It had been days since he was transported to this very odd world. He had encountered all sorts of creatures - some, he'd never even imagined existed. He was awed, but more than anything, he was scared.
What other creatures were out there? Would they be as tame as those he'd found yet, or would they be dangerous?
Night had fallen, and he needed a quick respite. He had been walking for hours trying to find some semblance of comfort. Air to a pair of deflated lungs. Food. And even a shed above his head. Then a buzz. Suddenly, around him were bright, glowing fireflies that lit his surroundings. Then there were moths that glowed, too. He felt one touch him on his forearm, as if urging him to follow it, so he did.
When he walked past thick foliage, a swamp greeted him. Then, he was enchanted.
Playing in the murky water was a pink-haired woman-like entity with blue eyes he'd never before seen in anyone. Fish and splashes of water played around her, and when their eyes met, she turned her back on him, then left without a word.
It's Hive.io's first birthday, and I'm grateful to the community for a lot of reasons. The most important reason is that I got to engage in the arts again, while at the same time receive all sorts of comments, support, and tips from everyone.
I learned quite a lot, and I like to think that I improved from the first time I posted an art here last May.
Back when I joined Hive in May last year, having a "style" of my own was a difficult feat. I didn't know what style to keep, what to let go, or how to draw. I was so confused, that I ended up doing studies... that I enjoyed so much, I thought I finally found the "style" I was after.
Today, I decided to unlearn some of the things I've been doing in the last few months and draw enchanted in a way that's unusual for me.
What is unusual to me? One is using MediBang Paint's pen tool in a lot of things aside from the line art. I used it to define the highlights even more. I am the "soft paint" kind of gal, so that's a big deal to me.
Next, I've always been so obsessed with making sure I crossed all Ts and dotted all Is. I pretty much didn't care with the tiniest of the detail this time, so you'll find that most of the strokes here were random and a little messy. When I get used to this, I hope it'll come more natural to me. I'm still kind of conscious about it.
Finally, I wanted to stray a little from from realism. It's what got me obsessed with the details so much (I would take so long a time painting the skin alone) that I figured I have to unlearn it if I wanted to learn something different.
And that's it. I hope to improve in this kind of "style" - and that's my goal this year. :) It definitely won't be easy re-learning things again, so I pray for more patience and diligence on my end.
To start off this personal project, I thought it'd be nice to "record" it in a timelapse video. It's cut short halfway through because I polished stuff and adjusted colors using Photoshop.
Music is Fall Colors by Ann Annie.
Below is how the adjustment with Photoshop went.
This artwork is minted on NFT Showroom in 1 edition.
Happy first birthday to Hive! ❤️
