Thursday Art Walk

In Which I Legit Forgot To Post This Earlier...

I finished today's sketch in the morning, and I've just... forgotten until now that I needed to post it lol.

Today's sketch is of a fairly famous beaver kit named Nibi, and it's based off of a picture that Z & I send back and forth to each other as something of an in-joke. it's not really a joke, it's just a fun thing we do.

I adore her little face in the original image, so I couldn't resist sketching her.

"Nibi" (aka "Hello!"); pencil sketch; 2023
[ANIMAL]

Nibi is such a cute little thing, but then, all baby beavers are precious chunky monkeys. They are the roundest, most adorable critters in North America and I love them about as much as I love opossums.

This picture almost didn't get sketched, by the way. We're having a lil silverfish problem right now, and one made its way onto the sketchbook. I did not notice this nearly inch-long creepy crawly until I had already carried it downstairs, set it on the kitchen table, and made myself coffee.

I sat down with the coffee, hoping to finish sketching (I had vague shapes lightly sketched, but no facial features), and the bug made itself known. I somehow avoided dumping my coffee and threw the sketchbook across the kitchen in surprise.

I'm not afraid of silverfish, I just wasn't prepared for such a robust specimen to appear next to my thumb so suddenly.

It was definitely not on the sketchbook anymore after its impromptu flying lesson, though, so I brought the book back, sat down, and drew.

I do want to do a few more takes on that cute pose, and I'd love to get a still from the video of her bunny hopping away from the dam and make a pic of her clicking her heels gleefully lol. Ironically, she has since made friends with an actual bunny, so I'll have to make a pic of that, too lol.

For now, though, I've got crochet to finish, pouches to make, and sleep to catch up on.

If you'd like to have a say in what I draw next week, feel free to send me a little donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Food, Location, Geometric, Word) you'd like to see, and I'll draw or paint something that fits the bill!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

In Which I Drew A Little Guy

 

Sometimes, I sit down to do my art and I draw for hours and am unsatisfied entirely. I look at what I've wrought and grimace. I tear the page away or ctrl+a, delete. I try again.

And sometimes I plop myself down with a cup of coffee, scroll down my Twitter feed on my laptop, and inspiration smacks me like Hacksaw Jim Duggan with a 2x4.

Today was the latter.

I was sipping my morning brew, doomscrolling like a proper Millennial, and then I saw a post from @PossumEveryHour on Twitter. This post, specifically.

I don't know if you've known this about me, but I am a sucker for everything this picture is:

• small
• cute
• possum
• just a little guy

Love me some possums.

Would I probably be a bit freaked out if I saw one waddling towards me on its adorable-but-weird ratty hands & feet? Yep. Would I pet it? Absolutely not, if it was wild. But I would absolutely be obsessed with it. I'd back away and keep my distance while babbling quietly about how he's just a little man wandering around, and isn't it so wonderful? Isn't it such a cool little guy? Go have a good time lil dude!

So yes, I'm a bit mad for North American possums.

And I've seen the Australian ones. They're precious.

But North American Possums are very relatable. Obscenely short life spans, looks like it's gonna cut you but is actually scared witless of you, cooler-blooded than most mammals, beneficial without being noisy about it, eats whatever it bumps into that doesn't run away...

It me.

So of course I had to draw my own Little Guy:

"Awesome Possum" digital art; 2022

Yes, that's a lil possum. Yes, I'm still trying to figure out how to use Krita.

It's just a little guy, peeps. Look at that little guy!

I love him.

Anywho, that's gonna do it for me because the Christmas Crunch continues today. I have 3.25 items to make and 2 to finish.

I hope to draw some more, too, though maybe not today. It might take me a few days before I'm ready to start more art.

If you'd like a say in next week's category of art, feel free to shoot me a Ko-Fi with the category you'd like (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll fill that prompt!

For now, though, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk - Yard Care In The Outback?

In Which I Drew Another Cute Pic!

Blogger is being a bit finicky today, so I'm trying to copy/paste images as opposed to use the tool they built into it.

Also, it's really beginning to alarm me that the underline under my title keeps turning red...

Regardless, I have, in fact, drawn a picture! And it's another Australian mammal! Specifically another marsupial!

It's another wombat - nature's lawnmower/tiller.

"Lawn Care Down Under"; graphite on printer paper; 2021

This is a Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat who has just finished grazing the lawn down to an appropriate height. She's quite satisfied with herself and the enormous meal she's given herself lol!

I should draw more of these odd, large-nosed marsupials. I love how they waddle along, how their butts are both a shield and a weapon, and how they're just so cute! Just... wonderful critters :)

There may not be a drawing next week - I'll be getting my second Moderna shot shortly before then and may be out of commission for a bit.

How are all of y'all doing?

Until next time, then,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Made A Lil Drawing!

Considering the date, y'all are probably expecting some kind of prank, right?

Well I guess that's my prank - not posting a joke art :P

April Fools?

But I did draw a little something to share with you folks!

"Owl Be There For You"; mechanical pencil, ballpoint pen, crayon; 2021

These two are so freakin cute!

I've been playing a lot of Pokemon Moon lately (what can I say, I like bats!) and named my Rowlet after Dedbert, so here they are, meeting each other. I mostly call my Rowlet "Junior" anyway, so he and Dedbert are sharing their favorite crescent-shaped treats - Rainbow Pokebeans and crescent rolls!

I love how easy Rowlet is to draw, since he's 90% ovals, much like Dedbert is 90% circles!

Actually, now that I think about it, most of my favorite creatures can be reduced to simple geometry... new idea? Maybe. We'll see.

