Second Challenge - inciting an urge to cuddle

Piece for Muse #2 completed - I'M SO PLEASED WITH IT!!!!

Challenge no. 2 for my 2015 'Muse Me Challenge came from an awesome Nerdfighter, who requested a 'Cuddly Cthulhu'. I was really keen to give it a try, but was also worried I wouldn't be able to manage something that was creepy (as befits a lovecraftian character) yet also that demands snuggles. I think I managed it - woohoo!

  

For those at all interested in the process and some of the techniques I used to get to the final piece, read on!  

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I started with searching for descriptions of Chtulhu in Lovecraft's work. It has been quite some time since I've read anything by H.P. Lovecraft, so I had to refresh my memory on the particulars. Cthulhu first appears in 1928 short story "The Call of Cthulhu" and is described as

 "A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind."

Cthulhu is also described as being able to change the shape of its body at will, extending and retracting limbs and tentacles as it sees fit. This only cemented my decision that the finished piece needed to incite an urge to hug Chtulhu, while feeling a bit uncertain about why one is having such an urge. Afterall, this being is meant to have the power to make blood run up walls, too.

I then started image searching other interpretations of Chtulhu. Unsurprisingly, there are heaps of awesome works out there by fans! Talk about INTIMIDATING! Here are a few of my faves that inspired me.

 

            

The 'scary' are good and creepy - I certainly would not want to find myself hugging one of them. The cute ones are....well..cute. Very sweet and definitely 'awwea' and *squee!* inciting, but I didn't find anything that invoked both *squee!* and *wait, what? NO!*

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Initial Drawing - Pen & Ink

I went through several sketches that were less than satisfactory - Chtulhu with a kitten, Cthulhu as a pony, blah blah. I finally decided on Cthulhu as a baby. This is my copy in my sketchbook and I used my trusty Micron Pigma pens. 

  

 Here's my second sketch, which is the base of the watercolour painting that became the finished product.

The pencil lines are darker than I would have liked, but that's something I get to keep working at. I tend to have a heavier hand because I don't currently have a permanent workspace, which leads me to have to sketch wherever I can find space. I'm testing different pencil hardnesses to see if that will help with future outlines.

Most of the way through the watercolour phase.

I started with a light mustardd yellow wash on Cthulhu, then coloured over with several shades of olive greens to create the scales, skin texture, and other blemishes.

The skin wasn't coming out quite as textured as I was really wanting, so I broke out the salt and gave it a try. Presto - instant scaly skin. See if you can notice the change in the next photo.    

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Like what you see? Like the idea of free stuff AND bragging rights for inspiring the arts?

If you'd like to participate in my 2015 'Muse Me Challenge to help me fill my new sketchbook and stretch my creativity skills, you can go HERE for more info on the challenge and how to submit an inspiration. PLUS, as a thank you for being my Muse you'll get your own copy of whatever you helped inspire - FREE! Who doesn't like free stuff?!?!  My goal is one new inspiration ever two weeks, and there are still spaces left!

See you in two weeks with my next inspired piece! 

First challenge; having a focus, AND BUDGET SUPPLIES THAT DON'T SUCK!

TA DA! First piece of art done, dusted, and mailed off to the Muse who inspired me! 

Challenge no. 1 came by way of an amazing person named Sarah, who submitted the phrase "Focus is so much more important than Speed" for my 2015 'Muse Me Challenge. I'm very proud of the result of my first challenge - not only did I manage this within the two week deadline I've set for each piece, I even managed to jump out of my black and white inked comfort zone and try a new medium! Final piece is at the end of the post for those looking for a TL;DR.

For those at all interested in the process and some of the techniques I used to get to the final piece, read on!



Partially through my initial sketch piece. I got this far and decided that it was looking good, but it needed some drama. It also became pretty obvious that the holiday panto I worked on leading up to Christmas and New Year was seriously influencing my style. (We did a bellydance pantomime revision of Jack and the Beanstalk, which included sending Jackie and her pet cow to outer space. It was all very retro sci-fi inspired, and that clearly came through in my crazy alien plants, lava lamp-esque water, and asymmetrical bricks.

So I grabbed the pens again, and started shading. And...managed to get a bitten by a little zentangle bug, too.

ONce I got to this point I was quite satisfied with the drawing. It was exotic enough to satisfy my requirement of being 'out of the box' with the submitted inspiration, but still (imho) pleasing and fun to look at. Edgy, but not off the edge and falling to doom.

