Art Summary 2019

Let's finish this year with two artwork charts: the Top Nine algorithm application for Instagram and the Art Summary from deviantART. The first depends only on your likes and for the second I get to choose only one favourite post for each month.


TOP NINE

Here are my top 9 posts for this year according to your likes on my Instagram account throughout the year! I waited this whole month to get the latest count, because three weeks ago I converted my IG account to a business account and decided to try out the promotion feature, which drastically changed the number of likes.

Before the promotion my posts didn't get that much attention. The first one on this list had 55 likes and the least one 42 and that was approximately the range of likes I got used to. But what really worried me was the fact that at the end of the year it became obvious the number of followers wouldn't reach my next milestone, 400 (it kind of stuck at 393 or so). But experimenting with promotion skyrocketed one of my illustrations to the magical number of more than 400 likes, and although it didn't affect the number of the followers, it changed the whole dynamic of my account. Before that it wouldn't have reached the best nine (it had 36 or so likes) and now it's on the first place. So I tried to do so with another of my favourite posts, but I broadened the audience (which wasn't limited only to my country like the first time) and shortened the time of promotion. It also got about 400 likes and it's now on the second place. You can see the number of likes in the top left corner of each image - the first two, which were promoted, have 425 and 398 likes, whereas the third one (without promotion) has only 55 etc.

On one hand, I'm excited my promoted posts reached so many new people, but on the other, the plan wasn't quite working, because they liked just these two images, but didn't seem interested in following me further. I reached my milestone - had even 403 followers, which meant that only 47 out of 800 people decided to visit my profile and only 10 decided my profile was worth following. Interestingly enough, I didn't get any comments at all (!?) and it seems like the number of followers is going down again (at the moment it's precisely 400). I got my first 100 followers some time in 2017 and it took me almost a year to get to 200. I reached 300 followers in November 2018, and now, finally, a year later, 400 (and probably only because I paid for that promotion).

I got my first 100 followers some time in 2017 and it took me almost a year to get to 200. I reached 300 followers in November 2018, and now, finally, a year later, 400 (and probably only because I paid for that promotion). I know the biggest problems of my account are different techniques and styles I use, different themes and irregularity in posting, so I get it why I can't reach more followers. All I know at the moment is that when I draw something I really like and find worthy seeing, I'll probably use that promotion feature again, maybe it'll change something in 2020.


2019 ART SUMMARY

This has been my favourite art review template for years, because I get to fill it in according to my own preferences (one for each month)! The author of this specific layout is AsterianMonarch from deviantART.

I know that sometimes it's difficult to choose just one drawing for the whole month, especially if you draw a lot. Although I can't say I was very productive, I'm happy to say that I drew more than last year, which means I fulfilled my last year's wish to some extent. There was only one month when I didn't draw any digital drawing (May), so I chose my DIY projects, but I'm happy that digital art is still the biggest category in my gallery. There were 37 digital drawings, 18 comic strips, 6 DIY projects and 3 watercolour pencil drawings.

For 2020 I hope I'll continue mainly with my digital art, but I also hope there will be time for my other techniques and projects. Thanks everyone for your support and I wish you a happy new year! 😊

Art vs. Artist 2019

Has it already been a year since the last "Art vs. Artist" challenge? I guess time does fly when you're having fun. Anyway, I'm just glad I have the opportunity to show more digital artwork than last year.

Captain America's cap (redesign)

I decided to redesign my (baseball) cap inspired by Captain America's helmet, which I had made two years ago. I believe it served its purpose very well and it was time to improve it with some new materials and techniques. So I used the same cap, but removed the sewn letter A and wings and replaced them with foam rubber. If you compare both versions, you can see the result looks much more professional and fresh.

The original cap was made two years ago for Marsonikon, a sci-fi convention in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, and after that I also wore it at Sferakon and local Marvel's movie premieres.

You can also see the original here.

Chibacca (Chibi Chewbacca)

Some time ago I promised I'd draw something related to the movies I watched. So far I've created some pieces of artwork for movies such as Spiderman Homecoming, Black Panther, Infinity War, Deadpool 2 etc. As you may guess, now it's time for Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The technique of drawing (or any kind of artwork, in case I get some other ideas) isn't specified, so I've decided to draw Chibi Chewbacca (or Chibacca? 😁). The plan was to draw him traditionally and finally use my "fauxcopic" markers, but after several unsuccessful attempts, I returned to my favourite technique, digital art. Yeah, I need a lot more practice with drawing with alcohol based markers, I guess.

