RatCreature's Journal

The yuletart artwork I made for tielan has just been posted to the comm here, and since the exchange is non-anon, I can link right away. So take a look. (It's Maria Hill/Steve Rogers in a Steampunk AU, SFW.)

So, I finished the pencils for my yuletart gift, so that is something, though I had to scrap the more ambitious idea of doing a background and just drew the characters in the end. But it is due tomorrow, and there is no way for me to ink and color it (I'm so very slooow). But just inking it is still doable in time (I hope), so I guess I will submit b/w art.

Incidentally when I checked the post with the prompts left over for stocking stuffers, obviously not to fill anything extra, but to see which one of my prompts had been picked (okay, so I was never the kind of person not to curiously search closets and shake packages in advance when given opportunities to do so), it turns out all of my prompts were still there, when the other numbered sets had some missing, so I guess whoever was matched to me dropped out. Thus my curiosity was foiled, and I won't get any hints as to my gift in advance as it will have to be filled by a pinch hitter.

And now on to inking my pencils, so hopefully the poor mods at least won't have to scramble to find a pinch hitter for my recipient.

I waffled a bit over whether to sign up, because I haven't done any art for a while, but in the past with yuletart the exchange deadline pressure always worked as sufficient motivation for me not to default and draw decent things. So I decided to sign up and hope it'll work out that way again.

BTW, you can still sign up until the 28th October, if you'd like to participate in a multi-fandom fanart exchange. I've done so several times now, and it's always been a pleasant and well-run exchange.

Though you should take a look too at the great XMFC art roga drew for me for yuletart. It's for my XMFC prompt to show Erik using his powers to build something.

With a little time to spare even. Now I'll just have to try digitally fiddling with the colors that the scanner half-ruined (as usual), and maybe see whether I can do something about the artifacts from my paper having warped. But I have a finished, scanned picture, that I'll be able to submit before the deadline.

First I'm going to make myself some dinner though.

ETA: Submitted, finally. And it it only took until just after 2 a.m. First my scanner decided to descend into capricious divadom (the scan I thought was okay at first glance had a vertical stripe artifact), which took a while to sort out (first I tried getting another scanner to work, then another scanning program), then I fiddled with the finally stripe free picture, and then I had to come up with a title and a summary and all that, when normally I don't do titles for my art. All of which somehow always takes much longer than you think. But now it's done.

I made the last minute decision to sign up for secret_mutant after all. So now I'm committed to two exchanges. *gulp*

But I got my assignment for yuletart where you could pick prompts, and while I didn't get my favorite for a match, I think it is very doable and I have an idea how draw the prompt (my first two preferences weren't the first preferences the recipients wanted to get, whereas the one I got assigned was the first the recipient wanted, so I get why I was matched there).

And if I successfully manage to make these two pieces, my art output this year won't be quite so abysmal.

I am a bit worried about secret_mutant because it is a mixed exchange, and in these the problem is always that many just don't think about art when prompting or giving extra info in exchange letters. I mean, I browsed the couple of letters people have already posted (I still need to post mine, I only just signed up), and three of the four only have sentences how they look forward to what people *write* or start with thanks for *writing* something, so if I got matched to someone like that, it would make me feel somewhat neurotic, that they'll just resent that they got matched with someone for art rather than getting a story and will not be happy with my gift no matter what.

yuletart sign-ups are open!

The rules changed a bit with leaving prompts, and I have to say that I find it a bit tricky to think of prompts. Whenever I manage to come up with something, I keep thinking that this would be a nice fanart idea to do myself and I start thinking I could just keep the idea. Of course I never realize even a tiny fraction of the ideas in my fanart idea list, so it's a bit ridiculous to feel "possessive" like this. I find it hard to think of art ideas I want someone else to do, even if I try to remain more general. I find that easier in mixed exchanges, where I usually prompt with fic in mind.

Considering the many, many hours my recently revealed yuletart picture took, I thought I ought to get more than one post out of it... ;)

( picture heavy art process post )

Well, you can take a look too, I guess. :D

And you should, because I got very cool, gen Merlin art, that suggest a story of magical fighting in the future.

I have the preliminary pencils for my Yuletart piece. I need an artbeta to take a look at it before I transfer it to the expensive paper. After drawing and redrawing so many things, I probably wouldn't notice right now if I had drawn someone with a third arm.

Aside from more general comments (e.g. does it work to connect and tell a story), does the composition need tweaking, and such, I'd like the beta to check for perspective, anatomy, proportions, and other technical things. If you offer to beta, please also tell me which size you want to work on, i.e. whether you prefer the high resolution scan (rather largish at something like 3800x3400 px) or something smaller, and where to send the file.

Oh, and in case it makes a difference, the art is harmless and worksafe.