So I’ve been pencilling out the new treasure chest idea.  I wanted to do a Mimic.

So i figured, if a Mimic really existed, it would have to hide the fact that it was fake.  Most illustrators make their eyes like slits that stay open until the last second before it eats you.  I thought, similar to some insects and some birds, maybe it would have multiple fake eyes, so you couldn’t tell which ones were real, and which were just painted or jewelled on.  So that’s the approach i tried.  Eyes all over.

Yeah, so I threw my back out.  Which means I don’t get to move very much stuff around.

But I can definitely burn and stain.  So here’s the mermaid I’ve been working on.  She’s going to be part of my Goddess collection, I think.  I have a lovely idea for an Earth Goddess I want to do, kind of whimsical and cute and geeky…but right now I’m working on Water.

The Hair has to flow just right, or it won’t work.  So I’m working on those pencils.  Also, I want to give her some Lionfish type striping, so there’ll be a little more work on that.  I like the shading on her, though.  I think I got the bony/webby feeling in the tail and hands.

Here’s the Treasure Chest I’ve been working on.

So I’m working along.  I’ve had another treasure chest idea which is really cool, and Lori’s 2 boxes are on hold until she gives me some more images.  I’ve got a mermaid on one of her internal boxes, so I have to get to work on that one, but I wanted to test my skills on the Goddess first.

So yeah….work cut out for me.  Let me get to that.  🙂