welcome to camp telophase

Marvel as Cloud Strife pushes a Zamboni!
Thrill as Cloud Strife turns a valve!
Watch as Cloud Strife lurches slowly through a burning village!
We paid $70 for this shit.

I've been frustrated at my art abilities recently because, like many things I do, I've skimmed past a lot of boring fundamentals and picked and chosen what to focus on, so while some things I do look good, I struggle with other things. Much like I did with lots of academic subjects, really. Probably ADHD--if I'm not interested in something I find it VERY HARD to make myself do it. Math and other science homework was much like that for me. I was quick to pick a lot of things up that carried me until I hit a wall (which was calculus and chemistry in highschool).

So continuing to do basic gesture drawing, practicing things I'm deficient on (HANDS), etc. has shot me in the ass too many times. I finally realized that right at this moment, since I deliberately have not been soliciting clients* for book covers because of the house-buying and move, I have time that I could devote to remedial art education.

So I bought a course on cubebrush.com--I didn't want to join one that was live online because showing up at a certain time and sitting there for a specified amount of time isn't great with all the things that have to be done with the house--and have been poking at it for the past three-four weeks. Have I been steadily working at it for 3-4 hours a day like the creator suggests? Oh hell no. Have I at least been managing to sit down and either watch a video, do exercises, or both 4-5 days a week? Yup.

(Have I started to get a clue what the Curves adjustment layer in Photoshop actually does? YES.)

Anyway, I usually ask for no constructive critique on art I post because it's DONE and FINISHED and I won't go back to it, but these are all learning things, so feel free to crit (unless you're a "I tell the HONEST TRUTH and if it's painful SO WHAT" type of person, in which case you are kindly invited to go elsewhere because combative attitudes are not actually constructive.)

( Gesture and figure drawings cut for large images and artistic nudity )

[*If you are an existing client, feel free to contact me and book something! If you are not one, contact me anyway but I may schedule you several months from now.]

Here’s the 32-second video of the squirrel playing with a stick in our back yard, with music from the YouTube library over it to hide the clatters and clanks of myrialux getting food for the cats plus the yowls of a small cat who is CONVINCED she will not be fed if she doesn’t scream her head off.

https://youtube.com/shorts/VzQM3TOIwmc?si=cSPq_e2xgHk9lyxy

If anyone wants to sign up to fandomgiftbasket they’ve extended the signups by a day.

https://fandomgiftbasket.dreamwidth.org/84651.html

New Penric and Desdemona book out as of June 30. (Amazon affiliate link)

I no longer read RSS feeds (that was a killing-time-at-work thing) so now I only find these when Amazon advertises them at me.