My Sonicsona

Little by little I'm filling my portfolio with drawings of my personas inspired by various franchises. I didn't really plan it, but somehow it became kind of my thing, so I decided to go with it.

This time it's Sonic the Hedgehog, or let's call it my "Sonicsona". I never played any version of the video game so it was this year's movie adaptation that gave me this idea. I used more modern references for the base of my character and added some elements that I believe are typical for me. It's mostly the colour palette - I like orange, grey and some earthy tones. That's why my Sonic has clothes and a bag - I wanted to use as many of these colours as possible. I also drew a digital stylus, to emphasize my interest in digital art, as well as my all-time favourite shoes and my logo on the T-shirt, but I didn't want to add too many details and other items like with my Spidersona last year, because I didn't want to repeat myself and "clutter" the drawing.

I have many more similar ideas, such as Attack On Titan... sona? I don't know what I'll call it, but as I said, expect more drawings like this. 😉👍

Johnny, Grace and the Giraffe

Here's my interpretation of Johnny Hotbody and his archnemesis, the falcon (Rise Of Ages), Grace or, more precisely, one of her versions (Foundation) and the legendary giraffe (Planet Zoo) - some of the most recognizable video game characters in 2019, played (and often tortured!) by Josh from the YouTube channel Let's Game It Out.

It's the only gaming channel I watch. I discovered it only a few months ago, but I think I managed to binge watch all his videos. Josh is an incredibly funny guy who plays mostly simulator games as incorrectly as possible and often breaks them. Some of the most popular are already mentioned Rise Of Ages and Planet Zoo, but also Satisfactory, The Sims and many more. In the beginning he had a co-host, Anthony, and the funniest games they played together were horror games.

While playing some of the games, he created a few memorable characters, gave them names and even personalities. Johnny Hotbody from Rise Of Ages is an attractive prehistoric buff guy in skimpy outfits, who hides his face behind a simple wooden mask, eats apples to replenish his strength and fights vicious falcons.

As for Grace, there are several versions, but I went with the last one from 2019, a villager from Foundation. The thing is that it's one of the most common names you can find in game algorithms, so whenever Josh comes across a Grace in any games, she gets a special treatment. In later videos, if there's no Grace, he gives one of them that name. In this version she didn't gather berries, but I drew her holding a basket anyway, because it was the only food her co-villagers ate in Foundation. I'll definitely come back to her and draw some other popular versions.

And giraffes are the first and most famous occupants of Josh's Planet Zoo. Almost every episode begins with them and they also get the "Grace treatment". There's also the infamous Giraffe Hydra, but I think I'll leave it for some other drawing.

If you're looking for hours of fun and laughter, I recommend this channel! 👍

The Pattman

After the first Batman 2021 teaser, where they showed just a part of his new cowl, artists started flooding the Internet with their guess what The Pattman's ears will look like, so here's my mock-up version. 😂

The Card

Here I go again with another "lazy" drawing. I drew Joker's iconic gloved hand from a reference (Joker's Calling Card statue by Cryptozoic, 2017) and also used my own old illustration for the card (Harley Quinn, 2016). And since my followers never engage me in a discussion about my views - now that Birds Of Prey hit the cinemas and the Oscar night is behind us - I'll allow myself to write freely about my issues with both Joker and BOP.

"Joker" is an amazing movie and I'm glad Phoenix got the Oscar for his performance, but my main issue with it is that it was presented as a superhero (or in this case supervillain) movie. I mean, I've seen a few similar movies so far and it doesn't really bring anything we haven't seen before. Its title or the main protagonist could've been any other than "Joker" and that's basically it. Everything about this film led to chasing and getting the Oscars, they just wrapped the main idea in this "Joker" package to increase its importance and impact. I watch a lot of movies, but there are some I skip or leave them for some other time in my life. That would have been the thing with "Joker", too, if it hadn't been for the title. I repeat, I liked the movie, it's just all this "superhero" hype about it that bothers me.

