Lord of the Deadwood - Finished!

Two posts in one day! I suppose that makes up for a couple of sleepy weeks, right?

This is just to show off the finished version of an old WIP I had lying around. As usual, as unsure as I am about the finished product I'm content with the fact that I learnt a lot through the process. And most of this was churned out in twenty four hours, which I feel was a huge achievement for me. I'm still picking up tips and tricks to do with light, colour and tone, none of which I was sat down and taught in school/college/university, so messing around with my own stuff and learning first hand seems to be the best route. 

Lord of the Deadwood, 12x12 inches, digital painting

I definitely learned that painting/drawing without lines is not for me. I think lineless painting looks gorgeous and I wish I could make it feel natural but it just isn't me. Still, you never know unless you try!

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The Pokemon revival

I know everyone is shooting out Pokemon related stuff because of the recent (and probably, by now, waning?) success of Pokemon Go. And the new 3DS games due out in November. 

While a lot of people have used Go as a gateway back into those games, I've been a constant resident of the bandwagon since childhood. I mean I've bought at least one of every generation of games. Don't get me wrong, I don't go all in with merchandising and the cartoon and all that jazz. I like the games, and even then not at all in a competitive way. I love the whole exploring and discovering aspect of them more than anything else. Call me childish, call me a nerd, but I find it fun and relaxing. 

So I wanted to do some Pokemon art. It was a choice between bashing out 'new' interpretations of Pokemon, illustrating one each and working my way through the fifty thousand or however many there are now, or drawing multiples of each using their real-life counterparts to create different breeds (sort of like the Alolan versions in Sun & Moon).

Bulbasaur family, digital painting

Charmander family, digital pixel art

Squirtle family, digital watercolour

It's been great fun so far, if a little tiresome at times. 

I've take new artistic approaches with each one, and I'm still intending on fiddling with the presentation which is super dull right now, I know. So you've got the 'Saurs based on breeds of toad mixed with bulbed flowers, the Char's based on different types of dragon mixed with culturally appropriate salamanders, and the Squirtle family designed with fresh-water turtles combined with weapons. And a hose pipe for funsies.

Each group is a different style as well - there's a cell-shaded sort of style, pixel art (which I worked too big with so you can barely tell, lesson learnt for the future!), and digital watercolour. 

PS. Fanart is something I intend to expand on in the next year, so get ready for that (whether you like it or not). 

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Felting Friday - the Red Stag

I love needlefelting. 

I've decided to work my way through these big bags of wool I've amassed. It's really addictive. I find it even more satisfying than sculpting at the moment in the way that it's so tactile and you can see results really quickly. If I can balance this with my illustration and design work, as well as with my day job, I'll be a very happy lady.

Here's my project from the weekend, an unnamed stag. 

Needlefelted red deer stag, merino wool & wire

He's the biggest needle felt critter I've made so far. I used a wire frame (which in retrospect was not thick enough wire, he's a bit of a tripod sometimes because the weight distribution is a bit off) with pipe cleaners which was a learning curve and also means he's fairly poseable. I love how much I'm learning from each project, it's really encouraging.

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Scotland photo collections

I can't recommend Scotland enough if you ever want to escape the city for a few days. It doesn't take long to feel like you could be absolutely anywhere but in the UK. There were moments where the highlands were channeling a very Scandanavian vibe. At times I could have been exploring New Zealand, Iceland or Canada, made even stranger by the fact that I hadn't been on a plane, that I was on the same old island.

Here are a few collections of particularly nice shots from over the week. I've also got a folder of reference shots of trees, fungi, water and ferns that I'm happy to share, just email me.

Day One: Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie, Cairngorms

Day Two: Whalewatching at Gairloch, Highlands

Day Three: Rogie Falls near Inverness

Day Four: Climbing Morrone in the village of Braemar, Cairngorms

Day Five: Lin of Dee, just outside of Braemar

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