Conceptober 2022 - In Closing

With the success of this year's art challenge, it would be wrong if I didn't write a post to properly wrap everything up!

Conceptober Thoughts

If you've been following my content for a fair amount of time, then surely you're aware that I have always struggled to see these October art challenges to completion within the month itself, or even actually finishing them. This is the first time that I've actually been successful with doing and finishing the art challenge within the month itself and I'm very proud of this achievement.

Because of how broad my scope was for this year's theme, I initially wanted to be able to showcase various elements from my fantasy story. However, as time went on my focus shifted from variety to just being able to do what was more convenient and easier to do, which is why you start to see more bestiary entries near the end of the challenge. I was also consistently late by two days, at one point even reaching up to three, and I needed to ensure I caught up so I can finish the art challenge on time.

I also didn't mention this on my blog, but on the 7th, I finally received my new Wacom One tablet. This was a huge upgrade from my old Intuos, but I had to make changes to how I worked because this was the first time I was drawing on tablet that displayed my canvas at the same time. I like to think that all the entries I made for Conceptober were a huge help in my transition from the Wacom Intuos to the Wacom One, and now I'm very comfortable working with the latter.

Here's what my new tablet looks like by the way 😄:

It's the one on the right, by the way.

Improvements

I think the one thing I need to improve on is drawing the lower torso and the legs of humanoid characters. Same with hands. When I draw some of my characters I feel like I understand these concepts, and on other characters I struggle and realize that I actually don't. 😅 I need to take a few days to understand these elements better and practice drawing them.

The Tower of Ascension is definitely one of those pieces that I need to eventually return to and paint all over again. This is not a piece I am proud of and I really want to change that.

Moving Forward

I said last year's challenge was great, but this year is better simply because I finished the challenge on time. 😂

I started the challenge with the intent to create more content for the Aether and Radisrol. I'm glad to see more of this world come to life and to see these various elements put on canvas. After this work of Emeline, I even mull the possibility of this becoming a graphic novel in the near future. Although a great undertaking, it would be amazing for me to tell the story of my characters this way and I genuinely consider pursuing this endeavor.

For now, however, I'd like to go back to making colorful and elaborate landscape paintings again, preferrably based off of screenshots from Guild Wars 2 and GTA Online. I also miss making some content for Gator Buddies and maybe this month I'll start working on the next series of strips.

I also want to create some more original content for merch. New stickers, new hoodie designs maybe? My shop is long overdue for some new selections... Speaking of business, now that Conceptober is finally finished, my commission status is once again open! Perhaps you'd be interested in checking out my commish page here, and we can talk business if you'd like.

Before I jump into all that, though... I think I'll be taking a week off from arting. Just need some time to recharge after dishing out so much content this past month. 😅

I have to say though, this year's art challenge has done a good job of making me accustomed to the habit of trying to make art even when I'm not pressed to make some anymore... As I write this entry, I'm being nagged by this constant feeling that goes along the lines of, "You need to make some art right now even though I know you don't necessarily need to at the moment but you better make some anyway just 'cause". Not to say I dislike this, though. With all these projects I have in mind, heck, I'm definitely going to need this bug of productivity. 😋

Bristleboar α

WE'VE FINALLY DONE IT! DAY 31! WE'VE FINISHED AN ART CHALLENGE ON TIME THIS YEAR! 🤯😱🎉

The savage Bristleboar α is another boss monster our protagonists will encounter in the Aether at some point. I first doodled this before when I made the original Bristleboar post days ago.

Good lord. With this posted, this effectively marks the end of a month-long journey. I can also confidently say that, for the first time in all the years I've been doing these art challenges, I have finally finished a self-imposed art challenge without allowing it to stretch a single day further for whatever reason.

I'll have a follow-up post to this last one to wrap up the art challenge properly in the next few days. For now, allow me to bask in the dopamine coming from the knowledge that I persevered and saw an art challenge to its completion... On time, for once. 😎

Sabergriff

Oh god, we've made it to Day 30... 😩 It's been a long time coming, guys! Just one more to go! 🎇

I am still rather conflicted with this monster's name; I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out what I should name it, and even then just Sabergriff doesn't seem to cut it. Nonetheless, I'll be calling it that for now, and perhaps later on I'll have a better name to christen this beast with.

Knight's Vow

OH MY GOD, doesn't this just look something straight out of a webtoon?? 😱

Today's entry isn't something for my bestiary this time! We feature the Valkyrie knight Emeline reaffirming her sworn oath to her liege and to her people. I didn't want to linger too heavily on this so I can maintain the course of my art challenge and end on time this year. But HOO BOY HOT DAMN seeing this scene does get me pretty hyped about trying to make the Aether and Radisrol into a graphic novel ✨

Aer Slimes

HOLY SHIT WE'VE ALMOST CAUGHT UP! 😱

I actually didn't want to make this sheet for the Aer Slimes because it felt like a really half-assed entry. All I had to do was make these circles and blobs, add a few details here and there, and call it a day. It didn't sit well with me to create something that wasn't as complex as other anatomy pieces or my maps.

I decided to do it anyway though because it's the first monster featured in my bestiary and it bothered me that it didn't have a character sheet of its own yet. And despite how simple the design is, it is technically still content for my fantasy story...

