Hey Fam!

Here is my entry for December! Introducing Monty the Lumberjack Yeti.
The thoughts behind making Monty a lumberjack is quite simple. I thought about what SVS Learn said in their podcast about thinking on what makes the character so unique and why. Monty is a yeti and his environment is mainly in mountainous terrain so I thought about what other things like to hang out in that environment and a lumberjack came up. It was an added bonus that lumberjacks aren't animalistic, so it adds a bit of spunk.

I also considered the shape of the yeti as well. In my research of different cartoon styles of the yeti I found most of the designs were quite rounded, so to add a contrast to usual styles of art I decided to make the yeti more square to add a bit more shape language. The square communicates strength and I wanted that to be incorporated. With that said I also rounded the corners to show a softer and friendlier character.

With this color and pattern pallet I didn't stray too far from traditional pallets you'd find in a lumberjack or a yetti because I wanted to make it obvious what this character is meant to be.

I also added a homemade stone axe as an added prop to help build the character's personality as a lumberjack. The geese are Canadian because...well... I'm Canadian. They add more to his story as a character and the environment he lives in, and you can tell that he has a personal vendetta with the flying bomber squad. I thought it'd be great to add to these poses set out by SVS Learn, to add more of a feeling of laughter and whimsy.

I am working on a children's book about a ninja who isn't as brave as he thought. It's mainly a lesson on how it's ok to be scared as long as you don't allow it to prevent you from doing important things. Here are some examples:

Hey guys! I just wanted some kind and constructive critiques from you guys on my new book idea... be gentle

From what I understood about the original tale of Hansel and Gretel, The wife was cruel and uncaring towards the children, so I am so glad that you decided to go that route. The words you said to describe the father was also accurate. I am so excited to see how this turns out. I love the shapes you created. however for the witch, is there to be a transformation? will her shape language evolve? I would be very interested in that.

Thanks for all your hard work brother!

I know that when I play with light that it helps to add a nice and subtle overlay layer what sets the tone of the entire image. For example, the first one was my final product whereas the grey one comes out bland. the blue adds a tone of cold darkness whereas if I left it grey it be boring and unrelated. if you add a warm gradient and add an overlay filter on it, it might improve both the lighting and the contrast.

sounds more like a demand than a request???

@DaveLeekArt Beautiful work I saw your preliminary sketches and I admire your style, very nice work!

@Neha-Rawat Hows this?

@NessIllustration You are seriously a great help thank you for lifting my spirits today

@NessIllustration You are seriously a great help thank you for lifting my spirits today

@Asyas_illos I am glad you say that because a small part of me feels like I am a wee bit crazy for rejecting that big deal but at the same time it felt like a no brainer

@NessIllustration Thank you for the advice~! I think I should look into that. It sounds like so much fun, you are so lucky. I want to make vibrant and light hearted illustrations with some positive lessons. In truth I want to make a difference in my drawings you know! But you could be right, maybe I am fishing in the wrong lake. Do you have any suggestions for a new lake?

You know, I have been working at being the best illustrator I can be, and to be honest I know there is plenty of improvement left for me. This has never been the issue for me, in-fact I find joy in knowing there is always more I could be doing to improve.

However, I have been noticing a pattern in finding opportunities and actually having success vs finding opportunities and having them be someone who thinks they have an original idea and want you to do all the work for free.

I have been finding a lot of the latter recently. But right when I get an amazing offer where it would finally support my wife and kids, they end up wanting things in the work that I am morally against. Things I would not want my kids reading if they were reading a kids book. As a result I denied the offer.

I guess I am feeling discouraged as of late because I feel like I have been given a canteen of water in a barren wasteland, and the content is poison...
Has anyone had any similar situations?
Or am I the only one?

Thanks for all your hard work brother!

sounds more like a demand than a request???

@Neha-Rawat Hows this?

@powsupermum the title is "How Marty McFly Rear-ended My Jeep"

@NessIllustration ok I will work on those suggestions thank you

@Neha-Rawat Thank you so much I added some whiskers and you are tots right it does add to the cuteness. However with the leg on the left side it is the normal one, the right one is just covered by a tail curled in. And I changed the size of the kitten because the smaller he is the better :D. What do you think of the font? Typography was never my strong suit...