Here's a photo of my sketchbook - currently I'm studying Botanical Illustration in colored pencil, and doing one drawing every day in July. The first was an orange day lily using a reference photo I took in a field of flowers. July 2nd (today) was "Dancing Cherries" from a tutorial by Ann Swan. Generally to do a good drawing in realism, I should spend a week on it (or longer). But this is just to practice daily discipline, so the challenge is to draw these faster but not uglier, and to still learn how to create better drawings, which is working for me in this challenge. Yay!

I LOVE everyone's "Love" entries! So much humor and talent. This is my first ever contest entry.

I'm a greeting card artist by trade, and I use old-fashioned things like paper. So my goal for this submission was to just learn how to submit! I didn't have access to a scanner so I took a photograph of the drawing on paper and used GIMP to sorta make the white areas not-grey. This is totally different from the kind of art I usually do, but I got sick this month and couldn't begin working on my first idea (which would've been time-consuming) - so I came up with a new idea and had fun with it. "Finished, Not Perfect," right?

This is a Christmas gift for my best friend. I just finished today, been working on it for about two weeks. It's also the piece I enjoyed doing most this year, coincidentally! This is my first drawing of a furry animal on drafting film using colored pencils, so it was new territory, I had so many skills to learn and feel like I leveled up (sometimes I'd think, no way is it possible to do the white hairs without paint, and then I watched tutorials, experimented, and did them!). 14 hours drawing the final piece, 5x7 inches in size.

I'm thankful for SVS and the forums because I work from home in an off-grid cabin (it's a tiny house on wheels) in Arkansas, so I'm isolated from other people and artists. Without SVS it would be more difficult for me to keep myself accountable to my art, because the challenges of keeping our home going plus the day-to-day busy-ness of business (I own a greeting card business) would drown out the little voice inside me that says "Make great art!" SVS amplifies that voice. I've gained so much knowledge and new skills since joining a few years ago.

THANK YOU SVS!

It's great to see so many mice in March! haha which reminds me I have not yet done mice for the new art "key" notebook I started last month. This month I've been working on filling it in. Since I work traditionally, this key helps me remember which medium and which color and the process I used to create results, so when I take artwork to finish, I don't have to remember, I just look things up in the key notebook. Does anyone else do this?

@eriberart Finally, I got around to redrawing an older piece "Cupful of Bunnies" from 2016 (at left) and 2020 (at right).

Not 10 years but more of a 5 years challenge. Still I really like the idea of seeing progress and having the chance to redo something. I had to rush at the end, because of deadlines, so I'm not 100% satisfied that the redraw is my current best effort, but Finished Not Perfect right?

Update:

Thanks to the information you all provided to me, my friend and I were able to chat online about it very calmly and politely. @NessIllustration you were right after all! We just had a misunderstanding that was quickly cleared up, and actually it was good we discussed it because we were able to share a lot more information than just about who owns copyright. This positive experience helped counteract my past negative experiences explaining copyright. Also I recorded notes from this thread so if the issue comes up again I'll have the information quick at hand and will know to discuss copyright up front with either the gift recipient or buyer. I feel much better about gifting artwork now! Thanks!

Here's the final version I'm submitting to Leanin' Tree, unless you all have feedback about something I should change. This piece isn't my best work but it's been the most time-consuming single piece I've worked on. I started thumbnail sketches for it in 2018. Whew!

I want it to feel like we're out in the graveyard with a flashlight and come upon a scene humans aren't supposed to see. As though this magical, Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween version of Frosty the Snowman put out Trick-or-Treat candy for animals who befriend it; we're not sure its alive, could be just fireflies in its head and a bag of candy left for kids. Yet that squirrel in the pointy hat...and the fact that the right twig is unnaturally higher, holding up the crow instead of sagging down. Hopefully a bit mysterious! Or at least cute enough to buy off a card rack.

THANK YOU everyone for giving great feedback! I'm learning a lot at SVS.
-Amanda

I've had the same negative experiences mentioned here with some of the same Facebook groups. I don't follow them anymore. SVS is way better at meeting my needs. On the plus side, I learned to narrow my focus for these groups. I join and follow social media accounts for colored pencils, for example, because that's my main medium. Or for the company that I want to license my work to. Or for an artist/teacher who gives great tutorials. I've had a good experience doing that. Hope that helps!

