Fan Art Spotlight - August 2016

From the Desk of a Frostrager
A fan art spotlight
Author: Evar Scarcarver

I started writing this Spotlight soon after deciding on a concept idea and art piece. I started early, in order to get it on time for the editors to get it edited and posted.

And then I opened up the document and realized the article I had was horrible: the concept was cliché, the delivery was confusing, and I had no idea where I was going with it. And so, deadlines looming (past actually, which is worse), I made the insane decision to completely re-write my column in hopes that it would be something that someone somewhere might find worth reading.

This is one of the several reasons there was no From the Desk of a Frostrager last month.

My life has been really busy lately, filled with new responsibilities and expectations. Expectations from culture, expectations from my family, expectations from society. I think I had started to just write off this column as one more expectation that I was fulfilling, instead of remembering the reason I continue to find time to write it: art, and how much I love it.

Sure, there can be many expectations that come with art, especially when doing it professionally, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to create or consume art in a way that fulfills everyone’s expectations exactly: I want to make art that breaks free from expectations.

For example, if you’ve read this column before, you probably know that I’m really bad when it come to the segue between the prologue and actually introducing the spotlighted art. I hope to break free from that expectation as I introduce the drawing titled Jorhdawn the Elf Wizard by DeviantArt user penut-butter-goddess.

First off, I love the fact that you can see the outlining in grey below the finished drawing. It adds an extra layer of depth.

This drawing is done in one of my favorite styles, a greyscale line art reminiscent of comic books. It is the same style I most often try to copy in my own work, although usually not as cleanly as has been done in this piece.

Although this piece is simple in presentation (a direct front view, no background, no colors), that allows the artist to focus solely on the core techniques and skills that must be honed for an artist.

Overall, it’s a great drawing. If you’ve got a chance, check out more art from penut-butter-goddess on her DeviantArt page; she’s got a few more Heroscape pieces, including a drawing of Eltahale and a sketch of Raelin. She has a blog where you can find her art as well. You can find links to both her DeviantArt page and her blog at the end of this column.

I recently did the 24-hour comic book. It’s a kind of an endurance challenge for comic book artists. Originally devised by Scott McCloud and Steve Bissette, the idea is to write and draw a 24-page comic in under 24 hours.

I did this challenge with a couple of artist friends (who I also play Heroscape with on occasion), and, in addition to pulling my first real all-nighter, I ended up learning a couple of things about myself as an artist.

First thing I learned was that apparently I can actually draw an okay comic page with limited preparation and a ludicrous deadline. And second—the second is more of a realization—I did not expect that I would be able to do that.

More limiting than any expectations other people have for me are the false expectations I make for myself. I think we all need to give ourselves more chances to break free from our expectations, both as artists and as people.

Until next time!

~ES

You can find more work from penut-butter-goddess at her DeviantArt page and on her art blog.

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