I couldn't rid the feeling that it really needed some bright, funky retro space inspired colours to really be worhty of my current Muse, though. So I gave in and bought a pack of (mind you extremely cheap, probably would never EVER have been suggested by a proper art teacher) watercolour pencils and an affordable brush pack (again, I'm sure any art teacher would cringe at the sight of them) and proceeded to either full on own this new piece, or royally muck it up in the process.

Luckily, I didn't fail too much.

This took several episodes of Merlin and rather a lot of encouragement from D that it was looking awesome before I decided I could put the pencils, water, and brushes away.

I got to play with watercolour pencils for the first time, which was actually a lot of fun and also a bit nerve wrecking as I was constantly worried I'd muck up the piece beyond salvage. Luckily, I didn't, and I learned that wetting the pencil tip, scribbling onto the area you want to colour, and then smoothing with a slightly damp, square ended brush makes for awesome night sky rendering! I managed to get a bit of movement and depth just with that!

And here it is, all matted, quoted, and signed just before putting it into its posting package! 

      

Like what you see? Like the idea of free stuff AND bragging rights for inspiring the arts?

If you'd like to participate in my 2015 'Muse Me Challenge to help me fill my new sketchbook and stretch my creativity skills, you can go HERE for more info on the challenge and how to submit an inspiration. PLUS, as a thank you for being my Muse you'll get your own copy of whatever you helped inspire - FREE! Who doesn't like free stuff?!?!  My goal is one new inspiration ever two weeks, and there are still spaces left!

See you in two weeks with my next inspired piece! 

'Muse me!

2014 wound up being a big and crazy year for me. In spite of all the stress, bad luck, trials, and other such 'character building' experiences, I did rediscover a joy of drawing and doodling I'd completely forgotten about. Doodling, drawing, and arting around in general really helped me keep some grounding in the crazy.

My goal for this year is to make the time to art a little every day, including creating more finished/polished pieces outside of the typical sketchbook works. More centrally, however, I want to work on my imagination and creative improvisation with my drawing.

So, I propose this challenge:

I'm asking those of you with creative thought, a penchant for patronising the arts, or who give in to the impish glee of challenging someone to push their boundaries, to send me a suggestion for a doodle. In return, I will make a doodle using your suggestion for inspiration and you will receive a copy for your own muse-ings (you see what I did there? ;) ) and bragging rights.

Suggestions can include:
- a phrase you find inspiring,
-  a collection of words (or even just one word)
- an abstract thought or idea you think might make a cool drawing,
- etc.

Warning: The point of this exercise is for me to work at thinking outside the box, so be ready for something likely unexpected!


To participate, just comment below or email me at thevbunny (at) gmail (dot) com.


A peak at last year's sketchbook:

Open Letter to Australian Baristas

To my dear Baristas Australia-wide:

**Update Jan 25 - I've swapped out the original post's clipart for my own doodles. I hope you find them entertaining, I had fun scratching them out!

I'm from Seattle, Washington, which is both very far north (only a couple hours drive south of the Canadian border) AND happens to be known for it's coffee culture (no I don't mean Starbucks).

I understand this means my blood is probably way too thick for Aussie summers. After all, Seattle might MIGHT hit over 90F (~32C) for a couple of weeks at the very end of summer, while otherwise maintaining a delightful 75F (~23C) the rest of the season. I understand that is peanuts compared to averages of 30-35C (in NSW, much hotter elsewhere) with a far weaker ozone, which makes direct sunlight feel even more intense.

I also understand, dear Aussies, that your heritage may expect you to be less particular about your coffee than your tea. But, can someone please explain to me, why asking for my coffee over ice ALWAYS gets me one of the following:


- A look of complete confusion/non-understanding...

...often coupled with the response "oh we can't do that/don't know how/have never heard of that" (even after you explain it's effectively an Australian "Iced Coffee" sans (whipped) cream, sugar syrup, and ice cream, something which is listed on the menu)...

- a look of pure discomfort at the thought of making such a thing for anyone, paying customer or not...

OR, the more recent addition to this list
- a scalding hot flat white with TWO ICE CUBES (which the barista proudly points out to me while handing over my mug using a fireman grade glove).