For Christmas, I gave my best friend an original artwork. He was very impressed and happy with it, even claiming it was as good as a drawing in a book he owns that was written by a successful artist. Then he "gave me permission" to use the scanned digital version of the drawing on my website and social media, saying that "it was reasonable" in his opinion for me to use it in my portfolio or similar ways. He thinks he now owns copyright to the intellectual property, not just the original drawing! Uh oh.

Of course I signed and dated the drawing. I didn't explain copyright to him, because I knew he would contest it and demand I show him proof from a source, and this debate could harm the friendship. Besides, I don't foresee any future issues with him or this drawing (I can't imagine selling prints or needing it for promotions in any way, and I'm fine with him reselling the original I gave him if he ever wants to sell it, which is his right anyway.) I'm very happy to have created and gifted the artwork and glad he and his family enjoy it, but I think maybe I'll never gift art again to anybody, because the recipient could misunderstand and think they own copyright / can restrict my use of the image, and discussing this with future recipients could go poorly.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

Do you think it's best not to gift artwork in order to protect the relationship with the recipient? Or perhaps some of you use a special "insert" to accompany the artwork or written on the back, which clearly states copyright ownership and uses the recipient is allowed to do?

@Coreyartus this alphabet set is really neat! I like it. Got me to Google "Quoll" too! haha

Wow I completely missed April Virtual Studio...but anyway, still working on these from Easter. I was rushed at the end because of greeting card deadlines, so I wasn't thrilled with the outcome but I'm glad that I learned so much working on these two. I'm trying to decide what direction to take with composition and mixed media for my future cards.

@demotlj Eastern Bluebirds are nesting in my bird boxes now, too! I love to watch them and enjoyed seeing your watercolor painting

@eriberart Finally, I got around to redrawing an older piece "Cupful of Bunnies" from 2016 (at left) and 2020 (at right).

Not 10 years but more of a 5 years challenge. Still I really like the idea of seeing progress and having the chance to redo something. I had to rush at the end, because of deadlines, so I'm not 100% satisfied that the redraw is my current best effort, but Finished Not Perfect right?

My art hours are more like minutes, and they're all over the place instead of scheduled. Husband had surgery the day our city began to shut everything down except hospitals, pharmacies and grocery stores, so I've been spending the past week caring for him and we just got drinking water delivered today. A friend said tonight "Rest is real work, too." Good insight there. We will get back to our art, friends. I have been designing in my imagination during down time. We'll find a way, because we are artists and it's within us just like love.

It's great to see so many mice in March! haha which reminds me I have not yet done mice for the new art "key" notebook I started last month. This month I've been working on filling it in. Since I work traditionally, this key helps me remember which medium and which color and the process I used to create results, so when I take artwork to finish, I don't have to remember, I just look things up in the key notebook. Does anyone else do this?

OH wow! I never got into using Instagram due to not having the right kind of phone for a long time. but it's interesting to know about this shift as I had considered using Instagram someday. Thanks!

I'm thinking about social media and internet distractions too! Great to share in the struggle together on the forums. Yesterday was the 5th work day I completed with zero access to internet, and I also deleted Facebook messenger and Gmail from my phone. Those 3 steps helped immensely! I get to use those sites when I'm off work hours, but it's revolutionary - I'm finding I spend less time online even when I have access after work. I'm training my brain to focus on non-electronic life (exercise, time with friends, reading, basically using work breaks offline) because internet is gone when I'm working so suddenly I have ALL THIS TIME

I also use the StayFocusd extension for Google Chrome browser, but of course lately haven't needed it because I took the nuclear option and got rid of internet during work hours. I do this by sending our wireless hot spot with my husband to his workplace so while he's gone, I have to either be doing art or taking offline breaks. Today I'm ordering art supplies and catching up with SVS so I'm using internet briefly then back to offline.

But -
Getting rid of internet or social media doesn't delete offline distractions, of course. Much of art success depends on the stuff we're made of as artists, to focus or not focus. Plus, life is unavoidable sometimes - I returned to my art table this morning to discover my cat had vomited all over yesterday's art practice papers and, ironically, a page in a library art book describing "how to draw grass realistically"

@Daniel-Grissom This is a really neat scene! Love all the animals. In my opinion to answer your question about the best "haze" I think the one at far left looks best, everything seems to pop better than the other two.

@Kasey-Snow you should totally draw Will into your piece I'd love to see that! haha
@Aleksey that is such a good pun I'd love to see that illustrated! I used cassette tapes LOL

Wow are these January snow images fantastic, or what? There are some awesome scenes on this thread!