Figure Drawing and Bob Lineart (#3)

It's funny how some of my favorite work happens at night when that part of your brain that questions everything and overthinks, is too tired to interrupt and you can make quicker decisions. The downside, however, is the interrupted sleep schedule.

Back in March, I participated in the Kimo figure drawing challenge, where participants in a discord must submit a figure drawing of some kind every day, or be kicked out of the channel. It was my first time participating, and I firmly believe the previous challenges I did last year have prepared me for this (stretches and then pulls muscle). Maybe I'll submit some of the work I did for those challenges in a later post.

At first, I kept to light sketches and mostly line drawings. March was busier than I thought and I was rushing in the evenings to get it done. Plus, I was still having issues with making decisions, so some pieces took longer than I thought. It wasn't until the final week, when I started doing my favorite submissions. I think the repetition and wonton to do something different (and the late hour) made it easier and fun.

Below is a lighting/color study for 2, and a sketch I enjoyed in the final days.

Knitting Update

I have officially gone through one ball or skein of yarn and am now in the middle of my second one! This scarf is almost taller than me and will be sadly finished in the Summer. Aaaaand I'm starting on my first blanket (retreats under giant pile of yarn)!

Mona and Bob Update (AWGTDB #2)

I finished a rough design of the main character Mona, with thumbs of outfit and face choices, before including a fullbody of what I've picked (far right). As mentioned in last post, Mona is the main protagonist of the book A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking (AWGTDB) by T. Kingfisher. In a city where magic users, or wizards, have a particular skill, Mona is a young baker who excells at, well, baking!

In addition, I've a first pass at lineart for Bob, Mona's magical sourdough familiar. It took me a bit to complete, as I switched from Procreate to Photoshop, and needed to refresh my memory of the software. I've gone with the tapered bucket, per the notes on last pass, and adjusted the pores of the hungry and monster versions to fit more to the amorphous form. I also added some color to the first pose to test how the lineart will look and a silhouette of Mona to give a size comparison.

Critique Notes:

After review, a big question my peers gave was to think about the intended medium. From the sketchy lineart style, I'm leaning more towards a graphic novel!

For Mona, I should reference other character designs and rearrange the outift choices to be on a separate spread. The details on the dresses should be minimized, and the contrast reduced, so that they are clearer and can seem more cohesive with the intended style.

For Bob, the ghost lines need to be omitted and the color test more refined to look like dough. The silhouette of the colored pose can be bolder in the lineart to standout against the bucket, and adjust the width of the inner lines as needed. Adjust three of the poses so that the lineart avoids tangents with the lineart of the bucket. The arms outstretched pose will need to be adjusted to a more open silhouette. For the side view, the pose can be exaggerated more and hang over the edge with arms gripping the rim.

It's exciting! I feel like I'm steadily progressing and picking up speed--And it's not because I just drank 2 cups of coffee.

Happy Brewing! (eye twitches)