Inspirational strolls and an obstructing headache
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Good evening This week has been… inconsistent might be the best word for it. Every day has been either nothing at all or everything at once, with very little in between. This inconsistency has not been kind to my mental state and the stress buildup has led to the mildly put fierce headache I am suffering from today. It has rendered me entierly unable to work on the project for the day, as looking at a computer screen makes it even worse. My head is pounding even as I write this. Painkillers have not helped at all. These headaches have plagued me on and off for several years, and they always crop up when I am at my most stressed. Hopefully, it will be gone by tomorrow. I want to work! One of the things I have managed to create this week is the rest of the decorative assets. These being a set of spiderwebs and a couple of more plants. The asset in particular I am going to focus on is this spirally little tree.
(Yes, I know it’s a bit on the fuzzy side. Stop yelling. I was in a hurry and was working on five other assets at the same time. If there is time for it, I will fix it.) It may look a bit on he alien side, but I assure you: this is based on a real shrub. The species is known as Corylus avellana ‘Contorta, which is a type of hazel with twisted branches. I got the inspiration to draw one of these from taking a walk in DBW’s botanical garden in northern Visby earlier that day, a walk that had been prompted by spotting a slew of blooming crocus that same morning. It gave me a good slew of inspiration for plants to draw. The tree drawing consists of five layers: Base branch colour, shade and highlight, followed by the base of the buds and their shade. I did not face any major challenges in the drawing of this shrub. I do very much enjoy drawing swirls and spirals, after all. But, I admit, getting the branches to look wholesome was a bit of a challenge. Sketching up the shape is easy. Translating that sketch into a solid drawing and still keping the swirls looking good is always a challenge, whether it be branches, hair or something entierly different. Another minor challenge was the placements of the buds. Did you know it can be quite difficult to keep a plant-proper balance between ordered and random, especially when the branches spiral? Well, it is. But, with a bit of patience and effort, I believe I managed to do at least a decent job of it. It is a pity that it is now a bit on the late side to add any further environmental assets. The witch-hazel (Hamamelis) was blooming in the garden as well, and it bore quite interesting flowers. Drawing some for the game would have been quite enjoyable, and I really should have thought of it sooner. Tomorrow, maybe I’ll finally be able to get to those last few sound effects I’m suposed to be looking for. I would have searched for them today, but alas. Headache got a terrible lot in the way.  |
I’ll be going to sleep early tonight.