Shiny and Green: My First Bug Challenge Entry

Been watching everyone’s amazing bug drawings all week for the Lets draw a bug challenge by @artofkylin on the drawaday community, and I just couldn't resist joining in anymore. It is already Feb 7, so I’m a little late to the party, and I am honestly not sure if I can commit to drawing one every single day, but I am just glad I finally made my first try today

For this entry, I decided to draw a Salagubang, which is a very common beetle we have here in the Philippines. I wanted to capture that very typical green iridescent color they have that just shimmers when the light hits it. Usually they show up during summer and or after the rain.

The Process of making my drawing

I love seeing the drawing unfold right before my eyes as I move through the stages.

• Stage 1: At first, it was a clean and minimal line drawing. I focused on getting the chunky shape of the beetle right and making sure those little antennae looked just like the real thing.

• Stage 2: Fast forward and it now shows some more definition as I started adding the first layer of green. I used some washable markers for this because I wanted to keep that clean and flat look while still showing the texture of the shell.

• Stage 3: The finished look really brings out the shine I layered different shades of green and yellow to mimic that iridescent glow. It’s not perfect, but I'm happy with how the colors define the character of this little bug

It’s been so fun to stop and just doodle something from nature. Even if I don't make it through the whole of February, this first one was definitely helpful in making me hyped to start drawing again

I just have to ask, have you ever seen a real Salagubang before, or do you have a different favorite iridescent bug?