Mushroom Fluidity

Liquid mushrooms would be an edible oddity.

Not that I think liquid mushrooms would be edible and even if they were I would advise against trying them. Then again, we do have mushroom soup which is sort of like a liquid mushroom even though the actual soup is made of other things. This tangent is weird. Here’s an update on the works in progress present in Mushroom Inspired. They’re a little further along now, too. Two of them have been painted, while the third (which wasn’t present in the previous iteration) is still an inked sketch.

I doubt there will be further progress here, though.

I’m not entirely happy with the results so far. I don’t think that deathclaw even looks like a deathclaw any more, either. If it ever did in the first place. While I will admit that the reason I started this project was to improve my watercolour approaches, it’s not really working as intended as I think that the initial approach was flawed. It was too forced and inconsistent.

I don’t feel as though the original ink sketches were accurate to my ink approaches in general. Which is a considerable issue, as I’m trying to use an unfamiliar ink approach with a somewhat new watercolour approach. It doesn’t have any strengths. It doesn’t feel natural, either. This is an issue that is entirely my fault, but it’s probably best to move on from these pieces as I don’t really feel like they’re adding anything to what I’m doing. I just feel frustrated when working on them. Almost as if I’m fighting myself to finish them. It’s a shame as I’ve used a considerable portion of expensive paper to be met with failure, but the worst failures are the ones that you can’t learn from and I can definitely learn from this.

One step forward and two steps back.

The third ink sketch is a Fallout 4 deathclaw which has notable strengths and weaknesses. Most of the strengths are in the lines and the textures (especially the horns) which look great, but is equally as weak in the overall presentation. My original intention was to work on numerous smaller pieces to more rapidly gain experience. However, in practice that probably wasn’t the best approach. Especially as I’ve hit several walls actually composing the ink sketches to begin with. It has not been as easy of a run as anticipated.

I’ll likely work on larger pieces for the next run of watercolour paintings, too.

I’ve also been wondering if I’m putting too much pressure on myself for certain results. I’ve noticed that my general enthusiasm towards a piece lowers greatly when things aren’t going as planned, which, again, is an issue that is entirely of my own creation. I have departed from my usual approaches with several materials and I don’t think it’s doing me too many favours.

However, it does promise better things in the future. I’m just starting to wonder whether the promise of future results is worth sacrificing all of the current ones. Or if it’s even possible to reach those future results if nothing is working out currently. It’s an interesting issue, which I hadn’t really considered when I set out on this weirdly infuriating journey. I’ve learned an awful lot about myself creatively, too. Which is always a nice bonus. I’ve started to notice weaknesses I hadn’t considered before. It’s understandably frustrating, but I’m still hoping I can come away from this with a positive push forwards. I’m still mostly happy with how things are progressing so it’s not entirely awful just yet. But it is getting there slowly.

Have a nice week, all!

Moggie

Art, design, and the like found herein (unless otherwise specified) is drawn and owned by David Wilkshire (also credited as Moggie) from 2006 to present date.

Fallout 3, Deathclaws, Super Mutants, Pip-Boys, and all associated trademarks and devices are owned by Interplay/Bethesda.
The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls Online, Morrowind, the Morag Tong, and all associated trademarks and devices are owned by Bethesda.