As for the movie itself, of course I'm aware of all the turmoil and controversy (fans boycotting Star Wars movies etc.), but I really recommend this movie. It has its flaws - even I can recognize some of them - but on the other hand, it seems like fans are seeking revenge after The Last Jedi and taking it out on Solo. Anyway, that's just an opinion of a guy who'd watch any Marvel, DC, Star Trek or Star Wars movie, no matter how "bad" they are. 😂

My own Infinity War challenge

Two weeks before the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War, I started my own little challenge, a kind of a test for me and my abilities. I called it "6 Pieces For 6 Gems" and I planned to create six pieces of artwork, any kind that I usually do - digital or traditional artwork, comic strips, DIY projects etc., but always a different technique - one piece for each Infinity Gem! They don't have to be connected to the colour or the meaning of the gems, there just need to be six finished drawings/projects by the end of the second week. Here are all six pieces of artwork.

 Here are some tools of my trade I included in this challenge:

And this is the list of all six projects:

* DIY pencil holder - inspired by the Infinity Gauntlet

* Traditional/watercolour - Thanos

* DIY badge - Avengers logo

* DIY polymer clay item - Infinity Gauntlet

* Comic strip @odd.one.comic

* Digital - Captain America/Nomad

#Piece1ForGem1

My first item for my own Infinity War challenge is an Infinity Gauntlet inspired pencil holder and I hoped it would be the easiest project, but nooo. 🤔 When you look at the final product, it might seem the lamest project ever, but please keep in mind that I spent one afternoon in thrift shops and dollar stores and an evening playing the hit and miss game. 🙄 If you think it's too simple or - I don't know - ugly, be glad you haven't seen the first, crappier version. 😁

In the end I made a version with gold foil, coloured paper, flat glass marbles and magnets. So, there it is - a golden can with six Infinity Stones (or Gems) you can arrange any way you like (I'm not sure which order they'll use in the MCU). Feel free to swipe left to see the whole progress. And another thing - if you think about it, it's actually a 2in1 project! The Gems can also be used as fridge magnets. Wooo! So, what do you think - did the first item blow your mind? 😉

#Piece2ForGem2

My second entry for this challenge is a watercolour pencil drawing of Thanos. Honestly, I didn't know how it would turn out, although I gave my all to follow and apply some advice from tutorials I found on YouTube.

So, it's not very good, but also not that bad... I hope. I'll definitely need some more practice. 🤔 As you can see, I filmed the whole process, so when it's up on my YouTube channel, you can check it out and maybe give me some advice about what I should or shouldn't have done.

#Piece3ForGem3

My next DIY project for this challenge are six badges with Avengers logo. The background colours represent six Infinity Stones, while the logo itself is white. I used wooden tokens, safety pins, a hot glue gun, decoupage glue, coloured paper and foam rubber.

I was particularly happy I got to finish these before the premiere, because I planned to wear them, share them with my friends and maybe even give them away at the local movie premiere, like I did with those Star Wars badges last year.

#Piece4ForGem4

My fourth project for my own Infinity War challenge is an episode of my Odd One comic, which I've been posting on my IG account @odd.one.comic. It was the last project before I went to the local premiere, so my last two items were finished after the movie.

#Piece5ForGem5

The fifth piece of artwork is a DIY project, a polymer clay item, and as promised, it's a 7cm miniature of the Infinity Gauntlet (or at least my version of it). I wasn't able to find the right colour of clay (I was looking for the gold one), so I mixed some colours that I had from my previous projects. I haven't sculpted anything new for a long time, so some pieces were very dry or hard and this was the perfect opportunity to test the Sculpey liquid knock-off I bought some time ago. It's supposed to soften the clay and it worked out perfectly. 👌

As usual in similar projects, the base of the Gauntlet was aluminium foil, a pretty useful technique if you don't want to waste too much polymer clay. When it was finished, I coated it with gloss varnish and used self-adhesive plastic decorative crystals for Infinity Stones to make the whole thing look more "realistic".

#Piece6ForGem6

The sixth piece of artwork is a digital drawing of Captain America in his new costume from Infinity War, and as usual, it was done in Inkscape. So, it took me more than two weeks after all, but I'm glad I got to finish the challenge and complete all planned projects. 👍

As for the film itself, you probably know by now that I saw it before finishing this challenge. I'm not going to spoil anything - unlike an unbelievably big number of various social network users 😡 - but if you're a fellow Marvelite, you shouldn't be disappointed at all. It was amazing, The Infinity War sent me on an emotional ride and I'll need a few days to wrap my head around everything I experienced. I also hope I'll see it again soon. ❤

Black Panther

My Black Panther fan art is finally here! It's all done in Inkscape and I tried drawing some kind of perspective again (which was expected anyway, I guess). I hope I succeeded, but I'll let you be the judge. I used a reference, more precisely it was a photo of a toy or an action figure I found on the internet.

Kao i uvijek dosad, nacrtam i objavim aktualne likove tjednima nakon što je film došao u kino ili nakon što su napustili sezonu neke serije. Zašto bi onda s Black Panther bilo drukčije, zar ne? Istina, još uvijek se može naći pokoji fan art na društvenim mrežama, ali najaktualniji crteži su se pojavljivali protekla dva tjedna. Nadam se da sam uspio "uhvatiti zadnji vlak", ali ako i ne, trebao bih biti zadovoljan što crtam nešto što sam doista i htio.

