Earth

Today I added the third elemental VAST collectible to my shop. This one is Earth. I like this one both more and less than the others. I like it more because I feel that there is more of a story. I see a little dragonling sleeping peacefully in his cave as the earth around him wakes up from the winter (the poof of growth at the top of the hill). That narrative draws me in. At the same time, this card was not drawn in the same sitting as the other two and in the meantime I learned some new techniques. However, in an attempt to keep all of the ACEOs in this series similar I was trying to employ the same techniques that I used before. Maybe because I was struggling not to do it another way, I felt that this one, technically, didn't work as well.

Part of that is no doubt influenced by the pictures I was able to take. The colors are actually a bit darker, more saturated, and better blended in real life, but this was the best I could get the pics to turn out. Once I complete a piece and photograph it, I tend to spend more time with the photos (in my etsy shop, on my flickr account, here in the blog) and thus the quality of the photos influences my own perception of my work.

Being a VAST collectible means that this one also has a hidden eye. It is outlined in the second pic if you are having trouble finding it. : )



In other news, I will do the first of my continued Spotlights tomorrow. My plan is to do one Wed and Sun this week and every Sunday thereafter. This week's double header is a little bit of a "reopening" bonus for the feature. I have a couple of great artists lined up for this week that I am excited to introduce to you.