Illustration Friday: Instinct

What comes naturally? Nurture! The natural instinct to care and to love is in every person. I would only hope that it is not an insinct we have forgotten with evolution leaving us empty and alone.

I had two similar ideas for this weeks Illustration Friday idea but in my efforts to do something from memory, I realised I was running before I could walk. I'm trying to improve my drawing skills so I shall limit myself to life drawing for a while (using pictures when I'm in a tight spot - like this one from Getty Images) and see if that doesn't help me get better. Only then will I go back to drawing from imagination and memory. Hopefully the slower journey will have fewer mishaps.

In the meantime I get to enjoy doing one more thing right. In this case, a chance discovery of Picasa's compatibility with my scanner, has given me improved pictures. I'm not losing the mid-tones as I was before and it makes for a fuller illustration even in pencil. It, however, also picks up all the eraser marks as well. I can't have everything but I'd rather too much than too little.

When The Week Ends Too Fast

The week has flown by and it wasn't kind enough to give me a warning.

I usually have everything I need to do mentally organised by Monday and the week is spent doing it with plenty of time to spare. But this week has been a little different. I made the mistake of thinking the Illustration Friday challenge was 'easy enough' and didn't do anything about it - which unfortunately included not thinking of a suitable idea. I only just managed to post my, hastily done, Illustration Friday picture and I am waiting on some kind of inspiration to push me towards my story for this weeks Writing Challenge.

Ugh, to have some way of doing that automatically... :-(

It's the first time I'm coming to the end of the week feeling a little caught out but there's still time to make it...I think. I just have to work double time and hope the muses find my sudden rush as endearing as if I was working with them in carefully choreographed creation.

Illustration Friday: Celebrate

Celebrating victory.

In this case, the concept more than its expression is what I would like to celebrate. Sadly, my brain to pencil link is kinda fuzzy and it gives me a whole new appreciation of the idea of 'use it or lose it'. But I'm using it now and perhaps in time, I will find it as natural to draw as to breath.

I do have to admit a certain amount of personal growth. Never before would I have tried something so out of my league, never before would I have been unafraid to suck, never before would I have put it in a public forum and never before would I have believed I could do a drawing once a week.

It's getting easier every day. Easier to draw, easier to try new things, easier to suck - or even get better. So perhaps that is my victory and that is definitely something worth celebrating.

Illustration Friday: Time

Better late than never,but better never late. It's the motto I live by and although I spend a lot of my time waiting on others, I don't ever want to change.
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Still going strong with pencil shading and I think I might be on to something...slow and easy never hurt anyone. Plus, it makes my pictures look that much better when I take my time.

Illustration Friday: Flawed

I've decided to return to basic pencil work. It's a much easier medium for me and I am able to express myself without a problem. It doesn't mean I won't return to coloured media at some later date but I might want to wait until thinking in pictures comes more naturally. It is one of my flaws at this time.

The others is that I don't like the idea of using facial features as flaws (especially since they add character - and I love freckles best of all) but I figured any face marred by tears would automatically qualify. Sadly, the very light tears do not scan very well (HELP! :-( ) and they might get lost in the fields of grey.