Inspiraciju za pozu sam našao u fotografiji igračke za film Captain America: Civil War. Zato je odijelo više iz tog filma nego iz ovogodišnjeg Black Panther. Dolje možete vidjeti pojednostavljen proces nastanka crteža, kao sto sam to nekad prije objavljivao - sketch, lineart, flat colours, full illustration. Ali, najiskrenije, veći dio tog konačnog crteža se svede na nagađanja i pronalaženje najboljeg rješenja koje će vizualno najuvjerljivije izgledati. Pozadinu radije izbjegavam crtati i uvijek izaberem neko jednostavnije rješenje.

Npr., zadnji korak - shadows i highlights - je zapravo metoda pokušaja i pogrešaka. Počnem s nekakvom logikom, odredim zamišljen izvor svjetla, ali na kraju popunjavam neke dijelove onako kako mi se najviše svidi, čak ni kad nešto nema smisla. Zato mi ponekad bude smiješno kad me netko (npr. u grupi za Inkscape, gdje povremeno objavljujem svoje radove) pohvali za tu "igru svjetla i sjene", jer kao što rekoh, iza toga se nalazi puka sreća. Ali, ajde-de, očito nekad i nešto dobro ispadne.

Za kraj evo jedan prigodan vic, koji nisam ja osmislio, već sam nedavno pročitao na Twitteru:

"Have you seen the film?"

"Of course! Wakanda question is that?" 😂

Sinara and Kasius

My favourite villains Sinara and Kasius, the Kree (alien race) from the 5th season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, sketched by hand and done in Inkscape.

Ovo je crtež koji se "kuhao" veći dio veljače, iako zapravo nije postojao konkretan razlog. Ukratko, moglo je to biti gotovo i prije, ali što je, tu je, konačan uradak je ovdje.

U pitanju su Sinara i Kasius, pripadnici izvanzemaljske vrste Kree, koji se pojavljuju u petoj sezoni Marvelove serije Agents of SHIELD. Dizajn likova je odličan, kao i glumci iza maske, pa iako su glavni negativci ove sezone, vjerujem da su pokupili dosta simpatija.

I ovaj put sam prvo nacrtao skicu rukom, skenirao i završio crtež u Inkscapeu. Poze sam našao na nekakvoj stock fotografiji na internetu, a one dvije lebdeće kugle koje sam dodao su Sinarin zaštitni zrak i smrtonosno oružje kojim često i vješto barata u seriji. Kao što rekoh, ukupno mi nije trebalo puno vremena i nadam se da ubuduće neću toliko odugovlačiti.

Imam nekih novih planova za ovu godinu, ali ne smijem brzati s najavama, jer vjerojatno ću nastaviti ovako polako, korak po korak i to će se, po svemu sudeći, još mijenjati tijekom idućih tjedana. Zato, do idućeg puta i idućeg projekta!

Not So Super #1

Merry Christmas, Thanos!

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Jaylah (Star Trek: Beyond)

My next project is a digital drawing of Jaylah from Star Trek: Beyond. It was challenging to some extent, for example her face and techno-mumbo-jumbo equipment, but also pretty simple in some details, such as her hair. Don't judge me, I'm still trying some different styles.

Moj sljedeći projekt je digitalni crtež lika iz ovogodišnjeg filma Star Trek: Beyond. U pitanju je novi lik, izvanzemaljka Jaylah, čime nastavljam crteže inspirirane filmovima koje sam gledao ove ili prošle godine. Bilo je i za očekivati da će Star Trek doći na red, i to ovaj put njegov treći dio, koji sam dosad gledao dvaput (u kinu). Skoro sam i treći put, ali to ću ostaviti kad dođe blueray izdanje i sl.

Naravno da ne moram ništa reći o filmu, jer postoje franšize koje mogu biti i loše, ali ja ću u njima uvijek naći nešto pozitivno jer volim taj izmišljeni svijet i ne mogu biti objektivan. Zato ću ukratko predstaviti proces, koji je već postao poznat, ako pratite moje dosadašnje crteže. Olovka, lineart, osnovne boje, te sve dodatno čime dobijem konačan crtež. Ovaj put sam morao jako puno pažnje posvetiti odijelu i sitnim stvarčicama, tako da sam na kraju zapravo zbrzao kosu i još neke detalje na kojima sam još mogao raditi. Stvar je u tome što se ne mogu odlučiti kakav moj stil treba biti, pa sam ostao zaglavljen između realističnih poza, težnje za stripovskim izričajem i posezanjem za što običnijim rješenjima iz nekih crtića. Ali sve u svemu, ako ste gledali film, Jaylah vam je prepoznatljiva, a sve ostalo su osobne preference (ili nedostatak istih ako vas slični crteži nimalo ne zanimaju).

Ovaj put, eto, stvarno vrlo kratko.

Do crtanja ili nekog drugog kreativnog stvaranja,

Grdi.