Sept 1: Doodle Day Prompt: Circle

 The Doodle Day [facebook group] prompt for Sept. 1 was circle. I chose to do cats on a merry-go-round.

IF I did this image again, I'd make the circle round..ugh. And alternate the striped cats and the solid ones.

I wasn't satisfied with the cats so I tried another image. Which I think is more successful. Title is "South Sea seals sail in a circle"

I'm having fun making up tongue twisting titles for each September prompt. Some of the images will be pretty crazy. Be warned!

Animals with a Twist: The Lost Images: Lemur: Heddy LeMur, film star and Sir Chimpanzee

EEK! I forgot to post these images from my July study.
Here they are better late than never.

More from the series I did in July:
Animals with a Twist
All were based on prompts from the Facebook group, Doodle Day.

Top Image:
Sir Chim Panze
Black and white pencil on gray paper.


Bottom Image:
Heddy LeMur film star
Black, white and yellow pencil on black paper.
Love those 1930-40's fashions!

Insects U-Z

U: Underwing Moth
I enjoyed sketching this powdery moth with it's feathery wings.














V: Viceroy Butterfly
Two dollars worth of black pencil went into this image. [Boy was I tired of black!]

W: Web Spinner
Every few drawings, seems like I have to break out of the "scientific-realistic" mode and give myself something playful to work on. The web spinner as an Ancient Egyptian with a pyramid-like web.

X: Xerces Butterfly
Once native to North America, now extinct. What a loss...how lovely it was.

Y: Yellowjacket
Yikes! Gave me shivers the whole time I was drawing it. Creepy insect.

Z: Zebra Butterfly
Have to say as much as I don't like insects, it was a good month to push my media boundaries. I learned a lot.

THANK YOU DOODLE DAY for the nudge!
[Doodle Day is an online facebook group for folks who like to draw.]

Insects P-T

P: Pea Weevil
Although this has a nice reference to aboriginal art, I wasn't happy with the end product. The background was too much for colored pencils.

Q: Question Mark Butterfly
Ah....my favorite fall colors. Was satisfied with this image.

R: Rhinoceros Beetle

Loved this drawing. The rhinoceros beetle is a real challenge. I nailed it...if I do say so myself!

S: Stink Bug
This needs explaining. The stink bug has a dry looking gray back. When I was studying it to draw, all I could think of was Boris Karloff in the Mummy, with his dry peeling crusty skin....so I incorporated his image on the back of the bug.













T: Thrip
I challenge you to say that three times quickly. I couldn't say it once without a cartoon image popping in my mind, so here's the outcome.

Insects: K-O

K: Pink Katydid Cupcake
Found images of a pink Katydid and this is the end image. Why not have sugary insects on cupcakes?

L: Book Louse
This is actually one of my favorite images from the series. I love his expression. The lighting was pretty successful.

M: African Mantis
I'm not sure this is a real insect. I found an image on the internet that inspired me and went with my version.

N: Netwing
I was attracted to the texture and subtle color changes. The netwing
was fun to draw.











O: Olive Fruit Fly

I liked the way this one turned out.
I'm learning a lot about my media with these insect studies. Pushing the pencil is good exercise.

Insects F-J

F: Black Fly
I imagined Black Fly as a pesty Harley gang member buzzing round my ear, invading my space.

G: BlueGrass Hopper
A very "country" kind of character. Traveling the dusty back roads making up songs and performing at country fairs.

H: Horntail Wasp
EEK! creepy insect.

 

I: IRIS BORER This feathery moth works well in colored pencil. I'm uncertain about the textured background, it kinda grows on you after a while, what do you think?

J: June bug I imagined a June bug on it's back, wiggling it's creepy little legs. That reminded me of the Olympic event, the luge. Why? Guess the position. I gave it a try. Not my favorite doodle.

A TO Z Insects: A through E

I've been busy this month drawing, not posting, so I'm making an attempt to catch up these last few days of August. Once again the drawings were prompted by the facebook group, Doodle Day.

Insects are not my favorite genre. I rarely draw them. In the spirit of "Live-and-Learn", I dove in. Here are my first few examples: A-E

A: Asparagus Beetles. I chose them for their patterns and couldn't resist breaking up the background to add some greens. I don't like the texture of my background...too sketchy.

B: Lady BUG
I actually like my sketch better than the finished piece. Seems to have more "life".

C: for Carpenter Ant. this was fun. The texture of the penciled background is distracting. Recreating the illustration in paint would be an option.











D: Diamond Back Moth. This works. I don't find the pencil distracting. It actually adds to the texture.

 

E: Emerald Ash Beetle: Once again, the texture worked well with colored pencil qualities. The wings were a little streaky but I like the dotted body and upper wing casing...actually looks like my reference photo.