猴 | hóu | saru | monkey | Affe | majom

Back in the dojo, for my yearly review on life 'n art. °-°
That room really starts to need some maintenance.

2016 is the year of the zodiac monkey. In the Chinese calendar it starts today. For this year, the agility of the monkey is paired with the vigour and energy of the element of fire, promising to be a year of many changes.
I hope they'll be good ones. ^-^

I chose to draw a snub-nosed monkey, because they look fun. X3
I haven't gotten a lot of experience with drawing monkeys yet (read: none), but I think it went rather well. Gave him some bright colours to reflect his element.
References I used are here for the face and here for hands.

Coincidentally, this is also the 100th drawing I made that I upload to my gallery. *throws confetti*
But onto the review now.

Personal Life
Screw 2015.
Seriously now.
The last year didn't catch a good start and it was the first time in my life that I suffered from a continuous depressive feeling, spanning basically the entire year, beginning in spring. I won't get lost in details now, but my year had been very straining and tiresome. Feeling a bit better now, finally, and I hope this will continue.
A few silver linings were there in 2015, though:
• Early last year I found some sweet buds, , and over the course of the past months, they proved themselves time and again to be friends for life.
I'm keeping them. <.<
• Last year's Eurofurence was the first time I really had fun there. I met a lot of nice people, distributed chocolate, and played games with strangers. *-*
Looking forward to this year, going with a larger group again finally. Also going to hide under Winterbalg's desk if she's going to den, cause I remember promises given to me. Mreheheh <.<
• I finally got proper payment for my work. At least enough to survive for a year.

My plans for this year are basically the same as for the last. Finishing my doctorate, hopefully, and meeting Thorai. And Mrawl. Last year it had to be cancelled. :c
Also, as mentioned, EF, and meeting a lotta critters. °-°

State of the Art
I'm improving, people tell me.
The coloured pencils and the scanner are just a blast to work with, but sometimes it's still a little pale, I feel. Still searching for really good paper to work with. Also I want to try blending large monocoloured areas with paint thinner or something to lessen the grainy texture.
Maybe I'll also stretch my feelers out into digital art, provided I get the opportunity to achieve a tablet. For cheap. Cause I'm a poor gnu. >.>

Other than that, not a very lot happened. I have been trying to practice my drawing regularly despite feeling exhausted most of the time. I started streaming as well, mostly together with Mrawl and Valkyrian. It has been really fun and it actually helps me focusing on art and not distracting myself with internet all the time.

Last year's art goals were:
• Keeping a constant flow of art. Well, in contrast to the year before, I managed to make at least one full drawing each month. But I greatly missed the goal of making 75 drawings. I underestimated my focus on detail work, and I'm still a painfully slow drawer.
• Learn to draw feet. It goes better, especially on the paws and hooves front. I actually employed a few of the lessons that I got at the conventions I visited and it appears to improve my work. The paws I make still look a bit odd, with the feet extremely long, but I like that for some reason. Plantigrade feet also go much better than last year, though the construction process is pretty convoluted.
• Backgrounds. I'm still too lazy for a background in most cases, because I find the bodies much more interesting. But as I force myself a bit to draw something, I learn a lot and it goes much quicker actually drawing background objects. Also recurring patterns aren't much of a problem anymore. Still tiring, but less annoying than before. ^.^
• Better and more different expressions. Okay. I missed that one. I really should look at the goals I made now and then. I made a bit of different expressions, but most remain in the area of 'stoic or bored'.

My art goals for the next twelve months are:
• Better and more different expressions. I should start with that right away, cause it seems quite interesting. Plus, I owe that to past Rya. I hope I'll be in the mood to make some expression sheets.
• Learn how to use copic markers. My latest experiments with those wonderful, horrible things were... more in the 'horrible' domain. I'll have to practice a lot to get the hang on them, which seamlessly goes to my next goal:
• Do pointless practices. Well, not pointless per se, but so far most things that I do I do so with the goal of uploading and showing them around in mind. I'll have to do much more sketching, random body parts, media practices, paper testing, experimenting, etc etc. Going in full blast helps a lot with the composition, but I notice how I get lazy with details sometimes. So I should do lots of separarte detail work. And ask for feedback elsewhere than on a public art site. ^-^
(Nothing against you folks, but one-on-one feedback helps me much more.)
• More detailed background work. I think that speaks for itself. Gonna put more of my scenes into fitting backgrounds. Or maybe just make a still life or scenery drawing. We'll see.

I think that's okay like that. Four goals feels like a good number. :D
Also I'll try myself at taking commissions. I'm a bit wary about that because I don't really know how I'll handle the pressure, but, yeah, gunna try and see.

My motto for the next twelve months is "Don't let life keep you from living." There is always a way out in dark times, be it through hobbies, games, friends, professional help, or seeking salvation in your very own small world. But foremost, never be afraid to make your needs heard.

Next year is the year of the cock. On fire. Well, I'm... excited? o-O

Snake 蛇 | Horse 馬 | Sheep 羊 | Monkey 猴 | Rooster 鷄