Good day, everyone!
Another month, another reflection. And this time I’ve got a lot to say.
First off, I have graduated High School with a fairly decent result and, although I wasn’t enjoying the celebration afterwards, I am very happy about it and am looking into an open future from now on. Plans on it are versatile yet so I hope I can change something about that soon. As of now, my moving operations are currently in motion at least and almost finished even. Having a new place to call home will definitely open up another chapter in my life and it will introduce me into a hopefully more *awoken* set of mood in contrast to the amount of uncertain planning of my schedule the past few weeks.
Speaking of which, they have been very productive. Art Fight’s blessing of inspiration that came upon me was simply astounding! I’ll definitely consider doing it again next year and bookmark more potential characters along the way.
Now let’s get to those artworks…
Artworks
Aquill – Let the Battle begin [Art Fight]
The starting point was this mage. Highly unusual for my usual projects but I knew as soon as I saw the reference sheet, that this would be at least a nice practice to break the art block I had at this time. And it was fun! Despite struggling somewhat with the rendering. But some tweaking and fondling with different blending modes and the quick background could weigh that out a bit. And I had the opportunity to create some magic effects which I don’t normally do but, hmm, who knows maybe I’ll consider them more frequently from now on as I see potential in them for some dramatic lighting effects.
Jahiri – Coffee in the Rain [Art Fight]
With the new found energy from the last project, I continued to do the next attack. This time… I struggled again with the beginning. Spending the first days with multiple sketches of poses that I wasn’t happy with. I even tried to squeeze another project between it but I kept coming back with a new set of mind. And it worked out! This should be the lesson why returning to something out of stubbornness yet are willing to change the very idea of your first concept can pay off. I had fun in doing the urban background even though it wasn’t planned, resulting in a very lengthy but productive session of pure and honest fun with this artwork. This and the result are why this is my favourite pick this month.
Saba – Love Prestige [Art Fight]
And lastly…
This project was my plan B for the previous not working out, as it started off with only the head shape for a simple headshot-portrait, I found my liking in the character design enough to expand the canvas to at least the bust, and then again for a half-body image in the end. I still love the colour scheme on this character so much and I am happy with how I presented it. Also the pose stuck with me, especially the way her right hand has this relaxed yet summoning gaze to it.
And as a side note; I used only shaders on this project, no base rendering. I made that decision on the fly but it probably was for the best as I don’t like to render every single colour on its own while trying to manage the light source to be on spot every time. In contrast, it might look flat but this is only a weak impression I hope.
Upcoming Stuff & Preplanning
Due to complexities in the beginning of the event, Art Fight has been extended to last one week longer, which leaves me with one last project for this event this year. it is already in the making, I just hope it will be finished before the rest of my stuff is getting moved to my new place.
After that, I decided to take a few days off, take my time to get settled, plan and manage my schedule from there on and – of course – relax a little before I can get going again.
What follows are two commissions and one planned art trade, the rest is out for speculation. I have a lot of ideas in my head, as usual but I won’t make any statements here as it is simply too early to tell what I’ll be working on.
Shoutout
Those are the amazing artists that are honoured in this month’s reflection:
What this Chilean does is character show-offs at a high level. The character he portrays are set in a simple environment often shadowed by one-toned backgrounds and one-toned cell-shading. But what sounds as simple as that is supported by strong poses; sometimes dynamic, sometimes static but believable all the time. For some, his expressions are the icing on the cake, i say, they are the foundation of great artworks and he, is certainly not lacking them.
Not only is she owner of one of the cutest original species (Dark Gold) , she also astounds with her breathtakingly realistic-looking portraits and scenery. Her talent for the management of light and scenic composition are out of question as well. If you are a sucker for those wallpaper-images, go right ahead and check her gallery out!
Let’s see if everyone survives this summer. Hope to see you all back and good at the end of August! ~Souvillaine