ARTIST OF THE MONTH OCTOBER 2024

Terra Corvus

FROM THE CREATOR: 
https://ko-fi.com/terracorvus/gallery
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChP9wWjrveDi0q8fxFTcqNA

I made this with the intention of it becoming a gift for the person I was drawing. Like me she was part of the community from German Horror Guy, and she used to be his streaming mod. The two were friends and loved to mock each other, like an old married couple. So eventually Horri started to refer to her as his "Mod from hell." So, I drew her as that, while holding a voodoo doll from German Horror Guy in her hands. Though as I was almost done with the video for that piece, I and some other members of the community realized that she was suddenly gone. Her channel and all other possibilities to contact her. She didn't know about my gift because it was meant to be a surprise, but through the conversation with other people I learned how much she recently started to hate her little hobby on YouTube, and that she got a lot of creepy attention from some people which was very uncomfortable for her.  Alas, I had to make some changes to the video, which will finally be out in a few days. So, now, after the changes were made I felt good about sharing the image. I didn't capture her perfectly, but now I'm glad about that. I am so proud of this piece that i wanted to show it eventually, but needed to hold it back util I had the approval from some people who knew her a bit better then I do. 

FROM LISA MITROKHIN (ACADEMY INSTRUCTOR):

Terra is too modest. Her work is powerful, professional, and always stands out. This piece struck me right away. It just draws you in. That fire! Those eyes! I can stare at this for hours. 

ARTIST OF THE MONTH JULY 2024

HP with "Me"

FROM THE CREATOR: 
This pic is titled "Me." It was the first pic I colored after my mom's passing. The pic is on the left and my interpretation is on the right. I kept the original color scheme because I really liked it. The sadness in her eyes represent losing my mom, and the beads hanging from the bottom of her dress represent the weight I feel from my mom's passing. It was very therapeutic. It also was the first pic I colored after completing the Texture's class which has improved my skillset, I think. I used white charcoal, oil pencils, wax pencils, gel pens, and assorted acrylic paints. The original image is by Nori Coloring, Puppets Pics, and it can be found on Etsy.

FROM INSTRUCTOR LISA MITROKHIN: 
I don't think people realize that HP actually drew most of her version (image on the right) by hand before coloring it. Her note on the project is very humble, but as her instructor here in the academy I reserve the right to brag. :D HP is exceptionally talented and watching her grow and blossom as an artist has been extremely rewarding and enjoyable. 
This piece won my heart as the artist of the month because of the technical skill required to pull this off, combined with personal artistic decisions, and the strength to breath meaning into the creation. This isn't just a reproduction of a drawing; it immortalizes a powerful and significant memory in a timeless piece of art.

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ARTIST OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2024

PixelCat with "Lion"

FROM THE CREATOR: Here's a lion from Lisa's How To Draw Cats course. This time I attempted to draw it in color on black paper.

FROM INSTRUCTOR LISA MITROKHIN: This freehand drawing blew me away. If you're not viewing this on a large screen in high definition, you are missing out! 
Drawing on black paper is one of the most challenging methods for an artist, and PixelCat pulled it off beautifully. She applied everything that I taught in my course and amplified it with her own talent, skill, and obvious passion for drawing cats. The fur is incredibly realistic, and her light and shadow work is spot on. I am beyond proud of this student, and this is just one example of her amazing cat creations. 

Keep up the good work, PixelCat. 

SUBMIT YOUR WORK FOR NEXT MONTH: 
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ARTIST OF THE MONTH SEPTEMBER 2024

David Wong

(left: reference image    right: student's coloring)

FROM THE CREATOR DAVID WONG: 

The coloring titled "Coming Full Circle" was originally an oil painting created by artist Jenedy Paige. When I heard that Jenedy had filmed a tutorial to show how she used Crayola Crayons to color for fun, I new that I had to check it out. At this point in my art and coloring journey, I had mainly been using coloring to develop my fine art skills (but of course having fun in the process). This felt like the right time to start learning and experimenting with new media, techniques, and finding a better balance between the coloring to become a better artist and coloring just for fun.

The skin tone was relatively straightforward because I'd completed Lisa's two skin tone courses and had colored skin tones on my own, but I learned how to use touches of green in the skin tone. When it came time to tackle the dress/robe, background, and hair, I adapted my colored pencil technique to be looser with the crayon strokes (I'd discovered just how quickly crayons fill up the tooth even when using light layers) and to embrace the textured look more. These areas were where my coloring started to take on a life of its own.

I started with the green/blue background contained within the ring and the ring itself. I had started with the same technique and pigments, but I let myself enter a flow state to fill in the space and to complete the gold ring. At this point, I knew that I wanted the remaining background to be completely different from the green/blue background within the ring; I didn't want the vibrancy of this planet/space-like area to get lost by repeating the exact same design for the rest of the background. To tie together the spaces, I used the same textured strokes that I had used in the blue/green background within the ring, but I used muted/less vibrant colors (including a lot of black). I wanted there to be contrast to keep the woman as the focal point. 

Because the background was now different from the artist's reference coloring, it felt right to bring in both warm and cool shadows on the robe/dress to help tie together the warmth of the skin tone and the gold ring and the coldness of the rest of the background/space.


FROM THE INSTRUCTOR LISA MITROKHIN: 

I was so thrilled to see David apply what he had learned in my skin tones courses to this piece, but what impressed me the most is that green medallion in the middle. I find his variation of it better than the original artist rendition. (David's version on the right) David achieved a gorgeous iridescent and metallic effect that is truly visually striking. 


SUBMIT YOUR WORK FOR NEXT MONTH: 
Would you like to see your coloring or drawing up here? Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/C9wAyS6aUe submit images to proud-creations.