365 Days of Art: A Character from a Board or Video Game

48. A Character from a Board or Video Game - Psycho Mantis

This is for number 48 - 'A Character from a Board of Video Game' - in the 365 Days of Art Challenge that I'm doing (really should rename it at this point!).

This character is one of my favourites: Psycho Mantis from the Metal Gear Solid series. Looking like this, he appears in MGS, MGS: Twin Snakes (basically a remake of the first game), and briefly in MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, but he's also in MGSV: The Phantom Pain, as a child known as Tretij Rebenok (Third Child in Russian). He didn't have fire in MGS and MGS4, but he does in Twin Snakes and MGSV. So, just because I didn't feel like drawing him levitating furniture and vases around, he has something resembling fire instead.

Despite Mantis being a one of my favourites for a long time, I've never actually tried to draw him (or fire) before, so I don't think it's so terrible for a first attempt. Maybe.

365 Days of Art: Fish

207. Fish

For various reasons, I've had another long break from this blog - my apologies. I have still been drawing (and taking photographs), though the resulting pictures haven't all been for this challenge or just haven't been anything that I want to share here. However, I'll try to update more often from now on, especially as I'm starting 2 new drawing projects soon.

Anyway, the above digital drawing is a quick sketch of a telescope eye goldfish, for number '207: Fish' of my 365 Days of Art challenge.

365 Days of Art: An animal, a person, and a food, with a moustache

299. An animal, a person, and a food, with a moustache.

It's been a while since I posted anything towards my 365 Days of Art list, but here is the next "installment". The theme was "299: An animal, a person, and a food, with a moustache" and so there are three drawings for this one. 

299. An animal, a person, and a food, with a moustache - Aubergine.

Maybe an bearded emperor tamarin would have been a better choice for the animal with a moustache, but that would have been too simple, wouldn't it? Haha. 

299. An animal, a person, and a food, with a moustache - Aye-aye.

Not entirely thrilled with the outcome of these, but they're done and out of the way now at least and so I can move on to something new!

Photography: They Came From Cuter Space and Other Realms

From Cuter Space: 'TechnoloGAcal'

As with drawing, painting and other creative forms of expression, taking photographs is something I enjoy doing. Even if the images end up being taken for no particular reason (or not being very good!) or if I don't post them anywhere. However, I have been taking themed pictures to participate over at Delightful Aberrations - occasionally posting some here - for quite a while now. Also, thanks to a suggestion from my friend Kei at Doing A Thing, I've also been posting a photo a day over at 365 Project since the beginning of this year. It was a photo I took for that site that inspired this set of photos. 

From Cuter Space: 'It Came From Outer Space'

This post features some pictures I did recently under the umbrella title of: 'They Came From Cuter Space', which features plastic insects as aliens. I've also included a few others that had a "space" theme as well, just to keep them all together. The set title comes from someone I know mistakenly reading the title of one of my photos and me deciding I liked it better that way.  The above image is of an alien ladybird that travelled to Earth on an asteroid. And, by "asteroid" I mean UFO disguised as a giant rock, of course.

From Cuter Space: 'Floating on the Invisible Sea'

From Cuter Space: 'Blossom Ship Mantis'

The mantis species pictured prefer to travel in ships designed to look like banana blossom husks, as they are good at floating when landing in water. The shape is also useful when hovering above the ground and they serve as useful camouflage to hide inside of if found by hostile humans. However, if hiding and camouflage are unsuccessful, it is said that mantises - also experts in using mind control - can use it to evade enemies.

The next creature comes from a world of highly advanced cybernetic entities who are not interested in communicating with us, but rather our technology - primitive though it may be.

From Cuter Space: 'Computer Bug'

From Cuter Space: 'Universal Warning'

As they have never experienced using the human internet before, the volume of data can give them the equivalent of a euphoric drug or adrenaline high, making them an extremely happy and benevolent cyber-moth species.  Unfortunately, some of the more unpleasant aspects of it can also bring out paranoia and psychosis in them...

From Cuter Space: 'Pretty Lights & Paranoia'

From Cuter Space: 'Transformation'

...causing them to turn into supercharged, ultra-violent bugs who take great delight in destroying all inorganic intelligence they find.

From Cuter Space: 'Galactic Cheer Bee'

Our next extraterrestrial visitor is the Galactic Cheer Bee. Whilst she is not the queen of her hive, she is certainly not one of the mere workers. She has been sent on a very important scouting mission, as her hive desperately need to relocate. Or rather, they desperately need to leave some of the unwanted/unnecessary members of the hive behind. Galactic cheer bees have no time for being kind when the good of the collective's reputation is at stake.