Sporepuff

Here's the Sporepuff for Day 27! Its growth stages are from right to left, for those who weren't sure. 😋

I had another monster called a Misty Spirit in mind when I first started this piece. It was supposed to look similar to the Pilsbury dough boy, but it would have some wavy hair and the whole body would be in this faded blue and white gradient. Then I became indecisive about if I wanted to make this into a Misty Spirit or use what I had to design a Sporepuff instead. I clearly chose the latter. 😝

The Misty Spirit will get its own design someday, just not today. 😅

Patchwork

I'm slowly catching up to those missed days, guys. 😰

Here's a demon monster for the bestiary! Its original name was Little Devil, but I decided that was too braindead basic for me. Patchwork sounds much nicer. It contrasts so well with its malicious nature too. 😊

Earthshaker

Day 25! The Earthshaker is one of the boss monsters Etherei and Zephyr encounter in the Aethersphere. He's a real big boye, ain't he?

Argentosaurus

Oh, finally, a monster that looks anything but harmless compared to the last three. 😂

I'm really enjoying all these monster entries. It's a really good way to get comfortable drawing animals and various body types. 😌 It's also fun when I add each page into my monster bestiary in Campfire Pro; whenever I click on one monster's name, their reference sheet just pops up like a Pokédex entry and it's just really cool to see. 😆

Sky Eels

Introducing Sky Eels! They look a little derpy, don't they? They're just the type of easy meal Swoopers like... Until the birds get fried because they didn't kill their prey fast enough to stop their defensive electrical discharging. ⚡

Swooper

Still more monsters for Day 22 👀

Swoopers are the Pidgeys and Starlys of the Aether. On a regular day you'll find them in flocks flying across the Cloudsea.

Cloudhares

For Day 21, we have another monster from the Aethersphere! These Cloudhares are cute yet cautious creatures. Even though they can fight back against their attackers, they will normally choose to avoid conflict and flee from threats as much as possible.

Oh, boy. We're reaching that point in the challenge when my number of missed days are starting to increase 😰 But I must persevere ✨

Zephyr (2022) - Concept 2

Another poster for Day 20, featuring Zephyr with a slightly modified design from her old design from January.

I'm much more satisfied with her design here. I reverted the pauldron's material from a leather to metal. The boots are definitely much better than the old ones; they look like actual boots this time and I put in effort in drawing the laces. Her design now looks much more balanced, thanks mostly to the brown part I added on her top.

I've reached the point where I feel wholly comfortable with her current design enough that I don't want to change anything any time soon. I'd even be perfectly content with this being her final design moving forward.

Bristleboars

Oh, we're back to the old format again. Except today we feature a monster!

Bristleboars are like your regular boar but it gores much worse and shoots needles. Steer clear when you see one!

Ashwood Forest - Area Map

Another overhead map? Let's go, y'all. 😎

This is a map of the Ashwood Forest, directly connected to the village of Plume. It's a pretty simple and straightforward area; if the story was to be developed as a game, this forest would be the first dungeon the player would end up going to for their first quest.

Otherworldly Travelers

Now, wouldn't this make for a good cover for, say, a manga volume? 😏

I made sketches of these two several years ago with almost the exact same composition: Etherei with his sword in front like that and Zephyr standing behind him, back turned to the viewer and peering over her shoulder (or looking from the side) while the Sanguine manifests from her fists and left eye.

Needless to say, it's another one of those I-can't-believe-I-can-finally-see-this-shit-in-digital art pieces. 😋

Plume - Town Map

Breaking away again from my usual format, I feature this top-down town map of the village of Plume in the Aethersphere. This is the first village Etherei and Zephyr go to following their fateful meeting on one of the floating islands southwest of the village.

I feel much better about this piece compared to the one yesterday... Good grief.

I'm also giddy about those tiny map icons I made for various places 🧭

Tower of Ascension

The Tower of Ascension is a relic of a time long past. Once a site of worship to the Exalted, it is said to have been where the first Aetherians descended to the world of Radisrol. This first descent would mark the beginning of the most prosperous time in history for both worlds: the Golden Age of Radisrol.

Following the Cataclysm, this very same tower would be where fleeing Aetherians sought refuge from the enraged Radisrolians, who had shunned them for inadvertently releasing the Shadow Flux into the world. The Aetherians retreated back to their lands in the skies above, never again returning to the land below.

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For day 15, I made this not-so-serious attempt at a landscape. I'm actually not particularly happy with this painting, mainly because of the shape of the tower. I think I'll have to eventually come back to this at some point and do it again when I'm not so time-pressured.

Female Wyrmidon Anatomy

Goddamn, this one took a lot longer than I would have hoped 😩 But it's finished! For day 14, we have female Wyrmidon anatomy, featuring Viresco. Seeing her in this form is so good 😍

This Emerald form is Viresco's base Wyrmidon form, and therefore doesn't have any particular affinity to the Aether elements. It does, though, lean more towards the Terra element because of her poison abilities.

Aether Elements

What's a fantasy world without magic, amirite?

For Day 13 we have something relatively simple: symbols of each of the four Aether Elements! Each of the elements specialize in a particular kind of secondary trait in addition to their main type of magic.

They are called Aether Elements because during the Golden Age of Radisrol--when the Aetherians first descended from the firmament and made first contact with the Radisrolians--the Aetherians brought with them the knowledge of how to wield these elements. Collectively, magics and skills classified under these elements are referred to as Aether Arts.