Stinkachios

I know, after all the characters I've been drawing this whole month - are these... bugs?! Well, I never said I'd draw only people, I'm ready to draw anything that ignites that creative spark. That's why my gallery is inconsistent and it may be one of the reasons why it's so hard to get likes and new followers. And if you look closely, it gets even weirder: they're not ordinary bugs - I call them "stinkachios".

It's true, the inspiration often comes when you least expect it. I combined my love for pistachios and the inevitability of stinkbugs - there's time when they're literally everywhere, sometimes I think I should be charging them rent because they're practically my roommates. But it's become normal from time to time (depending on seasons) and I don't mind them that much. If you're careful enough, you can scoop them and release them outside without much fuss.

So one day I thought I saw one of them on the floor, but then, after remembering I'd eaten some pistachios the evening before, for a brief moment I wasn't sure if it was a stinkbug or a pistachio. 🤣 And so this idea was born, they became some kind of bugs mimicking pistachios. Although the original idea came from stinkbugs, I also used other insects as a reference, such as ladybugs. I wanted to create a bug that would use two sets of wings, the outer ones being pistachio shells.

And another thing - you may have noticed I didn't draw Armadillosaurus or Dinocorn for this year's art challenge Creatuanary. I wanted to take a break from my usual creations and stinkachios were supposed to serve as a new Creatuanary post, but then I read the rules again and they didn't fit any of the prompts, so I decided to just let it go this year.

I know it may seem gross, but I hope you like this idea as much as I had fun bringing it to life. I may even include them in my GRDI-Verse project.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #creature #stinkbug #pistachio #stinkachio #grdilicious #grdi

Captain Carter (Fanuary 2024)

Captain Carter is my last drawing for this year's first art challenge, Fanuary. The rule was to draw fanart of your favourite characters each day of January, inspired by that day's prompt but I managed to draw only six. I'm sorry I can't fully participate in creative challenges like this one (the main obstacle is my everyday job), but I'm happy I got to draw at least some of the prompts and believe me, I gave my best to show my skills, even made accompanying stories and reels, which I rarely do. I know 6 out of 31 aren't much, but they mean much to me - it's my way to get into that creative mode and unwind after an exhausting day, it's some kind of a therapy for my mental health in these trying times.

So, today's prompt WARRIOR gave me the opportunity to draw Marvel's Captain Carter, another character I've been planning to draw for years. She comes from an alternate storyline, where Peggy Carter takes the Super Soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers and becomes the hero known as Captain Carter; she's basically Captain America in another universe. She appeared in the comics, the animated Disney+ show "What If...?" and the movie Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. Captain America is one of my most favourite Marvel superheroes, but I've already drawn him a few times, so I decided to go with Peggy's version this time.

The Fanuary art challenge is by @tonycartoonish, the pose is from @theposearchives.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #marvel #captaincarter #peggycarter #avengers #warrior #grdilicious #grdi

Magik (Fanuary 2024)

When it comes to mutants, there's at least one I've been planning to draw for a long time - and now finally seized the chance: Magik! And all that thanks to this month's art challenge Fanuary and the 24th prompt "MUTANT".

Magik, aka Illyana Rasputin, is the sister of a much more familiar mutant Colossus, mostly because of his frequent appearances in X-Men movies. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I guess he'll appear again in Deadpool 3 this year. Magik also got a live action version in New Mutants (2020), the last X-Men movie from the franchise owned by 20th Century Fox. She was played by excellent Anya Taylor-John, but the movie was a flop and I'm not sure if there are any plans for the character now that the mutants and F4 are part of the MCU.

Magik is a powerful sorceress with the ability to teleport across time and space. She wields the Soulsword, a manifestation of her powers from the time she spent in the Limbo dimension. She's one of the most powerful X-Men and I was pleasantly surprised to see she's also my number one hero when I reactivated my Contest of Champions account. 🏆

The Fanuary art challenge is by @tonycartoonish, the pose is from @theposearchives.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #marvel #magik #illyanarasputin #xmen #mutant #contestofchampions #grdilicious #grdi

Guillotine (Fanuary 2024)

Another character I've been dying to draw for years is Marvel's Guillotine, aka Jeannine Sauvage. This art challenge, Fanuary, finally made me do it. 👍 I was introduced to Guillotine while I was playing Marvel's Contest of Champions a few years ago, and immediately fell in love with her design. I guess you've noticed by now I'm a huge fan of cloaks and capes. 🤣

The prompt for this challenge was SWORD and although many other characters wield them, Guillotine was the first who came to my mind. Her "La Fleur du Mal" has a very interesting story: it's a bloodthirsty sentient sword that cursed Jeannine"s ancestors and now Jeannine herself, but there's a twist - although the sword is evil, she's trying to use it for good, fighting both villains in Paris and the bad reputation caused by the legacy of her ancestors.

I'm aware she's basically an unknown superhero, even among Marvel fans, and this post won't bring me many views and likes, but I did it for myself and I'm very proud of how she turned out. This may be my best work of 2024 so far. ❤

P.S. Geez, I played it in 2017. This makes me download the game again. 🤔

The Fanuary art challenge is by @tonycartoonish, the pose is from @theposearchives.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #marvel #marvelguillotine #jeanninesauvage #contestofchampions #grdilicious #grdi

Jaylah (Fanuary 2024)

I'm so glad that today's Fanuary prompt "BEYOND" coincides with the day when the movie where this character is from is being aired on a regional TV channel (and I'm watching it right now!). It's Jaylah from Star Trek Beyond and I've been planning to redraw her since 2016. Yep, that was the year the movie came out and inspired my first try.

