Noelle - This is Me

Hi y'all!
Side note to the people who don't like reading my super long, boring text posts: there'll be an art tutorial (sorta) at the end of the post, so there.  Have some fun artsy content.

Okay, intro, right.  Um, hi!  Today I'm going to be doing a list/description of myself, because...well, when I was writing last Saturday's post, which was also super long and boring, I realized that a lot of times the way I am online doesn't really match up with who I am in person.  Not to the extreme that I lie or fabricate stuff to sound cooler, but just I don't say everything.  Which is okay!

But today I thought I'd do a list called "Things I Don't Really Talk About", but since I know me and know that I'll wander off on tangents, I'm just calling it "This is Me", and I think I'll probably link it to my profile on the Authors page.

Sooo...hi!



My name is Noelle, which all of you should know (I'd be slightly concerned if you didn't)  I'm 15, which was celebrated with much confetti.  That is, I didn't mention this on any of my blogs at all.

Speaking of blogs, I have two, along with a just-starting youtube channel and some other social media platforms.  I'm always looking for new outlets for my creativity, because I go kinda banana-nuts not talking to people, and I live in a sleepy area known as St. Louis, where nobody leaves their house from October to April (I'm joking.  I'm the one that doesn't leave the house.) And...here's my list of things you probably don't know about me -

• I am an artist, blogger, and author, with -
• Two completed book-length fan fictions (third and final one is a WIP) and a novella still in the editing process.
• Five blogs, one of which is a business website that I share with my mother (hi mom!), and one of which is discontinued (I talked about it last week)
• A reputation of being "the art girl", and during the summer months "the chalk girl".  I like working with side walk chalk, but only when it's warm :D
• I started International Bffs from scratch, over two years ago (I'm also the one responsible for the 365 Days challenge.  I am so sorry)
• Beyond those professions, I have dreams of being a singer and an animator.
• I like to look pretty but honestly...I have no idea how to apply makeup.  Like, I know how to cover acne and apply mascara, but you start talking to me about contours and such and I just get ????
• Some of my best friends are people I've never met IRL, and it makes me so angry when people say they aren't my real friends.
• I'm very good at over-anylizing and working myself up into a murderous rage (kinda where Dear Adults came from)
• My favorite you tubers are:
• Jaiden Animatons
• Jordan Taylor (and his more popular channel, Blimey Cow)
• Studio C (and their origins, Divine Comedy)
• Domics
• Theodd1sout
• I'm Catholic.  No, you cannot convert me.  No, I will not come to your youth group to have a 'discussion'.  No, I don't hate you because you're gay/lesbian or non-binary or any of that stuff (there are too many to list.  *sigh*)  I respect that you have beliefs, I will introduce you to my own because that's part of my calling as a Catholic, and if we can agree to disagree, then that's that.
• I'm a self-declared feminist, and I will argue you to the death if you try and tell me that's wrong.  What many people think is that because it's feminist that it must mean that they want rights above men.  WRONG.  The word that you're looking for is misandrist (kind of like misogynist but the opposite)
• I want to live in a tiny house when I grow up.
• I hate being told what to believe and prefer to draw my own conclusions.
• For this reason, I dislike Trump, not because I think Hilary is better (Hilary is practically a she-devil) but because a lot of my Catholic friends told me "he's the only Catholic option" and were pressuring me to take sides on a conflict that I know is lose-lose.
• I'd like to say I'm pretty good at identifying propaganda and have a tendency to ask questions that make people uncomfortable because of it.  When we talked about John Kerry in science, for example, I asked, "How can you believe a politician, even if he is a scientist (or was previously), when he's defending a view point that'd disqualify his opponents?"  ....it was not accepted well.
• I have been asked out twice
• I actually have been in a public school, for all you people who think I'm not getting socialized.  It was an absolutely horrifying experience.
• I have many pet peeves, but my biggest one is when people at zoos (not really aquariums, because that's understandable) mislabel animals.  Like...no...otters do not live in trees...that is not an otter...please...there's a sign.
• I'm ahead in school, mostly in math.  So even though I'm in 9th grade, I already have two high school credits under my belt.
• I know WAY too many useless facts.  Fashion history, medical science history, art techniques, Marvel character facts, literally anything about marine life, you name it, I probably know an awkwardly large amount of useless facts about it.
• I've owned multiple nerf guns and pocket watches since I was a little kid, know how to use a bow and arrow (and own my own compound bow), and can shoot a bullet through a kuireg (or however it's spelled) coffee cup from thirty feet with a BB gun.  Go on.  Tell me that's not lady-like.  I dare you.
• As you may have guessed from Dear Adults, adults making assumptions is my #1 growl-inducing peeve, and has been since I was seven and some random adult forced me to get out of a tree that I was taking a nap in (don't ask).
• I am obsessed with lemon zinger tea.  It's what keeps me alive.
• I have been blogging for four years (almost exactly) and I'm pretty sure it's the only thing that keeps me sane.

