Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Did All The Art This Week!!!

I'm shocked at how much art I was able to crank out this week! I promised myself I'd try to at least sketch every single day, and I did! I have 5 pictures from the 1st to today, and I'm incredibly proud of myself! I'm posting these below with a format of Date (month/day/year); "Title"; medium [tag]. The tag is what category I would consider the artwork in.

1/1/2023; "Possum"; pencil sketch [ANIMAL]

On the first, I sketched this awkward little possum hanging from a branch. It was a quick sketch that used one of my mechanical pencils and a few reference photos, though I invented the pose.

1/2/2023; "Silence"; pencil sketch; [ANIMAL]

Along with my daily drawings, I'm also trying to write at least 100 words in one of the stories I'm writing. The story I'm working on now involves snow, a very unhappy person, and themes of brokenness and repair.

1/3/2023; "Abstract Nude 01"; pen and pencil drawing [GEOMETRIC]

I don't do a lot of nudes, but I liked the idea of trying to use positive and negative space, texture, and shape to suggest an image. I like how the neck turned out, but after that, I kind of forgot to add the negative space and things got hectic. I still like the image, though.

1/4/2023; "Banana"; digital painting [VEGETABLE]

In my ongoing quest to master Krita, I painted this scribbly banana. I'm actually super pleased with how vague and slightly unsettling the soft background is compared to the jagged scribbliness of the banana itself. Also, I know a banana isn't a vegetable, I just use the VEGETABLE tag to denote any plant or fungus or lichen. Bananas are berries. Look it up if you don't believe me lol.

And for today's art, I present to you...

1/5/2023; "Abstract Nude 02"; digital painting [ANIMAL/GEOMETRIC]

This painting was a lot of fun, if a bit difficult, and I think I'm going to be exploring more of this style in various colors. In fact, I think I'll get a bit of help from that Coolors website that generates palettes. I consider it both GEOMETRIC and ANIMAL, since it's a human (animal) and also abstract (which counts as geometric for tagging purposes).

Since I don't have a lot of experience with bodies, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to convey a Large Person, but I think I did pretty well, even if I had to adjust the left breast a few times to make it stand out less. I'm really loving experimenting with Krita, too! I'll be continuing the art next week, gathering all the art until Thursday and then posting it all at once. Sometimes, I'm sure, I'll either miss a day or draw something incredibly dumb or oversimplified. I'll almost certainly have some really ugly art, too, but I think it's important to accept that not every piece is going to succeed. It's good to know when to stop and try something new.

If you'd like to have a say in the stuff I draw during the week, feel free to head on over to my Ko-Fi and send me a coffee with a message telling me what category (ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL, DEDBERT, LOCATION, GEOMETRIC, WORD) to work from, and I'll put it up with a little thank you. If you prefer anonymity, let me know that, and I will simply call you a Kind Patron.

That'll do it for me this week, guys!

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

 

In Which Art Practice Continues

Last week, I think I mentioned that I'm practicing with Krita and my new 2-in-1 laptop/tablet thingy. This week, I have a piece that I did 100% in Krita with the pen! Is it hyper-realistic? No. I'm beginning to think that perhaps I am more prone to simplistic, chunky, goofy art rather than intensely realistic art. Especially when it's my early attempts at digital art!

"Wombuddy"; digital art, 2022

So this scribbly little guy is something I'm shockingly proud of. I have very little idea what I'm doin in Krita, so having something come out roughly the way I want is always a fun surprise! I'm especially pleased with his blocky head and tiny eyes, to be honest.

Pieces like this Southern Hairy Nosed wombat are excellent teachers, I've found. They may not be the most refined images, but from this little guy, I learned that: 

1) I can absolutely create art in Krita with the 2-in-1

2) Reducing animals down to their basic shapes (squares, triangles, circles) will absolutely give you the character and essence of those creatures when you draw them

3) Refining images can take a long time and you don't always end up with as fun a drawing as when you leave it a little messy

4) Using your shadow tone (a dark teal in this case) as the undertone for the entire body makes everything look more cohesive and works with the image.

5) signatures are hard. Use smaller brushes for that.

I have done some more practice drawings both before and after the Wombuddy, but he's the one that stuck out the most, so into the blog he goes lol.

How about the rest of you - do you have any digital art tips/tricks?

Also, if you want to have a say in next Thursday's art, feel free to go over to my Ko-fi account, buy me a coffee, and leave a message telling me which of the following categories you'd like to see next:

• Animal
• Vegetable
• Mineral
• Dedbert
• Location
• Geometric
• Word

In the meanwhile, though,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC