However, because I was unsatisfied with "What happens in prehistory…", I went on to draw a second picture in a very different style. The second is first (below)…
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| Baby Dino |
This piece is part of an ongoing experiment in making textured backgrounds to accompany simple, childlike illustrations. For this piece, I used multiple watercolor washes, salt, alcohol, and various resists. I have yet to discover an appropriate tool for doing the line work--the paper gets roughened by all the watercolor activity and pens or brushes tend to catch and wreck the line. Then again, it's been quite a while since I last picked up some of these tools, so maybe fluency will return with practice. And I'm also thinking that maybe I should just draw a little bigger so I have more room for movement and can work with bigger, bolder tools. The scale issue has stymied me before, so I should definitely experiment with going bigger…or smaller…to get it right.
But...there is still that first effort to discuss--"What happens in prehistory…."
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| What Happens In Prehistory STAYS…in Prehistory |
This was my initial idea--a thoroughly debauched dino partying like it's Vegas! I like the idea, but not the execution. There is a lot of linework, so I thought I should keep it light but that decision didn't work out so well for me. I wonder, now, if I could have simplified the line and made it thicker and more expressive. I also had problems with the color. If I were to do this over, I'd choose different colors AND different products to work with.
All in all, I think I see another iteration of this drawing in my future! It kind of kills me to put these less-than-perfect drawings out there for others to see, but it is part of my new commitment to letting go of a need for perfection that has, until now, prevented me from finishing many works at all.
:-)
4 comments:
I know that tendency to abandon projects as soon as they hit the tiniest snag. I love your second effort here. The background turned out very nice.
Thanks, Alison! For a long time, the perfectionism thing has prevented me from gaining skill at all because I stay within a (small) comfort zone. I hope this weekly challenge will help me creep ahead. :-)
I prefer the second one, although that's not to say the first one isn't also excellent. Seriously. Why is this 'practice'?
You know, I see the flaws. It makes me want to go back over it again...and again…and again…making new corrections as I see them. At some point, I just have to end it and move on--say, "I won't correct that flaw on THIS picture, but I won't fall into the same trap on the next." Can't wait for the new topic. Also went crazy with One-Click on Amazon and bought a couple of the tools that I should have had for the "what happens in prehistory…" picture.
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