"Birds Of Prey" were a bit of a letdown, especially in the first part. I couldn't relax and enjoy performances at first, especially by Robbie and McGregor - they seemed very unnatural, like they desperately overacted. But when I realized it was supposed to be totally silly and similar to Deadpool, I started to enjoy the second part of the movie. The other thing was all this Birds Of Prey stuff. Let's be honest, the whole movie was really about Harley. At times it looked like there were two films in one - the biggest part about Harley, and a little bit about the titular BOP and other characters.

So, what do you think?

International Pizza Day

Happy International pizza day! To be honest, I can barely find time for new drawings and this one is actually one of my last year's drawing challenges ("Monstrous Pizza"). I just rearranged it a little bit and added a few details. Once again, sorry it's just a filler this time.

Toon Me & Dolly Parton Challenge

Hopping on that #toonme bandwagon! The purpose of this challenge is to choose your selfie and draw half of your face in your style (you can also add a white line between the photo and the drawing or use any other effect). I'm not sure who the author is, it was suddenly all over my news feed.

I'm not comfortable with revealing my face on any social media, so this was an interesting way to cheat on that "rule". In fact, by doing this and seeing some other examples, I concluded I look similar to any other plus size hobbyist/artist with beard and glasses. Apparently, there's quite a number of us here. 😁

These days there's another meme or challenge on social media, so-called #dollypartonchallenge, so I used some of my avatars to create my own meme.

Reylo

Here's my latest Star Wars fan art! I found some interesting pose references on Figurosity.com and challenged myself to combine them into the pose you see, but I'm especially proud of the idea of drawing Kylo's and Rey's lightsabers as one single imaginary line (can you see it?). I'm not completely satisfied with my colouring and shading techniques in this one, but I believe it turned out pretty well.

 As for the so-called Skywalker saga - no spoilers! - I'm not sure what to think after all. I've been a Star Wars fan for several decades, but this last trilogy does seem like a mess. I think it started pretty well with The Force Awakens, but I'm very, very sorry to admit that The Last Jedi came as a bit of a shock and a letdown. I mean, I've watched it several times so far and I'll watch it again, but I still can't get rid of that "Why?!" feeling. I enjoyed The Rise Of Skywalker, but it was confusing to some extent, although I guess I should've expected it, because it had to tie the whole story together and finish it somehow.

The main problem is that this "trilogy" doesn't seem like a trilogy at all! It looks like they didn't start with a clear idea about what kid of story they wanted to tell, so they just let each director decide what to do with the events from the previous movie, even if it meant messing it up. However, I also must add that I'll watch all three movies as many times as I get the chance, like I do with every Star Wars movie. There are many issues with the story, a couple of unnecessary characters and questionable decisions - but it's Star Wars, I'll always support it and it will always remain inspiration to me.

After The Holidays

During holidays it's hard to stick to your usual diet plan, so have you started this year with a couple of pounds more? What's your plan now?

Of course, it's not a problem for Captain Marvel's "cat" Goose, a member of the Flerken race who can store any kind or amount of objects in pocket dimensions inside their bodies and still look fit, but we don't have that kind of choice. 

This idea for an illustration of Goose overeating during the holidays has been on my mind for a couple of weeks and I'm happy I finished it on exactly this day! January 6 in my country marks the official end of Christmas holidays, when most families take their Christmas tree down and put all the decorations away, so, starting tomorrow, life basically goes back to its usual pace.

I hope you had great holidays! And good luck with getting back to your old habits and maybe some new goals! 😉

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! 😊

Yoda Ears

If you follow me long enough, then you already know that I usually make some kind of DIY projects (pins, keychains, hats etc.) for movie premieres that are important to me. This time, for The Rise of Skywalker, I made a headband with Yoda ears! It's actually inspired by Baby Yoda or The Child from The Mandalorian, and although it doesn't have anything to do with TROS, it's all about Star Wars after all.

I didn't have much time, but all I really needed was some green fabric and a headband, both of which I bought in a dollar store (I already had everything else that I needed i.e. green thread, sewing needles and glue). I was looking for any kind of green fabric, but was lucky to come across a green polyester pillowcase and all I had to do was cut one of its corners and then cut that piece into two identical parts. The fabric was so rough that it was enough to sew it to look like ears and glue it to the headband. I was actually surprised how easy it was to form it in a shape of ears without any stuffing or wires.

