Here is an idea i came up with a while ago. It took a while to get the idea refined enough to put to paper what i had truly conceived. So, after a few attempts, i present to you the beginnings of The Flying Squirrel. I said kind of because he isn't truly a flying squirrel but rather flying on the back of a giant butterfly.
I started with a real light quick pencil sketch and then inked that with some Prismacolor micron pigment ink pens. After inking i erased the pencil and scanned the image you see above.
I used minimal ink as you can see and went straight for the color. I used Prismacolor pencils of many shades of brown, tan, yellow, reds, and other assorted mixtures and tones.
Each layer is subtly different. I took scans progressively as i worked through this one so i could share the process. Ultimately, the concept was to have a squirrel riding a giant butterfly using it's antenna as a type or reigns or steering mechanism.
I tried to go outside of my comfort zone and do a bit more of a realistic rendition of the squirrel. In some of my previous posts i shared a budding relationship i have with one (or two) back home in the States. So, i wanted to do my little buddies some justice.
I guess it's the butterfly big enough to cart around a squirrel that breaks the bounds of a normal reality (as of yet). I am looking forward to finishing this artwork by detailing that butterfly.
For now there is still a long way to go. By this point i had found the limitations of how many layers of the wax-based colored pencil could build and blend on such paper as i was using. Here is the last scan i took and where i will leave off for now. This is the point at which i began to feel some momentum and excitement towards the final outcome. I'm looking forward to finishing this one and sharing it.
Here is a gif of my scans in a lower res so it would be sharable here. I hope you enjoyed exploring this artwork and concept with me.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to check out the art and read my post. I wish you all the best... until next time.
