Just settling in and getting to grip with things. Bit of a DeviantArt stalwart so I will be the person that gets lost in menus and whatnot. What does this button do?

I *think* this is another good year for improvement on a variety of things, mainly refining and polish. It was a busy year, I successfully finished my MA course in animation (loved it), and has me excited to do more animated projects in the future. I was def not prepared for writing the dissertation, lol.

I think I have really settled into a specific approach for landscapes, which I LOVE, but I also want to make sure I'm keeping open-minded to other stylistic choices that might tell specific stories better. For example, not everythig needs to be highly rendered, and I just think about the graphic quality of Maurice Noble, famous for the backgrounds in Looney Tunes.

The other observation I made was that SO much of the work I did and was proud of all kind of 'belongs' to another setting. I love that taking part in art-RPG groups has kept the inspiration flowing, but I also ponder what original things I could have made in the same time. I am extremely appreciative of the work of these specific art-RPG groups, because they have crafted beautiful worlds with enticing storylines. With a gentle crack of my knuckles, its time to see what I can do on my own :D

A few things I'd like to try for the new year:
* draw more of my own original characters - absolutely nothing wrong with ARPG stuff, but I would like a bit more ownership and a sense of making something, if that makes sense
* work on colour/light some more
* learn to be flexible with styling - i.e. knowing how to make a stylised scene versus my 'default' approach of drawn/rendered
* MORE ANIMATION YASS

I thought I'd start my time on Ink Blot with my art summary from the end of 2022. That was a HUGE year for me in terms of art growth. It was also the year I fulfilled a lifelong dream of going back to university to study animation :D The course started in Sept 2022 and has just finished as of July 2023. It has been an intense year, and I probably won't have as much work to put in my summary for 2023, lol.

I only started drawing again in 2020 after a mega art slump that lasted maybe 6+ years. I wish I had found my way back to drawing again so much sooner but alas, time is time and all I can do is make the most of it NOW.

These are a small set from recent entries to the Doomsday event over at Primeval Age ARPG (https://www.primevalarpg.com/). I either put my own dinosaur characters into these environments, or drew other people's dinos as a gift so they could get event rewards too. Really tried to push myself with these, testing and refining certain techniques.