Flying Fish Illustration

It’s taken about a year, but I’ve finished my sketchbook. Looking back, I would like to have made more progress; my life is more organized around this goal now.

The final page of the sketchbook features this swamp-guardian-monster I made yesterday. It’s not a serious piece, not really, but I got the bug and wanted to make something quick and “complete”.

I used ballpoint pen and acrylic layered over watercolor and water-soluble crayon. My goal was to experiment with the materials and to render something with a background and everything.

That background is messier than I intended. I was going for a Frazetta-style leafy background with loads of hanging moss and greebly roots, but it’s overwrought.

Going forward, I have to be more intentional with my pieces if only for the sake of time. It’s just too slow to make something unsatisfactory and then spend ages correcting everything by guesswork. It might be better and quicker to get it right (or wrong) on the first try and live with it, as hard as that is! I have to keep speed a priority.

I drew a Gandalf-type the other day while listening to the BBC’s Lovecraft Investigations*. It turned out okay for lacking a reference picture! I’ve been trying to use references more wisely: as as supplement rather than something to copy from directly. In this case I first got my general pose sorted, then I copied whatever I could find of hands in robe sleeves (with particular attention paid to the hows and whys). Then I went back and tried to apply what I’d seen to the original sketch.

I wouldn’t say it’s totally satisfactory—there’s definitely a lack of naturalism in all the fabric on the character. Still, I liked the line quality and it’s generally in the right direction.

* The series order can be a little confusing, but it goes like this:

1. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
2. The Whisperer in Darkness (I’m here)
3. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
4. The Haunter of the Dark

I know that Spotify at least has them out of order, so watch out for that.

I’ve started a few blogs and websites by now, all of which have fallen to ruin.

It’s best if I’m intentional about this, then: this site is where I’ll post my best work, and every month I’ll post an update on what I’ve been working on.

If I do it right, it will have a long life. Here’s to starting out!