I'm new to illustration and digital painting. For the last many years I've been painting representationally in oils and for a few years before that I used watercolors - portraits, landscapes, still lifes. I've been frustrated by reality, really. The reality that I'm getting old. (Some would say I'm already old.) The reality of this f'n pandemic, all the horrible things that happened in 2020, frustrated by my art. The least of anybody's worries, I'm sure, but it just wasn't doing it for me. One day, feeling my time had run out, I started crying in my studio. I walked out and went to bed for a few months. (I mean I did get up, but not much.) Then I remembered back when I wanted to be an illustrator. I found this site and have watched quite a few of the videos. I bought an iPad pro with an Apple pencil and Procreate. I bought the Procreate book. I had taken a course on Photoshop and Illustrator in college about 20 years ago. So, I did have that background. (I went to college late.) I wasn't a complete neophyte when it came to digital drawing and painting.

Anyway, I wanted to try the fifty things challenge and started out with the candy shop and got stuck. I'm not giving up on the candy shop, but when I started this drawing I thought, "Why not put 50 things in here?" So, I did. Give or take. Any feedback is appreciated.

I had a blast doing this. I finally feel free to create my own reality. I can build rooms and create characters and make furniture and toys and stuff. My gawd, it's liberating! I know I have a long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of myself right now. Just thought I'd share - and say "thank you" to the powers that built this school and put so much effort into it. I appreciate it.

@Joe-Hanson-Tannous what’s a discord channel?

Meet Tink. The song that kept going through my head as I was working on this: "I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feelin'?" "Feelin' good as hell!" Lol!

@Asyas_illos Thanks. Yes, I'm paying for classes. Do they announce it in the classes or here on the forum?

@Joe-Hanson-Tannous Lol! Ok. Thanks. I was thinking it was some kind of special critiquing technique. Haha!

@Melissa-Bailey-0 thank you! I don’t have cats anymore, but they always hated sharing my attention with a computer. Lol!

@NessIllustration, thanks!

I've had problems with the eraser being activated on its own and then when I try to activate it, I have to keep tapping the pencil like a fool! Lol! Two taps is supposed to change from brush to eraser which is apparently easier to do by accident than on purpose. Just today, I had trouble with it changing to white on its own, several times. I don't know why that started happening.

I've also had chunks of painting just disappear out of the blue. I thought it might be because my file size had gotten too big, but after I compressed my layers, it still happened sometimes. (I don't know if compressing layers actually decreases file size. Just my own thought.)

Sorry I don't have any answers, but thought I'd throw my two cents in here to see what others have to say.

@Joe-Hanson-Tannous Lol! Ok. Thanks. I was thinking it was some kind of special critiquing technique. Haha!

@Asyas_illos Thanks. Yes, I'm paying for classes. Do they announce it in the classes or here on the forum?

Is there a January contest? How do I participate?

@Joe-Hanson-Tannous what’s a discord channel?

Meet Tink. The song that kept going through my head as I was working on this: "I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feelin'?" "Feelin' good as hell!" Lol!

@KathrynAdebayo Thank you, so much.

@Neha-Rawat Thank you!

@JoshuaDages Lol! Thank you!

Just throwing this out there, but how about some red on the character/s you want to spotlight? Just a dab oughta do it.