Admin Post: Community Check-In for April 2018

[goss]

It's the last day of April, and we'd love to have you check in and chat with us. How have things been with you this past month?

Did you sign up for or take part in any fandom activities in April, or have you been working on any personal art projects? Are you currently trying to meet a deadline? Feel free to share upcoming challenges that have got you excited, any frustrations you've been experiencing, possible goals for the next month, and so on.

Comments

[goss]

I feel like I say this every time, but I CAN'T believe we've reached the end of the month already!

Still busy with my building construction project, so I haven't been allotting much time for art these days.

Somehow though, I did end up finding the time this week to discover a new fandom: Westworld. One of my relatives begged me to get caught up on the previous season, so that we could start following this latest season together. I'm so glad I did! Once I started watching, I just couldn't stop, and ended up marathoning the entire 10 episodes this week.

I was even inspired to portray a character from the show for the Age Diversity challenge. Hoping to work on that later this week, even though the Round-Up list has already been posted.

I think this might be the first time that I haven't finish a piece in time for the Round-Up post. But one thing I like about the comm is the lack of deadline, so I can always work at my own pace comfortably. :)

[mekare]

You‘ve done a lot of work this month on Steve, so congrats. I‘m looking forward to seeing your age diversity piece.

[syntheid]

A building construction project is pretty time-intensive (and from the posts you've made it looks really nice!). Seconding mekare that I'm looking forward to what you come up with for the age diversity piece.

[mific]

Oh, I got very into Westworld at one point, but for some reason I got distracted after several eps and wandered off. I must finish season 1 at least. I even wrote meta about it! https://mific.dreamwidth.org/87950.html
And Building Steve is an excellent oroject, and well sorth spending time on. :)

[olivermoss]

I got some drawings actually done. Not great, but done. I have some more I am working on and planning, but I really need to at least sketch daily. If I don't I just start blankly at my projects like I've forgotten how to do he thing.

I also backed the Kickstarter for an upcoming Senshi Stock pack. I found out about it in it's last hours or I would have posted here.

[goss]

I also backed the Kickstarter for an upcoming Senshi Stock pack

That's great! One of the best things about the net is the ease with which artists can now access reference photography, especially if you can't afford personal models. Having realistic guides of varying body types and poses continue to be invaluable in developing my own drawing skills. Thanks for mentioning the site, I just booked it. :)

[mekare]

Sketching daily is a lofty goal I still fail at, but which would probably improve my skills immensely.... :-) Good luck!

[miss_s_b]

... it's coming up to election season in the UK and everything is mad for me so I've done hardly any art at all :(

[goss]

it's coming up to election season in the UK

Wow, UK elections have come round again already? Let's hope things turn out better for the UK than with the US. o_O

[mekare]

Oh dear. I wonder who‘s going to win and what that‘ll mean for the Brexit process.... ((hugs))

[jainas]

This month I mostly wrote fanfics in french, and did a few sketches of my cat napping...
I totally stopped working on my "Jaws of the Railsea" illustration, I'll try to pick it back when I come back from y vacations in Iceland.

I have been selected to take part in Ravage, a Dante Inferno-themed Hannibal fanbook and yesterday I started my first sketches for the 8th circle (Fraud). I'm still playing around with ideas and I can't show the small composition sketches I did, but I also did two pages of warm-up drawings, trying to get Mads Mikkelsen face right, mostly (I'm not quite there yet) :
- https://jainas.deviantart.com/art/Hannibal-the-wendigo-742853787
- https://jainas.deviantart.com/art/Hannibal-practice-742854686

Yesterday I also drew erotic nudes, from an Oscar Wilde quote that wouldn't leave me alone:
Love is a sacrament that should be taken kneeling (NSFW) : https://jainas.dreamwidth.org/204358.html

And that's all for April!

(I always forget: is it okay to post non-challenge art here?)

[goss]

I love your line art with the nudes! Very graceful. :)

is it okay to post non-challenge art here?

Yup! These monthly Check-In posts are the place to share any non-challenge artwork you're working on. :)

I'm also open to suggestions about what other formats could work for sharing non-challenge art at the community. For example, maybe we could have these Check-In posts more often, like on a weekly/biweekly basis. Or maybe once per month, interested members could do an individual post containing non-challenge art that they're working on.

[mekare]

Oh the warm-ups are cool! I really should do more of those too, for my challenges, especially incorporating colour early seems like a good idea. I‘m probably also going to do what you did for the Railway illustration, making little colour studies. It seems obvious now I‘ve seen an example but somehow I never got this idea myself ;-)

[minoanmiss]

I am in awe! French fanfic! Oscar Wilde illustrations!

[syntheid]

Mads Mikkelsen's face is hard... I attempted to draw a Hannibal thing ages ago and had a hard time with getting his likeness down too, but I quite like how yours turned out.

[amberdreams]

You have been busy! And congrats on the fanbook selection! That sounds like a really cool project to be involved with.

[mific]

Hannibal’s face is tricky. I think you came closest to it in the Wendigo piece, but I liked both pieces, very dramatic!

So many challenges this year, I am surprised at myself.

[mekare]

Okay, going back through my April posts (wow it‘s been over quick, I agree) I find:

A musing on an article on writing and two poem recs

a Due South season 3 ramble

Art

Marvel: My first Sam/Bucky piece in coloured pencils and pencil, playing around with effects of black and white vs colour.

