The Sketchbook

Finally finished up this WIP that's been sitting in my folders for over 6 months 😅

Torielle is one of my most beloved feral/fantasy equine characters ( TH here  ) And it was about time I gave her an Anthro version. She's a dappled blood-bay, with her dark points a warm black that looks more like dark chocolate under warm light conditions. Her chest/belly, inner arms & thighs are dapple free, though. Tori's known to accessorize with bells, bangles and all sorts of artisanal jewelry, going for more of a Boho, folk-inspired vibe in her clothing, favouring blues and greens and silver jewelry.

Reference for my Vulperan Beast Master, Khestle. Known as the "smoll danger" within our household, I've grown very attached to her and started developing a headcanon. I figured it was about time I pulled together a proper reference so I can start creating artwork for her. Important Information: Height- 4'3" (130cm) Age- 33 Sexuality- Bisexual, with heavy female preference Partially blind in her left eye

Reckless and prone to drunken outbursts- a large number of the scars on her body (especially hands and forearms) are from barfights. Drawn to critters far larger than she is in both animal companions and teammates. General enthusiasm for fighting- the bigger the challenge, the better. Seemingly no sense of self-preservation, but deadly accurate with a bow. Abrasive, loud, and self-serving, she's not exactly considered a good "team player"; she carries her weight, but frequently runs headlong into situations that require a bit more critical thinking. Not the kind of adventurer you would send on diplomatic requests.

Currently traveling Draenor with Khagndar the Orc warrior. She challenged him to a brawl in a shithole tavern, sans weaponry; Khestle then managed to grapple him, scurry up his backside, and proceeded to choke him out with her legs. She may have bitten him more than once, but with both parties fairly inebriated, neither can really remember it entirely. Having earned his respect, when Khagndar stumbled across her the following morning surrounded by enemies, the orc gladly rushed to her aide. Thankful for his assistance and good-natured response to her kicking his ass the night previous, the huntress suggested becoming traveling companions. They've been known to occasionally hook up, but largely consider each other just very good friends.

The three major pieces I did for ArtFight 2023!

In order of appearance ----- Botany Practice

Return fire for Arkhan of their character Salën featuring a Dhena, a fox-like companion. 

Oh man, this was a whole process, haha. I haven't really drawn any human characters in I'd say close to 2-ish years or more? I'd been working on this for about 3-4 days, which I think is just further testament to how rusty I am in the humanoid art realm. 😅 The concept sort of ran away with me, and now that I've finished there are definitely elements I think I would approach differently, but overall I'm very happy with it. 

Still trying to get the hang of dramatic lighting, and I think perhaps I am too fearful of losing details in shadow or accidentally blowing things out. One day I will find the balance, I swear. 

I had such a fun time putting this together, though, and I want that hat.  ------- Showtime

Featuring Ori_gina_lart's yeen character Gharban.

I love this character design. Sometimes you see a character and an image just punches you in the face and you have to draw it- Gharban is one of those.

I imagine he ran into someone on his "day off" and things took an unexpected turn, though ultimately he came out 'victorious'.

This year for Art Fight I'm really trying to focus on having energy and feeling in my pieces and testing out different techniques. For this piece, I wanted something messy, and raw with gritty textures because that's just what felt right for him. I'm particularly proud of his hand (kudos to my partner who let me pose & re-pose him to take reference pictures) and the expression on his face. I tried a lot of different eye shapes to get that wild bloodlust vibe I was going for, and I think I ultimately succeeded in getting that across. ------ Golden Afternoon

I too love crunchy fall leaves, and so I thought it would be nice to feature LimeGhosty's Bramble in a quiet moment enjoying the small pleasures in (un)life. Leafeons are probably one of my faveourite pokemon and I have such a soft spot for creatures with fungus and nature growing out from their ribs, so there was no question in my mind about doing a piece for this amazing character.

I like to think that he's having a good time in his leaf pile and enjoying the soft sunshine.

This was so much fun to get to do!  Featuring Jessraquel702 's stunning Vindictive, an absolute force to be reckoned with. We were going for a spooky vibe, with Folklore's Lona's Hollow as location inspiration. 

I think I'm definitely getting a better handle on how I want to map out scenes and do backgrounds. I feel like I've pinned down my moss and lichen technique, as well as how I do trees (man, I love drawing tree textures). I've been leaning more into the coloured lineart style, and overall I think that's a better choice for me, stylistically speaking. I still have things I want to nitpick, like any artist, but I'm overall really satisfied. I've been working on composition and being mindful of values, and while I feel I still struggle sometimes, I'm definitely improving. 

While sketching some concepts for something else, I absolutely fell in love with this super snarly sketch, and  kiwitcher indulged me in offering up a great character design to flat colour so it wouldn't be doomed to my WIPs forever.