From Cuter Space: 'Hypno-Pom-Poms & Glitter'

Using her Hypno-Cheers Cheer Bee is planning to lead some of the inhabitants of Earth back to her ship with her (scouting is hungry work!), and maybe to take some back for the hive too. But only for her friends, of course. She doesn't want the ugly bees surviving.

From Cuter Space: '1950's Baa-Movie'

However, when certain species had to say goodbye to Earth, they weren't all as willing as Cheer Bee. Some of them not only wanted to take the inhabitants of the planet for food, but wanted to abduct them for other reasons.

From Cuter Space: 'Abduction of the Lamb'

Like this insectoid species, who abducted a particular sheep in the 1950's. They brought him back, - un-aged - 60 years later, only to take him once more, several years later! He's obviously a favourite amongst this particular species...for reasons only known to them.

That's the end of the 'From Cuter Space' set for now, but here are a few more photos in a similar vein that I've done this year:

'Interplanetary Friend'

I was listening to a song when editing the levels of the picture above. The photo title is the song's name translated into English (literally), because I thought the subject resembled a "space owl" catching interdimensional bats. (By the way, you should know that I don't care what anyone else thinks of my taste in music, unless they happen to like it ;P).

'Hedgehog Traveller'

The Hedgehog Traveller passes between worlds, leaving icy extradimensional sparkles trailing behind him. On that day, he felt like saying "hello" for the camera.

And last but not least, I found these alien friends:

'The Alien Hottie & His Vessel'

Apparently, the taller, silver and white one acts as a vessel (and companion) to the other, whilst the shorter, rounder, green one provides warmth & power by charging in microwaves. Quite a happy arrangement, so it seems!

365 Days of Art: Draw something with your non-dominant hand

336. Draw something with your non-dominant hand

This was a quick drawing from my 365 Days of Art challenge list that I did whilst listening to 'I Wanna Be Sunshine' by ElisaBat Muse. The theme was number 336: "Draw something with your non-dominant hand". I'm right-handed for writing/drawing (though I use my left hand for some other things), so this was done with my left hand. It's very basic, but at least I did something!

365 Days of Art: A dream you had

63. A dream you had

The above picture is for challenge number 63 on my 365 Days of Art list; that's "A dream you had".

This was the most recent dream I had before I started this drawing, but I had to decide between this one and another I had last year, in which I was travelling through space inside a mechanical swan and then went to a fair in it and met some Victorian people or the space opera type dream I had. I did also consider some of my recurring dreams, but those always seem to be rather unpleasant and would be difficult to draw, as I usually experience them from more than one person's perspective at once (it's difficult to describe). 

Anyway, this dream was pretty tame compared to the ones I normally have, but the sound was unusual for me, and the way I woke up was different as well. I will say here too that it was all from my point of view, which is also very unusual for me. I've drawn one image for this so far, but I might add another at some point. If I do, I'll add a link back here in a future entry.

So, on with the dream...

365 Days of Art: Incubus

99. Incubus: 'After the Honey'

This is another picture for my 365 Days of Art challenge. It's another one I did a while ago but forgot to post. this time, it's for number 99 - Incubus. The incubus' victim isn't asleep, but regional versions of incubi mythology varies quite considerably. I'm sorry that this isn't a very "nice" picture, but incubi are supposed to be demons, after all (by the way, the person with blonde hair is not a child, I just made the incubus very tall for no reason).

Anyway, I sketched out the lines for this one in a sketchbook first and then coloured it in Photoshop. I like the way the colour scheme turned out, so I might end up using it again some time.

365 Days of Art: Ice

356. Ice

This is a digital painting for my 365 Days of Art challenge; number 356: "Ice". This particular picture does have a specific meaning behind it (to me), but I don't feel like explaining it. So I'll just say: there are only two people in the image, both of whom are alive, and one of them is is only visible as a gloved hand.

365 Days of Art: Hallucinations

362. Hallucinations.

This is a picture I did yesterday, to count towards my list of themes, for my self-imposed 365 Days of Art challenge. The above pen drawing is for number 362: "Hallucinations". 

365 Days of Art: Something sticky and something sweet

363. Something sticky and something sweet.

Another pen drawing for my 365 Days of Art challenge; this time it's for number 363: "Something sticky and something sweet". Again, this was one I did a while ago and forgot to post and it was done mostly in felt tip pens that were lying around.