In the end I didn't wear it to the premiere, but let's just say that there was a photoshoot recreating the Baby Yoda sipping soup meme. Of course, I don't intend to post it, so I drew a little illustration instead. I tried to recreate Baby Yoda's cuteness by drawing myself as some kind of a Chibi character with big eyes, so the only question remains: who did it better? Baby Yoda or me? 😊

After The Horror

Finally, the time has come to post this drawing I made about a month ago. It was my entry for this year's (late) Halloween competition held by Josiah "Jazza" Brooks, but I didn't want to post it before he made his final video and announced the winners.

The title of the competition was "After The Horror" and the challenge was to draw what happens to monsters and villains after the cameras are turned off. For this scene I chose Freddy, Michael and Jason waiting by a phone, expecting their producers to call them and inform them about their next role in some new sequels of their horror franchises. 

I didn't really expect to win anything, especially If you know I've been feeling kind of stuck with my "art" lately. It would've been nice to get just a shout-out, but there were so many entries and I guess the choice had to be made.

As usual, I won't let this discourage me, and when I get this kind of silly inspiration, I'll just go with it, because above all it was very fun trying to figure out how to bring my idea to life, as well as getting through the whole creative process. 🎨

And not to forget, congratulations to the winners! 👍 You can check the video on Jazza's YouTube channel:

The Mandalorian Babysitter

Here's my version of the famous Mandalorian babysitter! I guess it would've been easier to recreate an exact scene from the show, but I wanted to do something different, which eventually turned out to be unexpectedly time-consuming. 🙄

OK, baby Yoda's flying crib is way more convenient as a means of transportation, but in my try to make it different, interesting and funny - and to include some of the iconic features of Star Wars - I created a baby stroller that looks like the Millennium Falcon with something like AT-AT "legs". The first obstacle was the design, because I've never drawn anything mechanical and to be honest this "vehicle" doesn't look very functional. I also added toys such as a C-3PO plushie and a R2-D2 baby rattle (there were also other similar toys, but I decided to delete them because the drawing was too crowded).

Although I was excited about the idea, I must admit it was a bit of a drag finishing this drawing. I kept changing and redrawing it and it took me much more time and research than usual (you can see how rough and vague my initial sketch was in comparison to the final drawing). But, finally, here we are and I hope it was worth it. 😉

My SkeksisSona

On my continuing mission to create different personas from geeky pop culture, the time has come for my - Skeksissona! I hope you've seen the 1982 movie and/or this year's Netflix adaptation of The Dark Crystal. If you have, then you surely know who the Skeksis are (and if you're an '80s kid, you may still have the nightmares because of them!).

There are so many amazing details, characters and puppets in Jim Henson's Dark Crystal world, but this time I chose the big baddies. I tried to combine as many elements in my creation as possible, from my occupation as a teacher to my favourite colours (and also my Doctor Who scarf). I call him "skekSchol the Teacher" and although this job is more suitable for the Mystics, I wanted to explore this idea.

The Skeksis are evil bird-like reptiles and their skin is usually in grey or green tones, but for my persona I used a more human colour palette. I also gave him hair and a beard to look more like me, as well as glasses with thick black frames like mine (the idea for multiple glasses comes from another character, skekOk the Scroll-Keeper). As for some teacher elements, I drew his hat, a book and an apple. I used some of my favourite colours (earth tones, red, green and orange) and added some spikes or horns on his back to make him look more frightening (also, I find them pretty cool and you can find them in a lot of my monster drawings).

Anyway, if you haven't seen The Dark Crystal and you like fantasy and amazing puppetry by Jim Henson's company, you can find both the original film and the new series (Age of Resistance) on Netflix, as well as documentaries about making the show. 👍

Joker (Mirror)

Just a quick illustration inspired by Joker...

Arsus (SeptemBear Challenge)

The SeptemBear challenge is behind us, but as usual, it won't stop me from participating with - again, as usual - only one illustration! I mean, one mermaid for MerMay, one dragon for Smaugust and now SeptemBear - see the pattern here? Anyway, until drawing becomes my only full-time job (yeah, right 🙄), you'll have to settle for rare posts and partial art challenges, sorry.

