D_What's would-be art thread :|

[D_what]

Was back in the hospital for most of today so I knew I wouldn't get much done, so to keep up momentum I threw myself into some quick-ish CAP planning for CAP 24.

Thought "Tardigrades" + "Succulents"; something hardy that survives easily in the desert. Probably stores nectar inside its hide, sort of like a camel or a cactus. Maybe the nectar leaks into the ground while it sleeps, nourishing the soil?

Thing is, I don't know where to take it. Less is definitely more, but a) I don't know what colours to use (examples included, but there's lots I haven't tried) or which details to add, if any. Dunno.

EDIT: my momentum is doomed anyway, I'm supposed to start back at work tomorrow on top of familial concerns. This is likely dead-ended.

 

[D_what]

Hiya Smogon! I'm not dead but my updates certainly have been, huh??

Quick recap: broke my legs, had to relearn to walk, was out of work for several months, hit by a couple of moderate to serious family tragedies, ended up being the family therapist, went back to work too soon, got depressed and burned out from all the juggling, had to quit my job when it became too much, was unemployed and still p.down for a few months, landed a new job, am currently acclimatising to said new job. So, uh, lots of stuff, and drawing never took priority on a *good* day, let alone a string of bad ones.

It's not all bad, though! I've been feeling a little steadier lately, mentally and physically, and signed myself up for art classes last week. Haven't done much yet, but I'm excited all the same. And I kept a few projects on the backburner - had to shelve the commish because a) ridiculous multi-year delays on top of big life events made it a bit of a joke in any case and b) I'm not good enough yet to take it to where I want it to be. The flip side of this is that it gave me more drive than I'm used to draw stuff that I usually don't. This, combined with an unfortunate lack of interest in SM and USUM, has fairly radically changed the content of what I've been drawing in the meantime. But I still love Pokemon and I'm not ruling out coming back to it! It'll always be there for when I'm feeling confident and productive and don't have any outstanding unfinished things to do*, and at some point I'd love to return to doing the occasional Smogon banner or article header.

(*Of which I have. A Lot.)

Art class 1 warmups. Gestural focus really. I like movement, and if I can't find it, I like weight!

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Main project that's occupying my time. Project brief: invent 3 superpowered characters. Have them fight in a chaotic, intimate 3-way battle where each person has equal importance to the other two. So far it's been REALLY DIFFICULT but I'm persistent.

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Character reference designs

Attempt 1 (Scrapped)

Attempt 2 (Scrapped)

Current state of progress on my Worm (...Ward) Tarot sequel. (See page 2 of this thread) Pairing the previous one off with the character's sister. I'm too ambitious, it's not going well what is that fist even FOR

Other random stuff

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[monomite]

I'm glad you're doing better! And nice job on these drawings, they're really dynamic n well composed

 

[MiniArchitect]

I can't imagine having to go through everything that you have over the past few years, but I'm glad you're doing better now, and that you're taking everything in stride. I never took the time to properly browse through this thread before beyond the first few posts, but now that I have, I can definitively say that your art is a joy to see. You have such a great grasp of color, texture, and composition! I remember seeing those rainbow-colored logos from the first page and being totally floored by how cool they were. It’s great that you’re doing well enough to keep drawing again!

Both attempts at your superhero project look really good, even if you yourself aren't satisfied with them. It’s gotta be such a hassle to stage Castling in that kind of scene given how detailed its design is, and I admire the effort that must go into composing a scene featuring all three of those characters. I like the sense of depth and perspective in the first one, while the second looks like it’d be more intimate and chaotic, with more interaction with background environment. Whatever direction you end up going with though, I can’t wait to see the final product! And judging by the quality of the tarot card on the last page, I'm sure this new one will turn out awesome. Really looking forward to seeing the end result!

Your work is a treat and I'm happy that you've mostly recovered and you've got a new job and art classes to keep yourself steady. Best of luck!

 

[D_what]

Week 1's worth of Inktober prompts! Ward themed, because it's fun that way. Not especially inky since I that's not really my wheelhouse. Also using it as practice to draw hands... some of the time!

Days 2-4

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Day 5

Days 6-7

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[D_what]

Week 2! It's been fun but also exhausting. I'm feeling a little more confident and less "stiff", but also pretty drained and I've depleted my buffer. Scary to think we're only half way done...

Day 8

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Days 11-14

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[D_what]

hi yes aaagh I'm bad at posting. I have a shockingly *non zero* number of Pokémon related art to share from outta nowhere. Ok, that number is 1, but it still counts, right??

A discord group I'm in was making custom Pokémon cards - I wanted to join in, but *obviously* couldn't justify doing it without flexing the creative muscles a little bit, so I did what any me in my position would do: I asked myself what the simplest pokemon to paint would be and painted it. Doesn't get much more complicated than a sphere. as an aside, I did completely forget Voltorb and Electrode existed. I'm so ambitious...

Yeah tbh I've always really enjoyed my time on these forums, but post-XY the games haven't really meshed with what I'm into and that caused a hit to the interest I have in randomly drawing Pokémon (or following along with articles, that I might one day do art for). Mostly I've been ticking over with copious asset creation for my DND campaigns, and doing occasional studies or projects that I neglect to see to completion. The usual...

This is the slowest frigging thing. My everest... Started it last year after buying access to a design course by Hardy Fowler on Udemy. It's really good, but, man, I am *slooooow*. The machinery I have in mind (of which only some is visible here) is really complicated, too, and it's the exact kinda thing that becomes a slog - repetitive, exacting, finicky. Blegh. Handy as a rendering skillcheck though.

More random stuff

second spoilered for mild nudity/less mild gore

So that's where I'm at. Hope everyone else is keeping sane and safe and likewise ticking over :)

 

[D_what]

back to do a brief painting kick!! Purely functional. I couldn't think of a gift to get for two of my closest friends for Christmas, then I thought... what if BRAIN made HAND do WORK. genius. gonna get them printed as a playmat for cardgames tomorrow, I hope they ship in time! Pokemon choices based on some memorable decks my friends had over the years, backgrounds inspired by stuff we saw on our trip to Iceland in '17.

- sidebar, seriously hate how I did the grass in the mewtwo one. But I was getting crampy and short on time, it was a rush job. RIP grass

 

[MiniArchitect]

These paintings are absolutely incredible! I love the environments, the colors, the texture on each Pokemon's fur and feathers, the clouds, the grass, the water... I can't say enough good about these. I also love the definition of the musculature on Mewtwo, which makes it look all the more interesting and grounded in the environment. Your friends are lucky to have someone willing to spend so much effort and on their gifts, and I know they're going to love them as playmats!

Also, I wish I had said this sooner, but your character designs and portraits from your last post are really creative, and just as superbly rendered as these paintings. So excited to see what else you make!