Expectant - NFT Showroom Collection - W.I.P.

castleberry (73)Xenomorphin Alien Art Hive • 3 years ago (edited)

~ Triage ~

I was just going to wait until i finish this artwork before publishing anything about it. However, as long-winded, as i can be at times and based on the number of images i usually share... i thought i would be doing us all a favor and splitting it up into more than one post. Everything i post here is just less i need to add in the process next time when i show you the final results.

~ Tools and Tutelage ~

_{Bob Ross The Ultimate Art Motivator!

All further images are in sequential order}

So, i start with a blank sheet of high-quality (that's debatable) 8.5 x 11 standard printer paper. I thought taking a photo of the blank paper would give a good premise for the adventure to come.

Next, i wanted to show my tools. I really kept it quite simple this time around. For anyone that knows me at all... Keeping things simple is one of my greatest weaknesses. However, in this case... i used a simple arsenal of tools thus far.

You won't see the yellow Sharpie until the very end of this W.I.P., or Work In Progress, for those that don't know the term. But the first three purple Prismacolor wax-based colored pencils are the primary tools for this art in this post.

I did round up all the colors i used so far to get to where i'm at and the one metallic-copper pencil because i know that's gonna help me where i'm going. These are the tools i'm using so far. I didn't show the black Sharpie but that's the first instrument of art you will see for the outline sketch.

_{Actually this might be ink for the rough sketch and i didn't put that pen in the mix for the photo...}

You can't see... but i am using an outline of the sketch above to draw in color on the top layer. For those of you that do digital art... this is the analog origination of that same process. If you look closely in the next image you can see the black Sharpie outline underneath the top layer that i am using as a guide to draw this art in color.

Since everyone like boobies.. i thought i would show an up close insight into how this art would start. As the image progresses you will see how this image isn't just gratuitous boobs but a beginning in an artistic journey that starts in fertility.

I tried to take as many step-by-step photos as possible... but i'm sure i fell short. I hope you enjoy my best efforts though!

I actually edited each photo in this post to accentuate the color, detail, or lighting. So as we progress... you will see a difference in some images in the color saturation or the lighting.

These aren't my best photographci captures... but the definitely document my artistic process. I have scans in high-resolution of my process but i will save them for the final post and for the purchasers of my NFT when i finish this artwork. In the meantime, i have taken some photos in macro and of differnt perspectives to capture particular details.

~ Full-Filled ~

I can't really explain my Expectant series completely... but it's an artistic theme i will be going with off and on here for a while. Nothing says love and life more than the beauty of a pregnant female... in my humble opinion. I love art and i love beuty and the Expectant series is where these two principals collide artistically.

_{Love Fulfilled}

So, here you can see that i am beginning to fill in the female on our right side. The idea was to have a mirrored image of two pregnant females overlapping.

Of course, this is a much more difficult challenge in a handmade fashion that it would be digitally... to just mirror one image or one work of art.

I took my time to show off the steps of development along the way. I am quite proud of the outcome considering i used no digital help in this artistic production.

Other than adjusting the color saturation, the clarity, and the lighting of my photos... there is absolutely no manipulation of the art in it's process. The high resolution scans in my next post will prove that out!

Step by step i tired to mirror the artistic process to get consistency in both renderings of the two purple chicks. I used a light, medium, and then a dark purple. I used the two lighter purples to blend it all out. There are far more layers to this process than it would seem upon first glance.

~ FILLER ~

Beauty is subjective... but i think this is one of my most beautiful art endeavors, contourly speaking, ever! I hope this post and art process shares the beauty as well as i would like. Please, feel free to offer any suggestions or constructive criticisms in the comments below.

_{Building Beauty}

As i got my bearings with the lady on the right... it was a challenge to match and mirror that same process with the lovely lady on the left. I tried my best but still see so many mistakes and divergences from what could have been a perfect copy. If you look closely in the next image... you can see the underlying guidelines.

I altered the light and saturation settings so the next image looks a bit lighter than the image above... but they are about the same taken at the same period of progress.

I personally like the photos of the art where you can't see the underlying guidelines. Drawing in color is a bold endeavor. Most people draw with a sketch or some kind of line design to guide them along the way. From time to time, i enjoy drawing in color. It gives a slight bit of a more realistic feel to the imagery when it's done right and proper. I will let y'all decide if this art of mine.

Filling the void in with color...

Now things are blending together...

~ Unifying Force ~

_{Happy Accidental Link}

Along the way... i have seen ways to improve and mistake made along the way that correction cannnot be implemented. I take it as 'Happy Accidents!' I have been figuring this artwork out as i go and i have no regrets.

