However did we speed through the summer so fast?! I feel like I just left for the summer break… and now it is less than a week until I am back on campus! It is absolutely mind-boggling.

At the start of the summer, I had hoped to set some goals for what I wanted to work on. In all honesty, I did not really complete many of them. My summer job ended up taking up much more of my time than I had expected, and a lot of “life” just got in the way. One of the goals that I did get to work on was that I did compete in Artfight! I talked about the online challenge in a couple of my posts these past few months, and how I created a character for my competitors to draw. In past years, I usually only got through one character attack on another person, and it had been my objective to do better this year.

Well… guess who only completed one character attack this year?

…

Yup, your’s truly.

Honestly? I’ll take it. For someone who has been going through a massive amount of art block, I am happy to have just completed an attack at all. Progress, right?

The attack I worked on was Silvertopp22’s character, Mai. The character is this fantasy inspired hero, with the most beautiful hair and compelling storyline. I truly recommend you check out both of Silvertopp22’s writing/story creation and art.

I ended up doing a half-body piece that aimed to highlight the character’s heroic aura. I went with a classic, hands-on-hips pose, paired with some more dramatic lighting. The main focus for this piece was to retain the key features of the original character design while incorporating my own art style. I ended up blocking in the basic shapes of Mai’s hair, as well as really focusing on the shape of her eyes in the original design. Clothing was also something I paid attention to, as I wanted Mai’s fashion to translate across styles.

At the end of the day, I am not really how happy I am with the piece. I really like the hair, and I had a great time working on the folds of her sleeve. It was also the first time I tried a more graphic backdrop using some of the brushes in Photoshop, along with gradients and drop shadows. However, I feel like the colors could be a bit more unified, the lighting more worked out, and the anatomy in the chest a bit better shaded. If I had more time, I would have fleshed these parts out better, but I was working on a deadline for the end of Artfight. For that very reason, I am proud that I was able to accomplish what I did within the time I had.

Artfight might not have gone the way I had hoped, but I am so happy that I was able to submit an attack. It’s good to get something on paper (or tablet?) and start chipping away at that art block before the semester begins.

I hope you have enjoyed this latest update on my crusade against art block. I cannot wait to see some new and familiar faces on campus this next week!

Go forth and do good in this world!!

-Rebecca Prowse