation. No matter where my thoughts take me, they somehow always take me back to my love of art. Not just the physical art, but the process of letting my imagination pour out on paper.

I’ve decided to lean into that heart beat and dive deeper into my “hobby” of sketching and see what happens when I let my imagination run loose! While doing so, I want to discover and embrace my own style. I have a massive appreciation for talented artists in the world, but what I’m learning is that the best way to appreciate and thank them isn’t to just do fan art, but to be my own artist. (Not discrediting fan art because it is still amazing and I love it too). But that’s where this next chapter is taking me, finding my own style and embracing it.

Step 1: I’m going to be stepping out on a limb and producing my own unique creative art where you’ll get to see my own imagination! Regardless of how it’s received, I’m excited to embark on the journey and get to know myself better through my own art.

Step 2: Name changes and social media! I’ve gotten married since I originally started this blog, and I thus have changed my name. I’m going to leave the blog name as-is because it was with my maiden name where I produced my favorite work of all time and had my dream come true by being selected as the Disney 2015 D23 Challenge finalist. I am still on cloud 9 from that!! But I’ve started an Instagram where I’m producing all original art! If you’ve enjoyed the blog and want to see where the next chapter of finding my own style leads, than please follow my Instagram! @meglaughlin.art

The Instagram is where I’ll be posting all my new creative endeavors for now. This isn’t goodbye but a “see you around.”

So here’s a sneak peak of what will be posted on my Instagram and Part 2 will be found there…

To start, I’ve been dreaming up a series of sketches that reimagine inanimate objects as if they had personalities as people. What would they look like? What is their personality?

Here’s the first bit!

a couple who loves to dance the night away by Meg Laughlinan baseball pitcher at the top of his game by Meg Laughlina dancing queen by Meg Laughlin

Thank you to all the followers and friends and I hope to continue to connect with you via Instagram!

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January 18, 2020 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Figure Drawing, Movement, Quick SketchesTags: adventure, animation, art, blog, Character Art, design challenge, disney, disney art, drawing, experimenting, expression, Figure Drawing, finalist, friendship, hand drawing, imagination, love, movement, next chapter, quick sketch, quick study, sketch, sketching, tonal drawing Leave a comment

Captivated by Baby Yoda

Who isn’t captivated by Baby Yoda! Disney created a character who has stolen our hearts. It goes to show, actions speak louder than words. Art is truly expressive because Baby Yoda is a leading character with no lines! His actions, expressions and gestures say it all. The character artists have done a fantastic job illustrating Baby Yoda in a way that makes us feel like he is speaking to us without any words. He is so full of life, emotions and inquisition. Well done Disney (as usual). So in the spirit of this wave of adoration for Baby Yoda, I decided to do my own fan art!

By Meg Laughlin (formerly Meg Carpenter)

December 31, 2019December 31, 2019 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Character ArtTags: animation, art, Baby Yoda, blog, Character Art, disney, disney art, drawing, expression, fan art, hand drawing, imagination, mandalorian, movement, quick sketch, quick study, sketch, sketching, Star Wars, tonal drawing, walt disney, yoda Leave a comment

Discovering Tones

I’ve continued to love these beautiful creatures, and they definitely have challenged me when it comes to drawing. With each drawing I learn something new about these creatures and my own drawing style! Here we have a enormous elephant, in theory. I believe the tones and reveal of the elephant to just one side, make him seem more personable and scaled down. The variation in tones can really make an impact on what’s portrayed in a drawing!

March 5, 2019 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Character Art, Figure DrawingTags: art, blog, drawing, elephant, expression, hand drawing, sketch, sketching, tonal drawing Leave a comment

A Facial Expression Says a Thousand Words

The phrase is “a picture says a thousand words.” But what about the picture speaks? I wanted to sketch some fan art today and was exploring various options. I normally do classic Disney characters and images, but I figured I’d challenge myself with something more current. Wreck-it Ralph immediately popped into my mind, and as I started researching his character, I realize how expressive he is! Then I realized that his expressive nature is a part of who he is! So I couldn’t accurately depict Ralph without illustration just a few of his many facial expressions. Each of these speak something different but together they tell us how “animated” Ralph’s personality really is!

February 1, 2019 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Character Art, Movement, Quick SketchesTags: animation, art, blog, Character Art, disney, disney art, drawing, experimenting, expression, hand drawing, imagination, quick sketch, quick study, sketch, sketching, tonal drawing, walt disney Leave a comment

Pencil and Paper

What depth can be created through pencil and paper. As I experiment with mediums, I am loving pencil on watercolor paper because of the texture it allows. I can use the texture to my advantage when I have a subject who’s skin is full of texture!

April 8, 2018April 8, 2018 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Quick SketchesTags: drawing, elephant, free hand, pencil and paper, sketch, tonal drawing, watercolor paper Leave a comment

Eve: Simple Complexity

To accompany my sketch of WALL – E, I did a drawing of Eve. Eve may look simple, but the composition of her form is extremely complex. To break it down literally, it could take five lines to make the five shapes that form Eve. But in composition, those lines make a proportional, round, floating and sleek figure.

First, I did a quick 1-2min sketch to lay out proportions. 

Second, I finished with 5-8min of layering details and tone

WALL-E : see Quick Sketches – megan carpenter

https://megancarpenterartist.wordpress.com/project-type/quick-Sketches/

   
 

January 15, 2016 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Quick SketchesTags: Character Art, disney, eve, hand drawing, quick sketch, sketch, tonal drawing, wall-e Leave a comment

“Ghost Church” Temple of Santiago, Mexico

This is an incredible story of a 400-year old church that has emerged from the waters in southern Mexico due to a drought. Despite the incredible architecture and massive size, the church never fulfilled it’s original intent to stand as a populated center for gathering in Chiapas. But the church has stood the test of time, and the test of the flowing waters for hundreds of years. This story is captivating to me, the church may not have received much popularity when it was built in the 1500s, but now it has made it’s way to the top of the news reports as the “Ghost Church” that “emerges eerily from the water.” What an absolutely incredible story about architecture and the history it holds and the story it continues to write throughout time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/10/18/mexico-drought-church-reservoir-chiapas_n_8325036.html

I chose to sketch the “Ghost Church” because the story fascinated me so much I wanted to learn more about the building. For me, hand drawing is the best means of observation and the best way to appreciate the story and the architecture.

October 22, 2015 by Meg Laughlin Categories: Building SketchesTags: architecture, chiapas, drought, ghost church, hand drawing, mexico, reservior, tonal drawing 1 Comment