Hey everyone, it's time for a new post.

Here's the latest work I've done on my current project, check it out!

I mixed the colors around the canvas a bit more, that way there wasn't such a stark difference between each different element in the scene. It can be a little jarring when you have colors that are absolutely separate from each other. That sort of thing is done in cartoons but that wasn't quite the style I was going for. I can see in my mind what I want this piece to look like, and this image isn't going to lead me to that result.

I had an opportunity to speak with an artist a while ago that works in the entertainment industry, and I realized today how important and valuable the advice he gave me was. He told me that it was imperative that you think about the character your drawing, the environment you're drawing, really every element of the work you're trying to create. Though I gave that a bit of thought in this instance, I hit a wall because I didn't consider everything enough. The way a character looks should give some kind of indication about what the character does, or who they are. Illustrations like this aren't just something pretty to look at, you're really trying to convey a story. I had no real story for this character other than "a cute, vaguely humanoid creature riding a lizard." And because of that this piece failed.

After I had this little epiphany I knew what I had to do, it was time for me to write. I crawled into the cool, dark, quiet of my bed and tucked my head under the sheets. With my phone in hand I came up with this.

"Basil is a message carrier from a small hamlet nestled in a forest. He was tasked with delivering an important document from his village to a far away kingdom. In order to reach his destination he needed to board a ship. Unfortunately, about halfway through his journey the boat he was traveling on was destroyed in a terrible storm. Basil managed to survive and ended up on a desert island. After making his way towards a small and unfamiliar town from the beach he washed up on, he tried to get help from the locals. The people he encountered were quite sympathetic to his plight, and offered to help him complete his quest. They told him he could get off the island if he could reach a port on the other side. However the next vessel heading to his destination would be leaving in two nights, and wouldn't be back for several months! They would normally have put him on a small fishing ship that could ferry him there, but all of the ships in the village had just left. His only option was to ride one of the giant lizards the villagers used to scavenge in the desert across the island to reach the next ship off the island. With a valuable token from his village given to the people that aided him, he set off into the desert on his new lizard mount to catch that boat!"

That story is just what I need get this piece back on track. I'm not going to be able to get the entirety of what I just typed above through to the viewer, I'm basically only explaining that last bit. However, it was extremely important for me to have a story so that I knew exactly what part of it I was trying to tell visually. My next task is going to be to think more about the character himself, get a solid description of him in my mind, and then draw it out. I don't want to proceed any further with this piece until I have a complete character design to share. After Basil's design is done, it'll be time for me to do the same for his lizard mount. Once that's finished I'll be doing a little research into the desert area I want to draw, and the people that might inhabit a region like it.When my research is finished I'll do a few thumbnail sketches and studies, then put the final composition together.

I have to remind myself that I know how this works, I've studied designing images and places like this long enough to understand the process. I also have to remind myself that I don't get to skip any of it. I may like to draw things that are abstract, but as of this current moment in time I can't put pencil to paper and come up with a fully realized concept like this. So that's why I can't approach this like I would an abstract drawing, it simply won't work.

I know this is probably one of the most verbose posts I've ever shared, but it was extremely important that get all of this out. If I keep telling myself that I can sail through everything on "talent" then I'll never improve. No artist worth their salt achieved something without putting in the work. I can't cut corners, and I can't make excuses. I simply have to do.

That's it for this post, though I'm sure all that was more than enough! Check back tomorrow for something new!