Lol @eroomba! I get what you’re saying...this is a concept I like but I can’t help but feel badly for bunny, especially every time I have to talk about it.
@TessaW i hear you about the pole too...I lost some of the height when I cropped the space and I was having trouble with the idea that people were going to put stickers and flyers down at ground level. Food for thought though.

Been playing with the idea of getting rid of the street corner altogether...not sure if it’s because I’m wimping out on that middle ground or if it makes it better to just toss bunn in an alley. Flyers, grunge and other alley-esque trash will be added eventually, but could this be a solution?

Tonight I was talking to my wife about this picture, and some of the challenges I’m having with it. She took the iPad and “fixed it” for me:

Just thought I’d share.

@Chip-Valecek Seems like a solid concept. Should be fun to work in the "old time cartoon" style on her too!

Okay, I've reworked this concept a bit. I had to agree about the swankiness of the chair, even though I liked it, I was too attached to it and it needed to go, so thanks for that. I mean, where does a down on his luck rabbit even get a wheelchair? Removing the chair forced me to adjust the perspective, and while it helps push the downtrodden rabbit into the lower portion of the frame, now I'm stuck with even more middle ground that I need to deal with.

The park that's just over the hill and out of reach works (I think), but the opposite side of the road is going to be tricky, especially because I'm blurring the background to push it further away. Adding cars or foot traffic makes sense, but it also feels like I'm just throwing junk at it to see if I can save a bad execution.

Frustrating because outside of a real space, I think the picture tells the story:

Thinking maybe a big truck in the left turn lane would give me enough coverage and provide another way to really rub it in the bunny's face. Something like "Biff's Magic Shop" with a picture of a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat, or a truck full of running shoes, etc. It could get pretty dark but might also work out. Maybe I ditch the street corner and just throw a brick wall into the background? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

@StudioLooong This much more clearly shows the squirrel is in the foreground...nice update. What a fun concept.

What a great picture! I didn’t think the cat was quite looking at the butterfly in the original either, but didn’t mind the placement of the grass tufts. Our cats go out of their way to take the scenic/complicated route most times so it seemed accurate to me. I don’t know if you’re done working on the shadows yet or not, but it looks to me like the cat isn’t casting enough of a shadow, especially on the rocks right below the body. The feet cast a strong shadow but otherwise it’s pretty light under there... it makes it look like the front left leg is way closer in space than the torso.

Love that tail though!

I like where you ended up with your version...the guy looks downtrodden That said, a TV that close to someone kind of reads like he's at home, with his TV on the table in front of him.

As breweries (and some bars) are one of my favorite places to people watch and draw, in my experience it's hard to beat the straight-on across the bar angle for these kinds of illustrations, even if its the most boring angle to start with. Unless I want the viewer to be part of the conversation, IE sitting on the same side near the character, I find I can really push the emotions further if I can get both sides of the characters face in the frame. Or, if I really want to make them seem really despondent, it's not hard to fold their arm up on the bar and rest their head on it, or even chin-down on the bar, staring down at betting stubs, or eyes drawn upward toward a TV. Fun concept!

Got a rare opportunity to draw at work...creating a series of women in Arizona history for some note cards. Trying my hand at doing it in a Wall Street Journal-esque hedcut style:

Messed up a lot on this first one, but feel like now I know what I need to do to fix the patterns going forward. Helps that these illustrations will only be about 3" square when printed!

Since I don't draw all day long, by the time I get to draw my brain is fried, so I like to do little shape challenges to wind down or loosen up. I love these, and usually try to do the same shape several times and get completely different results. The illustrator Beastwreck on Instagram has one of my favorites, so whenever he posts a new shape I usually go to town, and the results get weird...at least for me!

I really like the low POV....really helps drive home their scale. Great idea.