Artastic

 Hi Everyone, I have spent some time gathering items for the textures challenge. Shopping the after-Christmas sales for decorations has been a great way to pick up some spherical objects. The pet section also had a few interesting items. I now have a variety of items to paint that I keep in a little box.  I am still taking time to rest, so although I am trying to do a little painting each day I don't get fussed if I feel to tired.  I also have some reading I plan to do between semesters. I visited the College library before the break to get some books that would not be found at the regular Ottawa library. Have a great holiday season everyone!

 In my digital painting class we learned about a challenge that an artist named Jonathan Hardesty created for himself to paint 500 textures as a way to improve his skills. Apparently a lot of other digital artists are taking up the challenge.  Sine I am still very new to digital painting, and the method we learned was very different from traditional painting I decided to give the challenge a try. I am nowhere near being able to do one a day, but hopefully with the extra practice I will be able to work faster and with more confidence.  My first two textures worked out very well. This was my first. This was my second. I have a small box where I am collecting items to paint during my time off between semesters.

 When handed the assignment of designing a room I decided to tie it into my creature design assignment. This is the laboratory of the mad scientist that has been designing "Swamp Things". In this scene one of the creatures that the scientist has created managed to escape from the incubator on the platform. I am hoping to find time to add more props to the scene later. The elevator required a lot of work.

 We were given several prompts to choose from for our creature design assignment. I decided to design a "Swamp Thing".  I included some unusual characteristics in my design. My Fargle can glide like flying frogs do, by spreading the membranes in it's hands and feet. It can also run across water like the Green Basilisk Lizard. His facial features are similar to a Potoo bird, which has a very silly face. The end result turned out very well. We then were given the option of making a trading card for our creature. I decided that my creature is a finder of lost things. This is what I created using a template we were given.  I need to determine why the colours change when I post this image. When I open the original JPG image it looks the same as the original. There is always more to learn.

 For this assignment we had to create an illustration that was built around the concept "designing a better downtown". This assignment originated with the Creative Team at Ottawa Magazine. My career goal is to illustrate children's books, so I used this opportunity to explore that style. Here is the rationale that I submitted: