Baby Dragons

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a long time.
I wasn't confident in my ability to create baby versions of all my 14 dragon species. I'd tried and failed plenty of times (mostly with Heyoa and Tyra), and the results were always disappointing.

Finally during my flight to Europe, I decided it was time. So I sketched out all 14 babies.
And then at my cousin's house in Italy I inked the lines. My cousins loved this, and both of them drew a ton of their own dragons during my stay.
Back at home I colored them in marker (Probably not the wisest choice, since I usually find some way to mess up marker).

baby dragons

So let me introduce them in order:
Heyoa (sun), Shalia (moon), Nam (dawn)
Nase (frilled), Tania (titan), Koba (lash)
Zane (phoenix), Samara (loong), Tyra (storm)
Menth (earth), Tivoli (wood), Arthem (frost
Mekki (lion), Selven (serpent)

Most of them are from Katani's story.
Heyoa is my dragon.
Shalia is Arith's dragon (Arith's story is getting a re-working)
Tania and Koba were originally in Arith's story. They may still live in that story. I'll see how it goes.

In Katani's story:
Nam - Dominic
Nase - Garrett
Zane - Youka (her main partner is a Sun dragon named Lilio. Zane is another dragon pal of Youka's. Since I drew Heyoa as the example of a baby sun dragon, I didn't draw Lilio here. Sorry Lilio! Maybe I'll draw baby Lilio anyway, so there's the full set. ).
Samara - Saris
Tyra - Katani
Menth - Rishi
Tivoli - Tuan
Arthem - Pavani
Mekki - Melly
Selven - Tri

Actually, for the baby storm dragons, their feather manes should be frizzier and more downy.

Art Don'ts

I love to commission art of my characters.
But while I have received some fantastic art, I've noticed some things pop up that I would rather not have.
So I thought I'd make up a list for reference.

No shipping, please. I know people love to do it, but it makes me rather uncomfortable. For myself, and for my characters. That being said, don't harass anyone that chooses to do so.
Please don't give the ladies overly big or obvious boobs. It just makes them seem objectified.
Nothing inappropriate, please. Nothing rude or suggestive, ex. 

No AI. It's not art, and it steals other peoples are without permission.

And for dragons, some artist include strange webbed gums in their mouths. These just weird me out.
None of this (even though the rest of the art is fantastic).



Think of my dragons having more dog-like mouths. Lips, teeth, tongue, ex.

#1

I've noticed a common theme in anime.
The characters always want to be #1.
I'll use Bakuman right now, since that's what I'm in the middle of reading.
Mashiro and Takagi want to get the top rating in Jump. That is their ultimate goal. To become #1 and get an anime.

Except they're so set on being #1 that they aren't at all satisfied when they do a fantastic job that's right near the top.
Even when they get 3rd place, they're not excited.

I can understand them wanting to improve, and to get known.
Pretty much everyone wants to get 1st place.
But they don't seem to understand that they can be happy even if they don't get 1st place.
This kind of thinking puts huge limits on happiness. It's like they're saying that they can never be happy unless they're #1. And being #1 happens very rarely for most people, and never for some people.
It's important to know how to be happy even if you're not #1. Because being 2nd place, or 5th place, can also be a fantastic thing.

I think it's pretty common though, for people to have trouble finding happiness among the ordinary.
Being #the best would be so exciting. But below that can be great too, as long as you learn and have a good time.

Do your best. Always strive to improve. But don't let that limit your happiness, and satisfaction at a job well done.

X-Men Apocalypse

I usually talk about the new X-Men movies. So while it's late, I'll talk about X-Men Apocalypse.
They've done this in other movies, but there were so many characters in the movie that we didn't get to really know any of them. I wish they'd focus on fewer characters.
Plot wise was average.

Heheh. I love that Wolverine is in every movie. Although the cameo in X-Men First Class was classic.
But oh my god. What did they do to him? TT^TT

I was disappointed in Storm. She really didn't do anything. Not until the very very end.

I loved little Nightcrawler. His design was great. I wish he was in more movies.

But the makeup for Beast and Mystique just seemed sloppy. And usually I love Mystique's makeup.
Somehow the blue didn't fit into their faces somehow? I'm not really sure. But it felt off to me.

The slow-mo scene in Days of Future Past was absolutely fantastic. But I think this one was even better. Oh man, I freaking love the slow-mop scenes.
Here is the scene~

Fern's Symbol

Realized a flaw in my post about mage symbols.
Fern never went to the mage temple to train, so she wouldn't have her own official mage medallion!
Hmm. Maybe she just liked the idea of the symbols and made up her own design (with help from her friends) to have stamped in her brooch. It wouldn't be a medallion, but it could still function as her own magical symbol.