So...yeah.  I know that wasn't long (and somewhat disappointing) so here's my challenge for myself: ask me any question in the comments.

Any.  Question.

(oh holy Hades I'm going to regret this)

Here are some examples if you don't know what to ask, and feel free to ask me anything in the comments!  See you next week!

Hahahaha, just kidding!  I promised an art tutorial (thing) today, so that's what you're going to get.  It's not really a tutorial, but I guess I'll explain like how I did each step and stuff (I just snapped pictures every time I had to pause for a layer to dry.

Okay so - Dog Painting Tutorial: How To

You will Need:

• Acrylic paints
• Gold (the non-sparkly/metallic kind)
• Cherry red
• Turquoise/sky blue
• Black
• White
• A picture for reference
• Note:  When I do a reference picture, I take the original (whatever that might be, a dog, an already made painting, etc) and up the contrast and saturation.  Not like, a ton, but enough so you can clearly see other colors. I'l put examples below.
• Patience.  Lots of it.

(I'll have you know these were a pain to get back-to-back)  Anyway, while the difference isn't obvious at first, with a second look you can see that the picture on the right (my reference pic) is brighter light-wise, bluer just slightly, and has bolder colors.  It's necessary for my style, if you try this and find it doesn't help, then feel free to use the original picture.

Step One:

Start with a basic sketch.  Noting to complicated, just a quick sketch so you can get a feel for the subject matter.

(Try to make it accurate, tho.  It's kinda important)

Step Two:

Start with the darkest stuff.

Side note:  I actually usually paint from the brightest colors - hot pint, turquoise, etc.  And that's how I did painting like these two-)

(-but I'm going for a different style with this one, so, yeah.  TECHNICALLY, I could have started with the orange but...I'm not going to do that.)

and build that darkness up AFTER all the paint has dried, to avoid warping

Step Three:

Start adding color.  The best thing I can suggest for this step is just to look at the ref picture, decide where each individual color is, and then paint on very thing layers.  It may be a slow, grueling process, but it's easier than trying to mix the paints together to get JUST the right shade.

That's what I did wrong in this step - I let my acrylic brain get ahead of me and start trying to find just the right shade of paint, rather than just layering and layering and layering, which is the style I was going for:

It doesn't look bad in the long run, it was just a mistake on my part.  Shrug.

Step Four:

Continue building up those two colors (Black and orange/brown) until you're happy with the results.  Now, for the next, slightly more difficult step.  What OTHER colors are there in the painting?  To the untrained eye, it'd just be orange and black, which would still make for an okay painting.  However, since we're not going to an okay painting, we're going for an awesome one, you might notice that in the reflected areas, where the dog's fur is shiny, there is blue!  That is right, we're adding blue next.

Since it's a reflection, the blue will be very light and pretty much all but splashed onto the painting:

(there weren't any changes in the last two pictures, it was just details not he face and legs)

Step Five:

Time to start looking at details.  ADD IN THE COLLAR.

I'm kidding.  But what you do need to start looking at is the white paint.  White is a bit of a weird color to work with, but luckily we're only putting it on the dog's face, along with a tiny splash on the chest.  Make sure all the black is dry first (because I did add some) and then put white in the spaces where you need.  Try to keep it semi-thin, but don't be afraid to go thick where it's necessary.

And yeah.  Add in the collar.

Step Six:

This isn't really a step, just keep building up the white where you need to:

Side note:  don't be afraid to make changes!  I added some white on the right leg and some black on her belly.

Go ahead and finish up the leg by adding some black, to darken it where needed.

Step Seven:

Add some finalizing details, like the metal links on the collar and the blackness in her eyes

Add the last little details, like the highlights on the dog's eyebrows and such

Final Step:

Add in the reflections on the eyes and whiskers.

AAAAAAAND - You done it!

Hope you like this tutorial and maybe it helped you out, I don't know, I had a fun time.  Don't forget to comment with those questions and I'll respond ASAP.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!