Since I already drew my favourite bear last year - that mutant zombie bear from the movie Annihilation - for this year I chose Arsus, a Hulk-like character, from the Russian movie Guardians (Защитники). It was the Russian answer to Avengers and other similar team-up superhero movies, and although it was a box office bomb with "a derivative plot, bad acting and direction, cheap CGI, plot holes and overall low quality", I thought it was entertaining enough.

Gravity Fish (Angry Birds Space)

Let's be honest, I've got some weird hobbies and interests for my age. So one of my many guilty pleasures has always been everything related to - Angry Birds! I think I played all their games, depending on how much space I had on my phone. And they were usually the last to go when I needed more storage space (which happens unusually often 🤔). Just last week I was... well, forced... to delete Angry Birds 2 from my current phone. RIP. 😢

One of the most memorable characters from Angry Birds Space that I really adored were some kind of fish-like planet cores in aquatic levels that I named - Gravity Fish! I said "characters", because they were alive, but they didn't really have any role in the gameplay. They would sleep and then open their eyes if Angry Birds hit them and that was basically all. They were just like little living aquatic planets with their own gravity. In my opinion, they don't get the fame and glory they deserve, but I guess that's just me, I often love such weird stuff that other people rarely notice.

Anyway, I fell in love with their design and it's been my plan to draw them for years. I'm actually glad I waited so long, because I'm very satisfied with this new style I've been trying out and the time has finally come to add them to my gallery. So... does anyone know what I'm talking about at all? Are there any other Angry Birds enthusiasts here?

Sad Pennywise

Don't be sad, Pennywise, you'll get a new balloon... 🎈

Ughhh, because of some unexpected problems at my workplace, I won't be able to finish some of my scheduled drawings. 😡 I'm not sure if IT Chapter 2 is still in cinemas, but I'm obviously late with this illustration, it should have been posted about two weeks ago. I agree, it's not unusual for me to be late, but I had a plan that also included another drawing for that Area 51 raid thing, which was - yesterday! - and I haven't even started my drawing (I guess now I won't have time to draw it at all)!

I try to plan ahead, but you know, life happens. 😔

Zlotvornjaci

Upoznali ste već dvije generacije Zdravoljubaca, plišane igračke inspirirane voćem i povrćem, koje bi vas trebale podučiti zdravoj prehrani. Ja vam predstavljam opasne i otrovne biljke s naših prostora, koje biste pod svaku cijenu trebali izbjegavati, kao što su mrazovac, otrovni bršljan, kužnjak, velebilje, zelena pupovka, muhara i ludara! Pripremite se, jer dolaze ZLOTVORNJACI!

Zlotvornjaci is my parody of Zdravoljupci, a campaign to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables. In my version there are some dangerous plants that should be avoided, from poison ivy to poisonous mushrooms. In the original, every fruit and vegetable has a cute name and a song, so I also tried to think of interesting names and write a few verses (in Croatian only, because a lot gets lost in translation). The most important part of the original campaign are plush dolls you can buy if you collect enough stickers. Of course, kids are crazy about them and make their parents spend more money, which is - truth be told - the real aim of their campaign. And no, I don't have plushies of my poisonous plants, this is just for fun. 😜

Summer Aftermath

Another summer is almost over, so let's see it off with one more illustration.

Yep, this happens when you decide to take a careless short stroll around a lake in the burning summer sun, wearing a T-shirt, some cargo shorts and sneakers. Obviously, I didn't use any sunscreen or even better sunblock and the (un)expected result was this sunburn (or farmer's or redneck suntan) that marked me for the rest of the summer (and no, I don't usually go sunbathing or swimming, so it'll probably stay like this for some time after the summer is gone).

As for the drawing, I'm pretty satisfied with this style. I'm using some ideas and advice from other artists I'm following and watching on YouTube and just combining and experimenting a little bit. I hope you like these small changes (black and white outline, rim light and simple background).

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: