Shapeshifter

Finished for the AIB Jumble. As I said before it was inspired by Gil Elvgren's work. Just brought a book of his and been admiring his work. I really like how his form pops! I tried to apply that in this piece, I think its been a bit successful around her arm (the one thats held up). Its because I zoomed in on that and painted in a lot of hard dark edges to it and tried to fade it off into the form so that it doesnt look too abrupt. The lasso tool is a good friend that I should spend more time with. It was very helpful in painting the straights on the broom stick and made the process easy.
As always Ive been listening to some Chiustream :P It was nice to listen to some encouraging words every now and then. Even though I am now working as a professional concept artist I dont feel much different from when I was in university as a student. I am still trying to improve and do my studies. I still feel the frustrations and doubts I did as an aspiring artist. But doubt is a good thing. It means you are not content and wanting to improve. I think it was Leonardo Da Vinci who said something along the lines of: "That painter who has no doubts will achieve little."
Its a quote I liked and found reassuring. I remember in my second year of university 2 years ago I had a phase of doubting myself and it kept me up at night sometimes :P So during the next day when I am walking to class I would try think of solutions to how I could improve my work and then after class I would try it out... maybe I will fail again and the cycle continued but I didnt get too down about it, in a strange way I relished it because I knew it meant I was on the right tracks and that eventually I would get better. I didnt ever think I would not make art my profession really. I was confident that I would always keep drawing and painting and as long as I kept doing that I will make it in the end. I have seen many examples of beginners growing to great standards and mature beginners doing the same proving that it is never too late to get into it. Art is not like physical sports where you have an age where you peak and then dip from there on. You can start at any time and the whole journey to improve and hone in your skills never end as long as you dont stop. That is why I think you see teenagers painting to the quality of some professionals and its the beauty of it all! There is no differentiating us all, we all have the potential to do it XD
Lets share some inspirations... Im going to link some of the folks I draw with on ConceptArt.Org. I have spoken to lots of aspiring artists before and I am always more impressed and fond of those who do their talking by action. Whenever I see someone working hard and with much dedication I feel these people are the people I like to work with. When I was unemployed I updated my sketchbook every day or two and kept this up for a few months. It attracted the attention of other young and dedicated artists and because of our like minds we formed a group where we encouraged each other and pushed each other on. Check out their work: Krato, Jatherip, Dylanea Go see the last pages to see how theyve progressed!