Maybe other mages would do that, even if they're not certified master mages.

Passed

I passed my graduate exams.

Now I just need to get my project accepted.
And do my thesis defense.

Mage Symbols

I brought a little sketchbook with me to Europe. Most of it relates to stories, so I'll be sharing them in later posts.
Some of the drawings are a project that I have been wanting to do for a cery long time. But I haven't known how.
The trip gave me the inspiration I needed. Literally.

On Magic-Earth, I have spent a long time thinking about identification for mages.
Master mages wear a hooded cloak. Apprentice mages wear a half-cloak.
But other people would wear cloaks too. Mages needed something to prove that they are official mages. Like a police badge.

For a while I toyed with a medallion, with a gem pendant hanging from it.
The medallion would be stamped with the symbol of the temple the mage belongs to. The pendant would be a stone. The type of the stone would represent the base of their magic, and it would be carved with another symbol.
But that was too awkward. Plus no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't think of unique and simple symbols to represent elements (like the symbols for the nations in Avatar: Last Airbender), or types of magic.

In Salamanca, at the university gift shop, I saw something that gave me the idea I needed to finally start creating the mage symbols.


They're symbols for the different fields of study at the university.
When I saw them, I dropped the idea of simple symbols for fields of magic. Instead I decided to go with more complex designs, relating only to the individual.
The design would be stamped or carved into a medallion. Color is important to the symbol too. I'm not sure how to incorporate that yet. I don't think the medallion would be painted. Enamel would probably be too fragile. Maybe they have some way to magically dye metal. Or more likely the medallion is made out of some other material. Possibly some sort of material that acts like a mixture of plastic, ceramic, or glass.
All valid questions I must think on.

I made the symbol for Evva, though I may tweak that. I'm plased with the symbol for her master though.
I made Fern's design too! I like how it turned out.
And there's one extra. I'm not sure who would have it. I just had an idea for a design. Heheh. Maybe some day I'll have a mage who will get that symbol. Or it might float free forever.

Trip photos

I went back and put up a bunch of photos from my trip.
If you'd like, you can go back to the posts I made during my trip, to check them out.

Artist Date

Here's another topic from the book The Artist's Way. It's called the Artist Date.

For the artist date, set aside a couple hours a week. This is for you alone. Don't let anyone tag along, like family/friends. The date is for you and your inner artist only.
This time isn't for doing art. Instead it's about going out and experience things, or gathering stuff/ideas for your creative side.
Go for a hike in the woods or on the beach, visit an aquarium or thrift shop, ex.


In addition to the Artist Date, make sure to reserve some time to work on creative projects.
It's always so sad to see people completely abandon art or music. So many people stop playing music once they're not enrolled in school bands anymore. Or when they start a family, they give up some of their hobbies.
Don't forget, being creative is good for the soul! Don't let anyone keep you from it, even if you can only do a bit at a time.

Morning Pages

I've been lucky to have avoided artist block.
It partly has to do with me having so many hobbies that I can switch from one to another, if I get tired of one.
Plus when school and other stuff has kept me away from creative work, I'm desperate to get back to it.

But when someone gave me a box of books they were getting rid of, I found one about curing artist block.
I thought it would be good to read, so I can help people.

The book is called The Artist's Way, by Cameron. They have a lot of interesting topics, and exercises. So I'll post about some of them in the following weeks.

The first exercise is all about getting creative juices flowing. And it's especially about ignoring your inner critic. It's good to critique yourself, but when that critic gets too strong, it criticizes everything you do to the point where you're afraid to create anything.

The exercise is called Morning Pages.

Every morning when you get up, spend three pages writing.
Just write whatever comes into your head, and keep going. It's stream of consciousness.
If you start thinking it's stupid, ignore it. Your inner critic has no place here. Just keep swimming. It gets your juices flowing, and gets you thinking creatively.
The pages let you get stuff out of your system.
They let you get down to your core.

If you're blocked, write your morning pages every morning. Don't let excuses get to you. Wake up earlier, if that's what it takes to get them done. They're one of the central parts of recovering creativity. The book uses the word "nonnegotiable."
Some people do their pages every single morning, even if they're not blocked. They find them that helpful.
Even the most reluctant of morning-pagers will benefit from them.

Let your pages sit for a good long while before you come back and read them again. You don't need to let anyone else see them.
I did morning pages for a few days in Spain. I wanted to see what they were like. Unsurprisingly, I mostly ended up writing about my trip. I should go back and read them. I've forgotten a lot of what I wrote.