Sambodia DTIYS
On Cara, I have been seeing people participate in events they call #DTIYS, or “Draw this in your style”. Someone will post a picture of some original subject and then invite the community to do their takes on it. Folks will share and comment on the pieces, sometimes there’s a contest aspect to it, and everyone has a great time. I’ve been too intimidated to participate in most of them, but there was something about @Sambodia’s fembot piece that spoke to me. “This one will be easy!” it promised.
I set out making a painted copy like I would any other reference. “Use chunky brushes. Eyeball the colors. It will come out in your style, and you’ll learn technique while doing it,” my intuition said. Only it didn’t. It was disappointing. Boring.
I studied the reference painting some more. She was pretty stylized to start with, with those high, angular eyes, pale skin, perfect coif. She also had a little panel in her neck with exposed wiring — the “fembot” aspect of her. I looked at Sambodia’s other works, many of which are variations on that theme.
That’s when I thought of changing it all around to do my take on the “make-up table” type picture. My fembot wouldn’t be applying make-up. She’s tuning herself up, using a screwdriver to tinker with something in that neck hatch. Of course she wears a wig, and that has to be put to the side while she’s working.
I wound up with a completely custom composition, which cost me the asset that all my best pieces have: good references. This had me trying to wing my way through a bunch of anatomy, lighting, the environment… All of which are very challenging for me. But I figure each time I do it, I am pushing back the shroud a little bit further. Eventually I will break into the daylight.
Medium: Digital
App: Artstudio Pro
Tools: Paint