I've resigned myself to your special naming system for all of your "designer" espresso drinks. For instance, I now ask for a flat white when ordering a cafe au lait and a long black for an americano (espresso with water). I've even gotten over the fact that, though percolated coffee is not available from cafes and restaurants, you maintain a fervent insistence that a drink which contains milk, espresso (or perhaps espresso flavoured sugar syrup), ice cream, and whipped cream is termed an "Iced Coffee".

Can't you please me meet half way about getting a scoop of ice cubes in my mug with my chosen coffee drink for the day?

Your attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

The Viking Bunny

RANT: 's with Acronyms - YOU'RE NOT HELPING

This post was started while I was temping at a publishing company in The States in mid-2013. I was proofing a listing of company names when I came across  So-and-So's CPA's. I first thought it was an error, and promptly marked it for correction. It wasn't until I received the listing for the second time, with my dutifly marked correction blotted out with a note saying the original version was correct, did I understand what was happening to American Business English....it was caving under the daft determination of the wannabe Grammar Nazi.

RANT!

My temp job with a local publication company has enlightened me to a new shift in current American English spelling habits : the use of the 's with acronyms to indicate pluralisation. For example NGOs (non-governmental organisations) has now become NGO's, and it is acceptable to do so in various public publications! GRRRRR!

Insisting that the acronym for non-governmental organisations should be spelled NGO's, rather than the traditionally used NGOs is NOT USEFUL. In fact, it is downright confusing.

But the apostrophe is supposed to be there, right?!?

As most of us should have learned in elementary school, and likely visited for a second time in middle school, the apostrophe, when combined with the letter -s, is used to denote possession of something:

Singular	Plural
The book belongs to Jane. It is, therefore, Jane's book.	The Joneses have a new car. The Joneses' car is red.

Or, to show the omission of a letter, or combination of letters:

Example 1	Example 2
Who has remembered their permission slip? Who's remembered their permission slip?	It is a lovely evening tonight. It's a lovely evening tonight.

In rare cases, the apostrophe-s combination may be used to denote the pluralisation of lower case letters such as the phrase "Mind your p's and q's." (NOTE: an acronym is a series of capital letters which are derived from the first letter of each word in a phrase or collection of words).

Otherwise, one simply adds an -s to the end of whatever they wish to pluralise.

Example 1 - Symbols and Numbers	Example 2 - Nouns
Many &s (Many ampersands) The 1960s (The years between 1960 and 1969)	Cats and dogs Stars and moons

So no, an apostrophe does NOT belong in NGOs when trying to discuss a situation involving more than one NGO. Were I wishing to refer to a report published by an NGO - the NGO's report, then an apostrophe would be appropriate.

But we NEED the apostrophe there, it's clearer and more simple this way!

Shifts in the use and practice of linguistic facets of a language are very often reactionary. For instance, as the rejection of a complex set of usage rules in favor of a more simplified system. One example of this can be seen in the orthographic reform of the German language in 1996 (Rechtschreibreform) which introduced new, simplified spelling conventions for certain words based on their pronunciation.

That's all well and good when you have Pf- and F- spellings for the 'f' sound and -ch, -ck, -k, and -q for a 'k' sound. It's just simple economics and good manners to your speakers to decide on just one spelling convention for each sound.

In this case for English, however, the existing grammar rule for the use of the apostrophe-s combination is SIMPLE and CLEAR. Add either 's or s' to show possession or simply add -s to show the plural form. The one exception? Use 's when showing the plural of lower case letters (because in this case these lower case letters are actually acting as nouns in your sentence, rather than as a part of a word).

Honestly, of all the grammar rules to pick a bone with you'd think English speakers would have gone after the rash of silent letters (i.e. knife and night) or perhaps the whole "i before e, except after c", which almost NEVER is the case. But no, those wannabe Grammar Nazis of English have determined it is the lack of an apostrophe in NGOs which must be 'fixed'.

If using an -'s after an acronym makes it clearer to the reader the author means more than one of those acronyms, then how, prey tell, does one convey more clearly to the reader the ownership the acronym has over something? We have traditionally used the 's to accomplish this. Oops! Didn't think about that one, did you?

Don't... just don't!

Honestly, of all the grammar rules to pick a bone with you'd think English speakers would have gone after the rash of silent letters (i.e. knife and night) or perhaps the whole "i before e, except after c", which almost NEVER is the case. But no, those wannabe Grammar Nazis of English have determined it is the lack of an apostrophe in NGOs which must be 'fixed'.