Each next step is a precarious opportunity to mess up the whole artwork.

I boldly moved forward to achieve each advancement, however, this artwork has taken much longer that it should have because of my reticence.

You can see in these images that i was sketching in color the faces and the overlapping arms.

I shot different photographs to accentuate different aspects of what beauty there was to behold.

~ Expressions Towards the Abstract ~

_{World Building}

At this point things are coming together. I got some help from a friend or two that will remain unnamed. But that help definitly gave me some direction towards what the objective would be. The color scheme was what was in question. Now, i know where things are going.

The purple was the easy part once i committed to that direction. It was the face and the hair that then came into question. You probably forgot abou the third chick as well. I knew i didn't want her to be purple too.

Getting things to be the best they could be was actually more difficult and challenging than you realize. There were more layers and steps to blending than should actually be the case. I went over the total area of color coverage with the lightest purple but mostly the medium purple many times over.

~ A Little Help From My Friend ~

Well, all my pets are dead now so i couldn't participate in the last Pet Photography Deranged Photography Contest. I didn't think any of my shots were worthy to submit. However, if you want to join the fun... this week's theme is Monochrome if you are a photographer and are interested to join The Deranged Photography Contest.

_{I get by with a little help from my Friend}

As for me, this is the closest buddy i have at the moment to being a pet. She (now i now because she has rows of nipples) has become quite fond of me. I have peanuts i give her and she has been most curtious to recieve them.

She takes the peanut out of my hand and goes not very far away to dig in. She has put her head in my hand and used her little hand to push off my fingers when getting her peanuts. It's funny really.

Her way of saying thank you is pusing off on me in an unnecissary way after she has what she wants. I feel that something is better than nothing and i find it to be quite cute.

I could have broken this all into (at least) more than one post... but i figured this was the way to go. She didn't necissarily help me with the art but many times when i came outside to take a break she was there. So, i credit her for helping me chill out and to enjoy the process.

She and i are actually building up quite the repoir. She has almost let me pet her as i hand-feed her. But not quite yet. I am still thinking of a name for her. I know for sure she isn't my little buddy from my last post. And now, instead of looking for nuts, i think seeing the nipple rows is a much more accurate way to access if these squirrel friends of mine are male or female.

It actually makes me feel special to think i have made such close bondes with 2 or more squirrels to be able to hand feed them. My goal is to get them to hop in my lap and hang out or a nice petting. But, that might just be wishful thinking! hahaha

_{Chill Out}

~ MORE TO COME ~

So, now i have the color, form, contour, and figures mirrored as much as possible to my hand-made physical ability. This is where the nerves set in.Pretty much any move i make at this point could ruin the entire artowork.... so i proceed with caution.

At this point, i am thinking about what to do with the third female from the sketch on the top of this image. What color should HER skin be... what color hair should she have. I'm thinking what color hair should these purple chicks have?

What color eyes should they have and how can that cooridinate with their hair?!? Should the nipples be Metallic Copper or should they connect together, as the hari will, in a milkish whit expression?

Many decisions to be made creatively, and each decision could alter the entire course of the artwork. It's really interesting to consider how the smallest choices and decisions can have the greatest future impact on the outcome of things. I guess this is completely true to life as well!

Though, serious shit in life is not relegated to color choice. So, i'm fortunate (for now) that choosing colors is my most difficult decision to make at the moment. As you can see from the images above and below... the figure, contours, and forms were easy once colored purple. The next steps were to begin to flesh out the charactersitics of the face. The window of the soul is in the eyes so that's where i started. I used the metallic purple and some purple/red tones more in line with a Fuschia.

The darkest purple was used as an outline and blender as well as the mid and light-toned purple. I drew out all these colors in different layers in order to blend them all together. There are successes and failures, in my opinion, on both the chicks on the left and right. But maybe that will all be rectified by the lovely lady above!?

Stay tuned to see how this thing figures itself out! I am just a vehicle of artistic expression. I will definitely be minting this final outcome on my NFT Showroom Gallery.
I'll make is super cheap so anyone/everyone that wants to own it can. I love you guys and gals. Thanks for reading this far and taking the time to appreciate my art. I'm sure that you will be more than satisfied with the end result!

I figured the yellow lady would be a nice place-holder to pique your interest. What color hair do you thin the three ladies should have? What else do you see in this imagery that i might be able to illustrate? I would love to hear your feedback. Sorry this has been such a long post... but that just means my next one will be more on point and concise!