I haven't seen my original drawing for years until now and my plan was to draw this new version without looking at it to avoid affecting my imagination with the style and solutions I used to have 8 years ago. It was drawn in Paint Shop Pro (I'm using Clip Studio Paint now), but now that it's finished and I'm comparing them, I don't think my style changed that much. Also, I guess I used the original photos and promotional material as before, as it was the only appearance of this character in the Star Trek universe and there aren't any new materials online, although there may have been examples of new cosplays. But more importantly, I was curious about how accurate my likeness of her costume details would be this time.

Also, it was my first time seeing Sofia Boutella and instantly falling in love with her and her other roles (Kingsman, The Atomic Blonde, Hotel Artemis, The Mummy, Cabinet of Curiosities, Rebel Moon, just to name some). OK, they may not all be hits, but I always look forward to watching any project she's in.

The Fanuary art challenge is by @tonycartoonish, the pose is from @theposearchives.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #startrek #startrekbeyond #jaylah #grdilicious #grdi

Blue Beetle (Fanuary 2024)

Another character on my Fanuary list is the DC's Blue Beetle. As I mentioned before, this creative art challenge made me finally draw fanart I've been postponing for years - in this case it would be since 2012, the year the second season of Young Justice came out and I was introduced to Jaime Reyes for the first time. Yep, believe it or not, it's been more than a decade, but according to a famous saying, I guess it's never too late. The prompt that inspired me this time was "blue".

As for the last year's live action movie of the same name... I don't know what new I can say about superhero movies that I haven't mentioned before. They're not so popular anymore, they've become copies of each other, the pace, stories and jokes are predictable or cringe... but I repeat, I'll watch them anyway because they're still fun enough and they feed my childhood nostalgia.

Jaime's story is interesting enough, the suit design is excellent, transformation and fight scenes too, but the "comedic" involvement of the hero's family feels annoying and forced and gives off a kid's movie vibe and that's been happening too often lately (the last example was in The Marvels). They're far from a masterpiece, but that's something I stopped expecting when it comes to superhero movies.

The Fanuary art challenge is by @tonycartoonish, the pose is from @theposearchives.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #dc #bluebeetle #blue #grdilicious #grdi

The Marvels (Fanuary Art Challenge)

I usually have a lot of ideas for my drawings, but not enough time for all of them, so whenever I can, I try to combine them with art challenges. That's why I'm planning to use this month's Fanuary (by @tonycartoonish) and draw a couple of drawings I've been postponing for too long.

The prompt for day 5 is "power", which was the perfect opportunity for me to draw The Marvels fanart, a piece I promised to draw last year. In the movie, Carol, Monica and Kamala aren't able to use their powers properly because somehow they got entangled, so they keep switching places everytime they use them.

And if you think this is just a copy of a similar promotional movie material, nope - I drew everything from scratch, adapting three different poses from @theposearchives. It took me too much time to finish this, more than I expected, because of their detailed MCU suits (it would have been simpler to draw their comic book versions!), plus trying to match the actresses' likeness, which turned out... debatable, I know. There was also a plan for Goose and a couple of other flerkens, but I just couldn't make myself draw them too. After all, as I mentioned, the theme was "power", so I guess that's OK.

Also, the number of characters is another reason why I failed to post it on the right date. Three isn't such a big number, but it's a very important achievement for me because I used to draw only one character for a long time, often just the upper part of the body, hiding or cutting off the rest using various drawing effects.

As for the movie itself, well... I know the MCU is not the same as before and you have to settle with some of their questionable decisions, but if it's fun enough, I'm ready to switch my brain off and enjoy the movie. I'm not looking for a deeper meaning anymore, I guess I chose a simpler approach.

My socials: https://linktr.ee/grdi

#digitaldrawing #artchallenge #fanuary  #fanuary2024 #marvel #themarvels #power #grdilicious #grdi 

New Year's Resolution 2024

I'm aware my new year's resolutions have become repetitive and lead to nowhere, but as usual, I just need to write something to ease my mind. Like before, the main obstacle on my way to personal growth and well-being is my job and what it does to me - its consequences directly affect my health, so solving one problem could possibly solve the other.

I wasn't supposed to stay this long here, but my dad got sick and I chose this workplace as a safety net until he gets better. Unfortunately, he didn't. He died shortly after that and I got stuck in this loop for almost two decades; mainly because it was a permanent job - and God forbid you let go of it once you get it! I also bought a car and later an apartment on credit that I still have years to pay off. Or is it just an irrational fear of leaving, the Stockholm syndrome many of us here succumb to?

I often imagine it's still 2005, all this time is just one tediously long year and I've been waiting for those ancient decisions to come true any moment now! The answer is just around the corner, it'll be within my reach in a second... a year... or a decade? The fact that the anniversary of my dad's death is in January makes it even harder, because it always brings me back to the starting point, the year when s**t hit the fan - and that fan is still spinning! This workplace is still the wrong place to be; there may be some new faces, but it's the same old foul system.

So, if I'm destined to stay here, one of my resolutions would be to *try* not to consider my workplace a clogged cesspool, but it's going to be hard if they continue doing the same mindless s**tshow and messing with this little sanity I have left. Consequently, taking care of my health would be my other resolution. And I'd also like to continue drawing as usual - or more often - but also try to pursue other techniques or come up with a style or a creative idea that could get me possible new career opportunities.

So, here we go again - new year, old me?