Day 15: Love and Everyone
Original Instagram Text
“Perfect! NO ONE MOVE.”
I rarely use a tripod to take meaningful photos with my friends and family. Maybe twice? I use them more for plein air painting to hold my surface + palette or as a second person for reference shots.
I kept it simple today because I biked a lot for Ciclavia.
Additional Information
When designing in ink, I struggle where to balance lights and darks without one overtaking the piece. While the tripod is in focus here, I should have spent more time separating out the character from the rest of the background.
Day 16: For You, For Them, Not For Me
Original Instagram Text
“You take this job for a better world. The Chasers have no more fame. The money is no longer here. It’s grueling. You’re constantly on the edge of death. But you’re always on the precipice of something better. Something brighter.” — Yuna
I am in love with trees which is good because they were a nightmare to render. 80% of the time was spent inking those. That effect though, I like it enough that’ll I’ll use it going forward.
Additional Information
Tried to channel my inner Franklin Booth and Bernie Wrightson for just a moment. Of the pieces I’ve done, this one was my favorite when I wrapped it up. Something about the control of the trees, the careful hatching of the sky for added texture, and the character making a stance in bottom 3rd. I’m proud of this one.
Day 17: Impossible Dreams
Original Instagram Text
“No one ever told me that reaching for the stars would be so lonely.”
I wonder how quiet it is in space. What it would feel like to fly through the unimaginable vastness of the universe. Seeing nothing for inconceivable amounts of time. Hoping for something novel.
Additional Information
I went to The Postal Service concert, which is why this ended up being simple. Perhaps subconsciously, I set this in space, similar to Such Great Heights…
Day 18: Extraordinarily Ordinary
Original Instagram Text
“She chased it through the forest as far as she could take it…the creature never came back. Neither did she.”
My Ackerman fountain pen dropped about 5 blobs of ink while working. The most frustrating on was on the face, which, since it was small, ruined a lot of work. The pen is super fussy and convenient, but when it goes wrong it goes very wrong.
Additional Information
The texturing from Day 16 returns! I don’t think the flat black in the foreground mixes well with the tight hatching, which you can see me avoid in later pieces.
Day 19: A Long Journey Ahead with You By My Side
Original Instagram Text
“Be careful!”
Finished this late last night and fell asleep before posting, oops.
Additional Information
I use large areas of flat black to avoid rendering stuff, which is often a crutch more than a good stylistic decision. I need to stop being lazy about this stuff!
Day 20: I Love You and You Can Never Know
Original Instagram Text
“Why do you feel farther away from me than the stars in the universe?”
What a melodramatic title! Worked on this while watching Asteroid City at a rooftop cinema. The weather was nice and there was enough light to help me out.
Additional Information
I think the flat black in this piece works better than previous pieces because it has a purpose to indicate night.
Day 21: The Smothering of Death
Original Instagram Text
The constant unexpected blots have me thinking that any custom “fountain pen” vessel that takes G nib will have these problems. I want to see for myself if this is consistent across other pens, but I don’t want to spend the money to try it out.
Additional Information
Yuna appears again! The combination of a brush with random white areas and the hatching works better than flat black areas. One day I hope to bring the story with Yuna all the way to life…
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