Sketch portrait of Aftyn‘s Earth Spirit of the Elemental friends. Earth has a fun potted bonsai that makes her segment of the video something special.
I was feeling pretty low after the Fire and Water struggles coming into this one, and my initial sketch was straight-up shabby. I refused to let that stop me, though, and resolved to make it work. I returned to first principles: how does this line relate to that one? I pushed things around, sculpting and shaping, until it eventually came together. I now think it’s the second best of the set, after Air.
I worked out my shading a little bit better this time around. My hashing still feels pretty unsophisticated compared to the other artists I see out there, but I think this portrait marks a step forward. Eventually, I would like to be as good as Emil Ferris. It will be a long road, I am sure!
There’s something odd in how the brain processes color in this painting. Most of the skin is just plain white, but something about all the nearby greens make you read it all as a kind of minty green. I don’t understand why that is.
