SatAft Update

 

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     Good Saturday afternoon everyone; just a while ago I fired up Super Mario World again.  I'm still oddly stuck on the level w/ the koopa wizard, but I figured it would be smart to try and find an earlier point to rack up extra lives, which I did.  So now I have triple the starting number of lives and the two spots before "that" level are pretty easy (barring any daredevil stunts that get me killed in the most stupid of ways imaginable), so I hope I can finally get it done and move on to the newer areas of the game.

     But of course, the real reason I'm here is to post up some more artwork.  Before that, though, I'd like to state a re-evaluation of my practices on my deviantART.  Basically, I'm just deciding to keep my current stuff on my account, and let it be.  Those pieces helped me in some way or another and they should stay there as a result.  Anybody who turns away a part of their past feeling that through simply ignoring it they can move on and get better, is a puppet's fool.  At least in my case, there is no reason to get rid of those pictures onto another account.  The gallery isn't bloated and it might be nice seeing the progression that's been made.

   Okay, so now we can get to the pics.  I'll keep it short this time b/c I'm probably gonna be needing time to work on these and begin a couple of others today while I try to relax, but as always, we do things pretty informatively here ;)

     Are they waves, or are they clouds?  Is it life, or is it death?  Is it good, or is it evil?"...please don't ask questions like that xD.  I should confess that I'm a big fan of clouds, and all things nature.  There's something innate about it all that attracts me; clouds in particular, puzzle me for how much form they can seem to have, despite being of no physical form to speak of.  They can take on complex shapes and yet seem to be created w/ no care but that of a whim, seemingly so quick to outpace the design of anything man could ever dream or hope to create.  It's pretty crazy, and one night probably this time last week I was rummaging through some pics of clouds I pulled off the internet, and this one here...

   .....interested me a lot.  I haven't tried doing any "epic" scenery as of yet so I've decided to give it a try w/ this one, using that photo as an inspiration reference. 

     There's really not too much more I can say about it.  Would probably be finished by now if it were the only piece being worked on, but that's never the case x3.  Anyway, I'll have it wrapped up by middle of next week, tho it won't get uploaded until the following weekend.

 "Out with the old..."

    Speaking of being done soon, I have the same goal to complete this Suzuka picture as soon as possible.  But you see, when I was working on it this past Tuesday, I...just didn't feel it.  You know, that *feeling*, that it was going as it should.  As I said before, I'm pretty new to digital art and am just transferring what I know traditionally to it, so it's taken a little longer than expected to come up w/ a working process that both suits my comfortability and allows for some flexibility to get energetic.

      I've only only recently gotten a grip on working w/ some preferred brushes through just 'feeling' what they're good for, and when to cut back and switch to a different one.  I could probably be using more brushes surely, but I'd rather stick w/ a small selection b/c it's easier to keep track of.  It wasn't just the use of brushes and layers getting used to, tho; I also needed to understand the use of color both in regards to digital art and in general a bit more.  That's likely to be something ongoing, but from figuring out some stuff I've been able to figure out how to better get a final image w/ the depth and range of colors I have in my head.

 

"...and in with the new..."

     Unfortunately,..well, somewhat unfortunately, it means I started on the Suzuka picture again from scratch the following Wednesday, making some big adjustments.  The good thing is it's going much faster than the old version was, which is good b/c a deal's more work has to get done in comparison.  That's alright tho; as long as the final product achieves what I'm aiming for, it's all well and good :)

     As a result of all this, what I have here is pretty rough and definitely hasn't gotten to the good stuff yet, but it's a solid foundation that determines a work's real strength.  This whole process, is certainly interesting, if there were any way to describe it.

     That'll do it for today; I'm gonna be starting the Poison picture later too, but after that I'd like to maybe draw a dude xD?!?  Seriously, I haven't drawn one in forever, so maybe it's about time.  I already got some sketches for Garuda (SFEX), whom I've always admired (just 'cuz he looks awesome; certainly not for his evilness), so that seems like a good bet.  I really just want to be pretty diverse in what I do, thematically speaking.  There are a lot of artists I like who could probably be typecasted in one or two areas.  I understand having a 'familiar ground' to tread to is important b/c it shows you have a distinct taste and keep consistent.  But at the same time, I fear growing stagnant or accused of being a one-trick pony, and I do have a natural interest in many things.  Guh, maybe it just comes down to figuring out how to best present those interests in what's being done...or I probably shouldn't even worry about this, amirite?

      Okay, that's all for now, seriously.  I have fried rice to cook (and red pepper overdose to indulge in).  I'm definitely gonna beat at least one wizard's ass today.  Alrighty everyone, I'm out; take care and stay awesome.  L8r :)