Going Nuts - Second Piece for the Auction

Some days, a whimsy strikes when you're just waking up and enjoying the first cup of a coffee.  This is interesting, considering that I usually wake up thinking about the same thing I go to bed thinking about.  I was mulling over the details of the "Diamond" piece that I will be doing for one of the collectives.  I definitely want to get this out of the way before the next Sketch Fest on the 15th, 16th, and 17th.  I have a general idea, so it's working out the smaller details.  I've found over the years that if I go to sleep thinking about an image, I often wake up the next morning knowing exactly what I'd like to do.  And the best part of it is that I'd wake up motivated and inspired.  (And that's a great thing in any line of business if/when you can wake up in the morning, feeling ready to jump out because you're so excited about the next project.  I consider myself very lucky in this regard.)

That said, I tend to overthink pieces for some projects more than the others.  And you know that creative flow often gets blocked from overthinking.  Certain degree of self-criticism is an absolute necessity for any work, but that still needs to be kept in check or otherwise the whole thing comes to a screeching halt.  Often, things that I don't take nearly as seriously would produce a result that is free in spirit, easy in execution and style, and overall more pleasant.  It's like finding a way to go back to the pure state of creativity any child has.  The glee, the joy, the delight, the freedom, the utter lack of the concept of "what other people might think"!

The fluffy work I do -- by that I mean the cutesy, smaller pieces of pure whimsy -- is easier for me to approach and I feel less pretensious when I am making these.  I'm more playful when I approach the fluffy work.  Because of that, things go more quickly, and are more often than not, appealing to the heart with the kind of energy that is warm and fuzzy.  (I do feel that some of my darker stuff eminates a warped energy, which is interesting in its own right, but not exactly something I'd like to have around me.  Not that I put my own art up on my walls.)


I'd like to think that all this is because my 'default' emotional state is a 'happy, content, cheerful, optimistic' one.  It's closer to my nature than the other extreme in my art.  In any case, here's this morning's sketch of my Acorn Sprite riding a squirrel for the great nut hunt. ^_^  I love drawing sprites.  I love drawing fuzzy animals.  Combining the two makes perfect sense.   This will be my second piece for the "Going Nuts" auction starting this Monday, the 11th.


This image is now available as a digital stamp at my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/168600937/digital-stamp-acorn-sprite-riding-on-a
I had to go over the scan of the inked lines in my Corel Painter.  Sometimes when I use the sepia ink for the line art, the details cannot be cleanly scanned or adjusted.  It's an extra step, but I've gotten so quick at it these days, it's hardly a hassle.  Besides, when you work digitally, there's always the 'undo', which is my magic wand (although they have a tool by that name... for a different purpose), that removes stress and anxiety of inking completely. :D  I'm constantly praying to the spirit of Bob Ross to help me when I am inking a work traditionally where mistakes cannot be made.  My mantra is Bob's famous, "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents".

EDIT: 3:37 pm, Nov. 9, 2013  A WIP shot of the piece.


EDIT 2: 7:10 pm.  Finished piece.


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