Before I began my project, I thought through some inspirations I've encountered through my time drawing. I looked at a few artists, and broke what I liked about their styles down into a list of a few words. I then did a sketch using the template provided, and did the breathing exercise, just to see how that played out - it was very helpful, and not something I'd have thought of to do.

I decided to draw an opossum, one of my favorite animals, in a setting that's something like an abandoned urban garden. I ended up doing three variations of this drawing. One's of my own normal approach, and the other two are influenced by a couple of the artists I looked at.

Here's my own style, which I did simply for comparison's sake; it helps me glean what I like about others' styles if I have a direct point of comparison. I work in Clip Studio Paint, and I like the Tapered Pen (one of the default brushes) for inking. I tend to use bold lines to establish form, and thinner line for details and texture.

Oh! Possum - image 1 - student project

And now onto the actual project:

M.S Corley

One of the artists I looked at was M.S. Corley, specifically his illustrations for Aaron Mankhe's Lore trilogy. I've included an example, and you can find more on his website.

Oh! Possum - image 2 - student project

The hatch marks in his work are beautiful and clean, and contribute to a dark, haunting atmosphere. There are deep shadows, and bold environmental elements, all the while still being very clean. I wanted to emulate the texture and atmosphere, and this is what I did:

Oh! Possum - image 3 - student project

While I stuck with the Tapered Pen, I went from a 40 point size to a 10 - 15 point size. It was interesting to see how the same pen acts when it's so small. It's got a gruffer personality here, because of the scratchy shadows and hatching. This one's my personal favorite of the three.

Etherington Brothers

When I think of good, clean lineart, I can't help but think of The Etherington Brothers. You may have seen their How To Think When You Draw tutorials floating around on the Internet (I actually looked at a couple of them while drawing this one - their tutorials on Fur and on Overgrown Vegetation).

Here's an example of one of their finished pieces, and you can find more on their DeviantART.

Oh! Possum - image 4 - student project

I wanted to try to emulate the organic flow of their linework, and the bold way they simplify their forms. I don't think I was entirely successful in my attempt, but there are pieces of it I like: the fur, the dandelions. I switched to a smoother pen for this one, the G-Pen (another default brush), but worked at the same point size I'm used to. I think part of my problem here is I didn't establish a strong enough of a light source through the entire piece. It's present on the brick, but nowhere else.

Oh! Possum - image 5 - student project

Feedback I'm Looking For

I always am looking for thoughtful critique on my work here on Skillshare - both about things I'm doing well and things I can improve.

One thing this lesson brought back to the forefront of my head is that I should be not just looking at but actively analyzing others' art, a habit which I unintentionally dropped after leaving art school. If there are any artists you think I should look at, by all means, suggest away!

Thank you for reading and looking at my work. <3

Mirror

Illustrator and Comic Artist

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