Very funy contest this month. 
And here is my sketch fast as lightning.
This is a fun sketch to look at! I'm really looking forward to seeing it colored. And I really like your signature. I sign my J at sharp angles too and get teased that it's a T instead. I appreciate that someone else signs the J in their own "independent" way.
THis is very cool and very fast. Can't wait to see this finished.
Hah. If a cat doesn't represent "independent", I don't know what else does. 
Love it! Hope I can be as fast and expressive as you one day.
@jose-ramos Very cute! I think it portrays the theme quite well. 
Hey guys, what you think, I´ve had a freetime today.
@jose-ramos You draw and paint at break-neck speed!
I love this. Fantastic work and very fast.
Thanks guys, well it has not been so fast, it took me about 3 or 4 hours. 
What do you think about to add a garland in the cat´s mouth?, does it make sense?
Really lovely concept and super execution! The cat feels slightly off-kilter - like he was getting down the stairs at an angle rather than walking straight down - but that is super nitpick.
While I love your signature, placing your signature so prominently on an image is possibly disturbing - especially if your goal is book illustration. Will Terry's practice/recommendation is to put instead his web address in a very unintrusive part of the illustration and barely visible.
Thanks Smceccarelli!, Nice nitpick, I really appreciate the comment.
The next illustration, I´ll follow your advice and I´ll put my web address more small, in unintrusive part and barely visible.
4 hours to paint?!?!?! I would have just got that cat done in that timeframe LOL. Its a great piece. I would remove the flags, I liked it better without. Since there are no other reference to 4th of July in the image.
Wowzers! 3-4 hours is really fast, in my opinion. I agree with @Chip-Valecek on the garland. I think it's a cute idea, but I would either remove the garland, or add more elements to suggest that it's the 4th of July.
Looks good. Only a suggestion but perhaps try to make the cat stand out more if it's supposed to be the focal point. My eye gets drawn to the girl because she is in the light and the cat is a little bit hard to make out at first against the background because it looks similar in values to the grass.
Hey guys, thanks so much for the coments, I´ve take out the garland, reduced the signature, and I moved the girl a little to the left.
About the cat, I played with the levels, so I think now it´s more visible.
Thanks for all!
This is the first vision and purest form of 'independent' for me. Everyone has a child within us and I imagine her to be like this. CareFree. Independent. Happy.
(Critiques are welcome. )
(I assume this is the thread for WIP of the July month contest, 'independent ' )
@jose-ramos Coming in a bit late, but I have been watching this one develop. Over all I think it is great. A couple things I see: Is the girl supposed to be looking at the cat? Maybe move the left eye so the girl's gaze move more towards the cat. Also, since the cat does not seem to care that she is calling, perhaps "move ahead in time" and make the girls expression a bit more annoyed/frustrated (using both hand around her mouth). Also, the ladder indicates that the light is coming from the right, but the cat and girl show the light behind them.
@pn Best practice is to start your own thread for feedback. Only the finals are posted together in the contest thread.
so nice lah
This is a fun sketch to look at! I'm really looking forward to seeing it colored. And I really like your signature. I sign my J at sharp angles too and get teased that it's a T instead. I appreciate that someone else signs the J in their own "independent" way.