I admit I can be something of a grammar & spelling snob, (that would be part of what qualifies me for my current job (UPDATE: no longer employed here)) but I can be reasonable about linguistic shifts... provided they are beneficial to a language. In this particular situation there should be no debate regarding the use of the apostrophe-s. Come on! We learned this in grade school people!

/RANT 

 

 Resources

Apostrophe, Oxford English Dictionaries
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/apostrophe

Spelling Reform in German by Chris Upward (1997)
http://www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j21/german.php

The Apostrophe at the Purdue OWL
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/

NEW BOOKS!!!! *SQUEE*

*happy excited bounces*

Dymmocks, one of the largest book retailers in Australia, was having a sale today. I managed to get away with having only purchased two books (and I will evil eye anyone who think's that isn't anything special).

You see, usually when I go book browsing I purposefully leave my wallet at home and only carry a specified amount of cash on my person, lest I purchase ALL THE THINGS!!! (To give you a better idea of my booklust I tend to either purchase, or borrow from a local library, several books per week.)  But today was one of those random incidences where I was out running errands, wallet in hand, and happened by a book sale. So, given that I managed to control myself to only purchasing two books, both of which were even already on my 'To Read' list, is something to be proud of, IMHO.

The two I purchased today are the Book Thief  and The Arab-Isreali Conflict: A Guide for the Perplexed.



The Book Thief, written by Australian author Mark Zusack, is a tale about a foster girl living just outside of Munich during WWI. Liesel, the young protagonist, cannot resist nicking books. Unable to read in the beginning of the story, she learns to read from her father and shares her stolen books with her neighbors and hidden Jews during bombing raids. As time goes on she begins to steal books from Nazi book burnings, the Mayor's wife's library, and anywhere else she comes across them.

Aside from being a complete bibliophile myself, I'm also intrigued by the author's choice of narrator for the story. You see, the story is told from the point of view of Death... :: surprising and sinister vintage radio music plays now ::




What is the Palestinian-Arab-Israeli conflict? What is the role of the USA in it? How has the media contributed to a polarization of views? What is the importance of Jerusalem? This book endeavours to answer these questions, and many others by explaining clearly, and in an engaging manner, key events and individuals surrounding this conflict.

This is my first experience with a book from Bloomsbury Publishing's 'Guides for the Perplexed' series. The introduction was quite engaging, so we'll see how I find the rest of the piece. I have friends who identify with both sides of the conflicting parties, and I hope this book will give me even more topics to discuss with them. Definitely watch this space for future tidbits about how I'm finding the book.

Ok, I've got my trusty book light (as it is now almost 10pm) and I'm ready to dive in!!! Catch ya'll on the flip side!


Yes, links to the books are attached to my Amazon Associates account. No, you are not obligated to link through. Should you like further details/copy of my disclosure, please go here.

Spain's economic crisis isn't impacting just Spaniards...

Check out this recent photo blogpost from a friend of mine who is currently living in North-East Spain documenting an encounter with abandoned felines in Vic, Catalonia.

Wordsartiste: The Crisis in Their Eyes...

Yes, the current economic situation of many countries is difficult, at best. However, I think we often forget just how granulated a poor economy can go. Household pets and forever friends are often some of the first to be let go of when financial times get tough. Don't get me wrong, if you can't feed your family fuzzy you shouldn't keep them. However, kicking the domesticated animal to the curb is abuse - would you consider leaving your toddler alone on the street to fend for itself when money got tight? No, likely you would feel the assumption that toddlers can 'figure out' how to take care of themselves is ludicrous. Expecting an animal which has never been in a situation requiring it to acquire food/shelter/etc, is essentially the same thing.

   

Luckily, most communities have animal protection agencies who WANT to take in animals when their owners have discovered they can no longer care for them, and WANT to try and find a new home for this surrendered forever friend.

My favourite local animal protection societies here in my current home of New South Wales are:

Cat Protection Society NSW    &     The Animal Welfare League

Both are predominately donation funded, though they both also have a second-hand/thrift store/op-shop associated with their organisation, the profits from which are redirected back into providing care and services for abandoned and surrendered pets. Neither practice nor endorse euthanasia, and favor education for humans on the proper care techniques for their pet.

Have a look-see on Google or your favourite search engine and share with me the local animal protection agency in your area!