Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 - A Year In Review

2018...  What a year.  For me, this year was a combination of bad and good.  As the year comes to an end, I thought I'd do a quick summary of what happened this year, and some of the great moments that have happened.
  • I remember when my channel reached 500 subscribers.  Today my channel is at 4,450 subscribers.  I'm absolutely amazed at how much my channel has grown this year and appreciate all the support I've received.
  • In April, ABBA announced they returned to the studio.  Next year ABBA fans are hopefully going to have the best year ever with ABBA's new songs and getting a chance to see ABBA virtually on tour!!
  • I got two new ABBA records this year, Super Trouper and The Visitors.  I'm only 3 albums short of having all 8 of their studio albums on various formats, and I hope next year I'll be able to complete my ABBA album collection.  That would be incredible!
  • While I haven't made a new ABBA doll costume for my dolls in ages, I did more ABBA drawings than I've done in a while. I think that's an accomplishment. 

Overall, I didn't do much on my blog this year, but I'm happy with what I have done and I can't wait to see what else will come next year.

Happy new year everyone, and I hope 2019 will be bring even more incredible things. :)
- Becky/ABBAFan456

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Happy 72nd birthday, Benny!

Today is Benny Andersson's birthday!  This musical genius turns 72!  Happy birthday Benny! :D  This drawing was slightly complicated to do with all the extra details in the background and tree and leaves and stuff, but it was well worth it since I'm honestly so proud of the way it came out.  If you're interested, you can watch the speedpaint video I uploaded to YouTube. :)


Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Drawing Comparison

As a growing artist, one of the things I like to do is look back on some of my old drawings (despite a lot of them being quite cringe worthy...) and see how much I've come along and improved.  When doing just that just a moment ago, I noticed I drew this particular drawing of Frida I believe in 2013.  For some reason, I've always felt that I shouldn't redraw photos that I've already drawn - drawing pictures from the same photo shoot, that's fine, but I never like redrawing photos, so I was surprised that I ended up drawing the same photo of Frida for her birthday last month.  I decided to take this opportunity, however, to compare both drawings that were done 5 years apart.  And I must say, I am impressed.  Even though I did the second one digitally, so I have a lot more control on color variety and stuffs so you can't really compare it to a drawing that is (badly) colored in with CraZart color pencils, but I think it definitely shows how I've learned to blend and actually take my time in trying to get a drawing to look good. 
Back in 2013, I would simply draw lines in random directions in order to try and block in the color to the best of my ability.  That was a bad idea in my opinion because, while in real life it doesn't look terrible, when you scan it in, you can really see everything that is wrong with that method.  When doing digital drawings, blocking in the colors is so much easier, but drawing in the direction of the contours of the face is still useful.  With physical drawings there's also no layering - while yes, you can layer more and more color on top of the paper, you don't have the option of going back and changing the under layers.  Basically what I'm trying to say is, I don't really blame myself for doing so badly on the 2013 drawing, haha, because it's not as easy as digital drawing, but also I could have done better.  :P  Nevertheless, it's super cool seeing how much I've learned and improved over these past 5 years. Like, I know now that it's better to not use solid black on the eyelashes, and that instead you use a more natural dark brown or blue to keep it more realistic. :)

Anyways, I'm proud of how much I've accomplished, and I like seeing how much I've grown.

Thursday, December 06, 2018

Happy 7th birthday, Benny Anderdoll!

Today Benny Anderdoll turns 7.  The years sure have flow by!  And in just two months, Agnetha and Frida doll will be turning 8! :O  So close to 10 years, amiright??? 

Happy birthday Benny doll. :'D

Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Happy 41st birthday, Peter!

Today Agnetha and Bjorn's son, Peter, turns 41.  Happy birthday! :D
Agnetha and Peter in 1987

A recent photo of Bjorn and Peter :)