Smaugust & Shape Challenge 2019

I know the point of the Smaugust challenge is to draw one dragon for every day of August (it's named after the dragon Smaug from J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology), but I'm aware I wouldn't be able to keep up with the schedule, so I drew only one and I believe it's the first one I've ever drawn!

If it looks somehow familiar, it's because I actually combined it with another challenge - the shape challenge! Namely, many people think that the shape of my country looks like a silhouette of a dragon, so I decided to give my best to maintain Croatia's general shape (minus the islands and some peninsulas) and create a believable dragon. Well, it's actually a wyvern, but I think it's acceptable.

As for the colours, I used red, white and blue like our national flag. I decided that flames should be blue, because they kind of represent the sea here and I also believe it's an interesting change from usual dragons/wyverns. I know the wings/arms don't look functional, but it was a real challenge to incorporate them into the task. Maybe I should explore the possibilities and draw it again in some other, usual dragon-like poses.

I guess there are others who tried to draw similar versions, but I hope I made a very good job! Here's my work in progress:

Odd One #38

Priorities 🕷🕸

Captain America (Endgame)

Finally, after so much time, here's my Endgame fan art! And knowing me and my obsession with Captain America, it's not hard to guess why I chose him! The reference for this drawing comes from Hot Toy stills I found on the Internet. I'm very happy with the final result, especially because I used some new features, such as rim light and thick outline.

This movie was everything I had hoped for, but it also left me a little bit worried. Although the superhero movies fatigue was "predicted" by some movie critics about 3 or even more years ago, new movies and TV shows and MCU "phases" keep popping up, but with the last Avengers it feels like one significant era has finished. I know there are too many stories from the comics to tell, but I'm sorry that some of them will never be told or they were slightly adapted in some of the previous movies. But it's OK, they're called adaptations for a reason and you can't expect to see all your favourite storylines from the source material. I'll live, somehow.

As for the next phase of the MCU, I'm looking forward to Black Widow, Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch and Thor, as well as further sequels of Guardians Of The Galaxy, Captain Marvel and Black Panther, but I'm also interested in Eternals and would love to see The Fantastic 4 one day. And when it comes to "new" characters, among many interesting names, I really hope to see Nova (Richard Rider) and Namor.

Umberto & Espina 2019

Does anyone even remember my OC Pokémon trainers Umberto and Espina? Here they are again, this time frolicking with Umbreon and Espeon in the summer sun! And what's up with that drawing style, you may ask? TBH, I'm not sure... Just applying some new tricks I picked up bingeing several artists' YouTube videos.

I realized I don't actually have a drawing style and I don't know how to find it. I just get an idea and start drawing without thinking if I can really pull it off in the end. This one was about perspective and foreshortening, but I guess I spent too much time on unnecessary details. Also, I didn't draw a "real" background, not only just because it would be complicated and take me even more much time, but it's also some kind of experiment I picked up from the videos I mentioned. I kind of like it, I believe it makes my job easier (although, I agree, it shouldn't be a "job", it should be my passion, but oh, well...). And it looks kind of dynamic. Kind of. 🤔

There are so many things that went wrong (just to mention my inability to draw faces and hair, although there's so much more 🙄), but I already spent too much time on this (I think it was the whole week 😱), so let me just leave it here and move on with, hopefully, something easier or something I'll be more satisfied with.

To end it on a lighter note, who says it has to be perfect? It's cartoony and goofy and it's OK to be flawed. Maybe, if I hadn't written all this, you would have thought I planned to draw it this way and wouldn't have known about all the struggle I went through. 😉

New Glasses

It's time for new glasses! Which... look almost exactly like my previous ones? 🤔

Actually, I change them every 5 years because of my driver's license. They examine my sight and if everything's OK, set a new expiration date. But it was time to get the new ones anyway, because these are in a pretty bad shape. There are surprisingly many scratches and I don't remember the last time I managed to damage my glasses so much. 😔

As I 'm not brave enough to wear contacts, I chose the model with magnetic clip on sunglasses for the first time ever. I used to order two sets of glasses - ordinary and sunglasses - but instead of spending my whole salary on them, I decided to try out these clip on glasses. So, only the time will tell if I was right (BTW, I still haven't got them, I have to wait for a week or two).

I need my glasses constantly, because I'm practically blind without them, but why do I need sunglasses so desperately? Well, I spend a good portion of time driving and they help me not only during summer months, but also when it's snowing and there's a white nothingness around me, or even when it's foggy. You'll rarely see me in my car without them, except during night, of course. 😁

The Unlucky Snake Charmer

I wasn't sure if I should post this digital painting, because it's something out of my comfort zone and I can't decide if I'm satisfied with the final result or not. I drew it about a month ago during a digital art workshop held by @ypgd.vukovar volunteers and I named it "The Unlucky Snake Charmer". The task was to reproduce one of the images we were given and then add anything we want. I chose a photo of a sandy tropical beach and added the items you can see in the sand: the skull of a snake charmer, his flute (pungi) and the basket for a cobra. It's up to you to decide what had actually happened. Did the cobra bite the charmer and leave? Did he die because of some other reason and the cobra is still hiding and waiting in the basket? What do you think?

It was my second YPGD workshop, but this is the first drawing I feel somewhat comfortable to show (unlike the last year's illustration, which was a little bit disappointing, especially because it was my first encounter with new programs and techniques) - or, although it's kind of a stretch, we could consider it the second drawing, because the "Snail Condition" I posted on July 7 was originally a doodle I made during that workshop. 😁

So, it's no secret I like this more "cartoony" style, and I must admit I feel more satisfied with the items in the sand than the rest of the drawing. Backgrounds are just not my thing, I guess. Anyway, I'm grateful to mentors at YPGD, because they encouraged me to explore Photoshop and get my first drawing tablet two years ago. I've been using them for all my illustrations since then. 👍