Infinity War spoilers Communion, rating NC-17 (my first art post ever with that rating), Steve/Bucky art and rant at Marvel

Due South: Fraser practice for the ds_c6d_bigbang I signed up for. This is my longterm project until August and will eventually probably be three to five pieces.


Two challenge pieces which were due:

My art for Smallfandombang, a biggish pastel piece which was my first attempt ever at cover art.

my space_swap gift for weakinteraction, Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard, the first time in ages that I tried working with coloured pencils again. I‘m very out of practice...

In return I got a lovely (nsfw) threesome fic: Kara/Winn/Mon-El A Win-Winn Situation which was supercool because it was what I hadn‘t dared hope someone would write for me. :-))))

So all in all a lot of art, I‘m pretty happy with that.

Eta: I forgot, and I signed up for Marvelbang today. Hooray!

Re: So many challenges this year, I am surprised at myself.

[goss]

Ooooh, Marvelbang! Do you have a link? Once May is over, I might have more time on my hands for art challenges. I should go check that one out...

Re: So many challenges this year, I am surprised at myself.

[minoanmiss]

*showers you with confetti*

You also cheered me on in my ridiculous poem project, which I most appreciated!

Re: So many challenges this year, I am surprised at myself.

[jainas]

So much art! I'm very impressed. :)
And congrats on popping the NC-17 cherry! ;)

[mific]

April seems to have flashed past! I've been struggling to write my Captain America Big Bang story (more underway now at 6000 words, thank goodness) and distracting myself from that by doing art and other short fics! As well as the artworks made for Drawesome challenges, I also did a portrait of Bucky and Steve (G rated) to practice watercolour technique. Bucky came out well but I flubbed the texture of Steve's face a bit and had to fix him digitally.
Plus I did a quick (for me) John/Rodney painting (PG for cuddling boys but the fics are explicit) for Brumeier (an SGA friend)'s birthday to illustrate one of her fics. That one turned out well, probably as there was no time to overthink and overwork it, hah!
I got a postcard block book in the '642 Things To Draw' range* to practice drawing more, and am looking forward to trying it (also it'll be great for Inktober as it restricts the size I can do, so uses less time). Each postcard has a short prompt on it, like "15 hood ornaments", "5 tea cakes", "a lost map". The card probably won't be great for watercolour, but it should work for drawing, ink and gouache.
Plus it was National USA Poetry month, so I posted a couple of poems to my DW. I've taken on too many challenges, as usual, although some are art ones which will be easier than the writing deadlines.
It's autumn here, with unpredictable weather and a 24 hour power outage at one point. At least I got more sleep that night!

* No there aren't 642, just 30 in the block!

[minoanmiss]

Oh my goodness, you did National Poetry Month too? I need to find your poem posts!

[minoanmiss]

This April, I lost my job, go me did my Poetry Month Project! I didn't quite post one poem each day but I did post 30 poems (by others) each accompanied by a drawing (by me).

I also drew an NC-17 picture for Smutswap! \o/ I did a picture redraw as well. And participated in a couple of challenges here, and have quite a bit of art upcoming. I'm currently working on the illustration for my Mother's Day card -- if anyone here wants me to send one to a mother of their choosing (including the mother of their children), drop me a PM.

So, it was a very creative month for me which is good since I'm broke.

[goss]

Aw man, I'm so sorry about your job. *hugs you* But glad to know that you've gotten the chance to express your creativity and taken part in multiple challenges this month.

[syntheid]

I've been in interviews/code tests a lot this month. And I'm kind of... making movements towards maybe? trying to make some money off my art? So I'm trying to finish up some things I want to turn into prints/merch-type-stuff and tried out doing fake-currency trade commissions (because right now trying to figure out how real money income would affect my unemployment and tax status is a headache I do not want yet), but that meant I missed the age diversity challenge. I may kind of just come back to it later when I've got more things sorted out.

Anyway, the commissions I did were for Dappervolk and you can see them here in my smugmug folder.

And here are some thumbnails of red-breasted nuthaches because one of my friends said she'd buy/trade services with me for a larger print to hang and wanted a bird. Though now I'm kind of... I may do a whole bird series. If you all want, let me know which one you like most! I'll probably do the one she likes first since she's the one who definitely wants a print, but I'm curious what other people are into since I'm thinking of doing more.

[mekare]

Oh adore the bird series, they all look really good.

And the lady with the fish bowl on her head was really interesting, gorgeous colours. Is she an OC or a character from a game?

[amberdreams]

Just a drive by posting - I'm not dead, just busy getting ready for a three week convention jamboree! Tomorrow I'm off to Birmingham for Creation's first SPN convention in the UK, then home for a few hours before flying to Rome for Jus in Bello, which is now expanded into two conventions - one around a miscellany of shows and the other pure Supernatural. So that's a week away, then home for a few days before going back to Birmingham for Starfury's Crossroads con weekend.

So I won't be around much, or getting much done by way of writing or arting. But when I return I have a couple of weeks to paint a giant bee for a sculpture trail in Manchester, I'll be going to Sheffield sometime to paint a car bonnet for a charity rally to Monte Carlo (sadly I won't be doing the rally!) and trying to get my various fandom challenges done. So that will be pretty full on!

[jainas]

Well, that's seems like a very good reason for not writing/arting! :-) Have fun!