Meet the artist
Hi there! Welcome to my website!
My name is Alexander Barrentine. By day, I am a programmer with Netherrealm Studios in Chicago, makers of the Mortal Kombat video games. In 2021, I started learning to draw and paint. So at night, if I’m not watching a movie, I pull out my iPad and try to make some art. Despite the title of this post, I am still not comfortable calling myself an artist, but I do think I’m showing real improvement.
I made the above drawing as a way to introduce myself here and on social media. These are pencil-style sketches done in Artstudio Pro. I really like how the pencil tools work in that program. Unlike Procreate, it all just feels natural, and I think you can see a real upgrade in my style and confidence.
Self portrait
I continue to be uncomfortable drawing myself, but I am pretty happy with how this one looks. The lines etched around my eye are distracting, but otherwise I think it all looks good. This was the first piece I did on here, and it’s the roughest for a reason.
Riley
Riley was the first dog I ever had, a rescued former racing greyhound. I lost him a bit over a year ago to cancer, which continues to shatter me. He will never leave my thoughts, and he continues to inspire me as an art subject. I’ve been working on an icon-style version of him to use as a profile picture, and I used the sketch for that as the basis for this little drawing of my darling boy.
Scorpion
I thought it was important to represent my day job. I don’t have any artistic contribution to the game or special ideas about how Scorpion should look, so I based this on existing character art.
Ferris
As a programmer, my particular focus is on programming languages and compilers. When I met the Rust language, I fell in love. This is a tiny, triumphant version of my Ferris mascot painting to represent that love.
Etna
I have only glanced at my love of the Disgaea game series on this site, but those games absorb me in a way that’s excessive. Etna is one of the key characters, a selfish but lovable demon who rules the pitiable prinnies with an iron fist. This drawing is based on existing key art, and while I think it’s cute, the anime proportions threw me off and it’s the least accurate picture on the page.
Aftyn
Aftyn is my favorite subject. She’s been a staunch supporter of me from the beginning and is my fountain of inspiration. I turn to her whenever I want to try out a new technique. My drive to never do wrong by her pushes me to greater heights. I’ve done so many by this point, she has her own category.
If you’re interested, be sure to also check out her website. I firmly believe she is the best ASMR artist in the world. My sketch of her here is good enough to excite me. I feel like I leveled up doing it.
Rasputina
Rasputina is my favorite band. Front woman Melora Creager has had a couple minor spots in my gallery, but someday I have to knuckle down and do a proper painting. I love them so much! Unfortunately, they don’t really have a web presence anymore, so I can’t link you something official. Hush hush, though, you can probably find a bunch of their works on YouTube.
Medium: Digital
App: Artstudio Pro
Tools: Pencil