I think I might do some more fan art at some point, but for now, just coo with me at how stinkin cute these two are :P

As for me, I need to finish this massive cup of coffee and then vacuum a bit, so here - rock out to the best boss music in Moon - Guzma's Theme while you

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Drew An Otter!

This week has been filled with sea life. I've been watching a few livestreams of sea creatures from manatees to seals, but the one I always come back to is Joey the Otter!

Fluffy, cute, and hilarious, this little guy is fantastic for stress relief. He just... wiggles. And squeals. And sometimes he poops. And he eats clams.

Such a cutie.

Anyway, my partner and I love to watch the lil guy wiggle around and swim in his turtle pool. So I was asked to make a piece of art that commemorates the lil fella!

"Dreamy Drift" Digital, 2020

I'll be uploading this fellow to my Redbubble, so if you like the design, head on over!

Alright, that'll be about it for me :) I think I'll work on some more art tonight, do some writing, maybe have a third cup of mocha... it's a pretty artsy day for me.

Take care of yourselves out there, folks!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk 310: Damp Bird Day

In Which It's Really Gross Out

It's currently 38℉ (3.3℃) and pouring cats and dogs. It's blowing a gale out there and about as dark as can be. I just want to curl up with coffee and curry or something, but instead I am sitting in the dark waiting for the rain to calm down so that I can go and curl up with noodles and blather about writing with my favorite writer.

Dedbert wanted to go for a walk this morning, so I gave him an umbrella and let him go out.

"Damp Bird"; ink and pencil sketch; 2020

It was short-lived.

Now he's curled up in his nest with some popcorn and a good book, so that's good.

My day is looking to be damp and dreary but also cozy and productive. How about you guys? What are your days looking like?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 306: Dedbert Strikes Again

In Which I Have An Art For You!

Thursdays can be a bit weird for me sometimes. Some Thursdays, I have the house to myself, waking up at 9AM and working through til noon, when I finally post my art for you guys. Other Thursdays, the house is full of people, hustle and bustle distracting me for hours (like today). Still other Thursdays find me sleepless and exhausted, desperately trying to scrape together enough brain cells to make art, despite staying up all night or sleeping past 11 and hurrying along.

Basically, Thursday's a crapshoot.

But today I have a picture for you guys! Remember how, last week, our boy Dedbert was typing away?

"Editing Sweet"; Ballpoint pen on sketch pad; 2020

Well, the lil stinker actually beat me to the editing phase!

Maybe...

Hang, on, is this just him talking about that fat owl? I thought you were writing fiction, kiddo! Hey, nonfiction's pretty neat too.

Or are you gonna do a story based on her?

However things are going with that manuscript, I'm proud of him :)

And whatever you guys are working on, I'm proud of you, too.

It could be an ongoing effort to brew the best cup of coffee, a shawl you're knitting, a quilt you're sewing, a home repair you're finishing, or art or a manuscript or literally anything!

When you do the work, you should be proud of yourself, and you should know I'm proud of you, too.

Good luck out there, friends!

You've got this!

Go Enjoy Something,
FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 246: Pocket Forest

In Which I Slide and Match Three

I like me some mobile games - especially when they're free! Pocket Forest is an offering from developer Battle Mango and available on the Google Play Store.

But it's far more complicated than it first appears!

Pocket Forest has a lot going for it. It's a match-3 game, which I love, but it's also a sliding tiles game, which means that in order to match three of the same image (dirt, grass, water; fox, tree, droplet, and up), you have to slide rows and columns until images match up. Oh, and you have limited moves with which to slide! Thankfully, tapping the groups of three or more doesn't take a move from your pool.

Now, as if that wasn't enough to keep track of just in the gameplay, tiles can interact! If you match 3 water tiles of the same level, they'll water the tiles around them! Dirt tiles will become grass tiles (which is annoying if you're trying to get more animal tiles!), tree or plant tiles (but not grass tiles) bear fruit that will automatically be fed to any directly adjacent animals, netting you extra points! I have only played the first zone and haven't filled the Bestiary yet, and I'm already addicted.

Oh, I didn't mention the Bestiary?

Yeah, there's a Bestiary!

A fairly extensive Bestiary, too!

I'm pretty sure the above image is from an older build of the game, but! It shows basically what happens.

You play your level until you run out of moves (and by the way, tiles will auto-merge if they're next to each other at the end of a level, so you can use that to your advantage!), and at the top, you'll see three stars. Each star fills as you gain points, and they represent the potential rarity of animals you'll encounter as a reward. My first animal was a sweet little fox, and one of the cool aspects of this sticker-style collection is that you get to pet the animals.

Ever wanted to pet a brown bear?

Now you can! And without getting mauled, no less!

Now, you can only pet them once, sadly... until you find a duplicate! I have my little lizard 100% petted, and it gave me a bonus!

Actually, pretty much everything nets you bonuses in this game, so if you're having a hard time in real life and you just need a win, however, small, you can almost certainly squeak one out while playing this game for less than 10 minutes. Bonuses are usually buffs for in-game (like a button which places animals on all dirt tiles available, a button to water every tile at once, and a button to plant one tree anywhere on a grassy tile), but sometimes you'll get tickets!

There are two types of tickets - normal tickets and golden tickets! I haven't had much luck with the one Golden Ticket I got - it just gave me more boosters (and once you hit 50+ of the same booster, getting more boosters is not that thrilling), but I know it can get you other things, like new skins for your tiles!

I actually wound up getting rewarded with a Cactus skin for my plants, so now my foxes eat cactus fruits when it rains! I got that as a level bonus for collecting a certain amount of animals :)

Battle Mango did a great job on this game, and it's cute and fun, so if you're looking for a feel-good game, definitely check out Pocket Forest!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC