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Witchtember Week 4-5

Day 19 - Skirt

Day 20 - Necklace

Day 21 - Crystals

Day 22 - Glasses

Day 23 - Calligraphy Pen

Day 24 - Notebook

Day 25 - Mushroom

Day 26 - Crow

Day 27 - Skull

Day 28 - Runes

Day 29 - Cauldron

Day 30 - Wild Card (Nap)

Completing my first art challenge! It’s been a lot of fun!🥰

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Clone wars

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Witchtember Week 2-3

Day 5 - Plant

Day 6 - Crystal Ball

Day 7 - Book

Day 8 - Cat

Day 9 - Eye

Day 10 - Ghost

Day 11 - Sage

Day 12 - Candle

Day 13 - Memory Box

Day 14 - Tea

Day 15 - Stars

Day 16 - Broom

Day 17 - Bag

Day 18 - Tarot Deck

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Week 1 of witchtember! Prompts by @simzart :)

(idk why but I made a title page for the challenge in my sketchbook >.>):

(they are two of my old oc's who I will be using for this challenge)

Day 1 - Leaf:

Day 2 - Potion:

Day 3 - Magic Wand:

(alternate title: dumb witchcraft students fight each other with magic wand as swords accidentally shoot out fire balls and get suspended)

Day 4 - Witch Hat:

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Playing with new Posca markers (natural color set) :D

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Sketches from the weekend:

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drawing my favorite jedi to treat myself after a tiring but productive week ☺️🍵

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Sketches from the week (had photo refs):

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Some more sketches over the weekend:

The first three had photo references.

The last one was a real story that happened… :’(

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Just a quick doodle to help my unimaginative brain to visualize a female Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in a fic I’m reading.

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Some more random sketches with references:

Going forward with this sketchbook, I think I’ll stick to simpler and study-type sketches such as the hand, since I bought this pocket sized sketchbook originally to do simple sketches, not the relatively complicated compositions (considering their sizes) I somehow fell back into doing σ(^_^;)… Also these papers don’t really work all that well with alcohol markers, and I’ve been craving to use watercolor, so I might start a mixed media sketchbook?

(Here comes the worry that I might never be able to finish a sketchbook, just finding excuses to start new ones…)

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I got the book yesterday afternoon, and finished it 5 am this morning. It was a pretty good/easy read. I had wanted to write down my thoughts about the story when I finished it, but it was 5 am.

**major spoiler alert**

(also English is not my native language but I’ll do my best to be intelligible.)

For a long time I had been reluctant to read any of the new “canon” of Obi-Wan’s padawan years, because I had grew up with the Jedi Apprentice series, which is fundamental to my understanding of Obi-Wan’s character. The arcs with Bandomeer, Melida/Daan, Xanatos/Bruck, and Zan Arbor were pretty much ingrained in my brain. Personally, it is still a little unsettling to read stories that contradict the JA storyline, but I suspect that, with the help of some mental gymnastics, I might manage to meld the old and new stories into a semi-coherent head canon.

While the apprenticeship described by the Padawan is more TCW compliant, there are quite a few things in the book that are consistent with the JA series:

Obi-Wan as a teenager struggled with self-doubt, despite excelling at saber work and a lot of his studies.

A major part of it was due to Qui-Gon’s mannerism as a teacher (more on this later).

And part of it was likely because (allegedly) Master Yoda had been the one to push them together. Obi-Wan was never chosen.

Obi-Wan, even as a teen, was always, always ready to give his life in order to save others (*unhappy Cody and Anakin noises*).

The new characters as Obi-Wan’s fellow padawan (in particular, Bolla) were quite interesting. I was a little disappointed at the lack of Quinlan, but Siri has made it into this story with a less annoying (sorry) personality (I wonder if she is still a Tachi and if Adi is still her master). The author made it sound like they have different initiate friends than padawan friends, which is an intriguing concept (like going to different elementary schools and middle schools).

And I can’t help but find Padawan Kenobi extremely… cute, for the lack of a better word. In the beginning of the story, he was essentially a very polite ball of anxiety. His interactions with Aces (Aces! He nicknamed his droid Aces!) and the younglings on Lenahra were so endearing it melted my heart. His interaction with animals, plants, and the planet gave me warm, fuzzy Ghibli vibes. Obi-Wan’s realization that the core reason for his struggles were that he cared deeply about everyone and everything, and him making a mental list of useful skills to learn once he’s back in the Temple (and evidently he did learn them), made me smile because they were just so in character of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The part that everyone is talking about - the implication that Obi-Wan might be biromantic and asexual, or at least questioning - I don’t find all that surprising. At least in my head canon, Obi-Wan has always been somewhere on the ace/aro spectrum (though I do love a good ship story, and there are A LOT of those in the fandom), and I consider him more of a pan, in the sense that gender matters little to his attractions, than a bi. But it’s nice to have my head canon more or less confirmed. Also Anakin kinda gave him away in RotS.

The book has also done quite a bit of foreshadowing:

Dooku’s statement that Qui-Gon would’ve joined him if he’d been alive, and Obi-Wan’s conviction that no, actually, he wouldn’t, all made more sense now (the author had also wrote it in a way that suggests that Dooku and Obi-Wan were destined to not meet until AotC, which is interesting).

Upon meeting the inhabitants on the mysterious planet, the first thing Obi-Wan said was hello there and the first thing Obi-Wan did afterwards was losing his lightsaber.

It’s quite clear that Obi-Wan already had a propensity for negotiating (even when the opponents were trying to kill him) and inappropriate comments in life/death situations. As well as his future skill in animal bonding and mind influence. Obi-Wan was also already masterful in finding faults in himself and finding ways to self-recriminate (*frowning in Cody*).

The rumination about the Jedi Council (“they were old” lmao), and the disbelief that Obi-Wan could possibly have an apprentice “worse” than him… Oh he had no idea…

Obi-Wan giving himself to the Force instead of trying to use it reminds me of Dooku’s observation of him in the Force in RotS - a vessel of the Force, a window where light shines through. The part where Obi-Wan let go, is also reminiscent of him letting go in the midst of his fight with Vader on Mustafar, allowing the Force to dictate his actions.

Obi-Wan’s decision to dedicate his life to following the Force regardless of his status as a Jedi, his desire to help everyone in the galaxy, and his love of the Jedi, the Temple, and Coruscant… I didn’t know it’s possible for me to feel even sadder about his fate...

(Speaking of which, I was also curious about the ominous financier who had wanted to harvest the Power to use against the Jedi - was he Darth Plagueis?)

Okay. On the topic of Qui-Gon Jinn (apologies in advance for the long rant ahead). I severely disapprove of his attitudes and decisions in the JA series, but I didn’t hate him as a character, because we were made aware the underlying psychological trauma contributing to his flaws. Though it does not exonerate his mistreatment of the one child dependent on and looking up to him, I at least understand him to be emotionally compromised. The Qui-Gonna Jinn in Padawan, however, even though it was later attributed to Obi-wan’s misunderstanding, seemed just inherently (and frustratingly) inscrutable, without any good reasons beyond his personality and teaching style. There were indeed some good moments (and Obi-Wan was apparently secure enough to find him annoying (lmao), unlike the JA Obi-Wan), but there were also points at which I wanted to tell him to please just talk to your kid. I do get the let-the-child-work-out-their-own-issues method and even some of its potential benefits, but at least provide them with the assurance that they will have a place by you even if they do not succeed for the moment? So much of Obi-Wan’s anxiety and insecurity (and the resulting downward spiral that blocked him from the Force in the first place) were simply because he’d felt misplaced due to his perceived failure to connect with his Master - are they really necessary to teach Obi-Wan to trust the Force? After all, the two years of temple-bound meditation administered by Qui-Gon had done Obi-Wan no good, and he would’ve been stuck still if not for this self-imposed rebellious mission. It just seemed like lazy teaching. Also, had he no concern for the kid’s safety? I kept thinking that it was entirely feasible for Qui-Gon to track Obi-Wan to the planet; he’d told him which trial to follow and it would only take a trip to the Archive to find out. It seemed like Qui-Gon trust the Force so much that if Obi-Wan ended up dead, it would be the Will of the Force and therefore fine with him. And to think that, when faced with certain death, the two thoughts on Obi-Wan’s mind were 1) hoping his last act would help his friends, and 2) hoping Qui-Gon wouldn’t feel guilty about his death after he’d found out… I guess Qui-Gon did canonically enter a nine-year-old Anakin in pod race, so there is no way around his disregard for the safety of his charges. I don’t know if I like this version of Qui-Gon any better than the one from the JA series.

And a (major) part of it was because I severely dislike tardy people.

On the bright side, I like this version of Dex and Obi-Wan first meeting much more - a friend from a shared adventure and not just a friend of his master’s. I don’t remember if Dex’s former occupation as a weapon dealer was canon, so I was a little confused by him identifying as a miner in the book (though he was responsible for handling the mining bombs). I hope to read more of Obi-Wan’s adventures involving Dex because I really enjoyed his character.

The part of the story where Obi-Wan reflected on the power the Jedi were given, which necessitated the structure and rules they were bound by, I thought was really good. I know many people dislike the Jedi for their rigidity, specifically the no attachment rule, but there were practical and historical reasons for their implementations, namely to make sure the Jedi use responsibly the power they were given instead of wielding their privileges freely. No attachment simply means no attachment above duty, it does not equate forbiddance of love and compassion. And if one chooses something else over duty, they are free to leave and welcome to visit, just as what Qui-Gon had said about Dooku (which is another part of the story I really liked). It’s only when someone (*ahem*) secretly keeps a marriage vow on top of the Jedi vow that it becomes a problem. The downfall of the Jedi, in my humble opinion, had much more to do with its ties to a corrupt senate, than any one of its restrictions.

Overall, I liked the book. It’s well-paced and insightful in places. I think the most prominent and lasting impression I will have of the story is OBI-WAN INTERACTING WITH DROIDS AND YOUNGLINGS AND ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND A WHOLE PLANET OMG HE SO CUTE!!!

(sorry life is just really stressful rn.)

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Haven't watched Kenobi yet because at the moment I cannot afford to go into Star Wars mode (which tends to be long and intense), but from what I’ve glimpsed this is my current impression:

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Some more mini sketches (with references) + new art supplies :D

→ On the left was done pre-new-art-supplies. At the time I had very limited number of markers to work with so the lips were done with colored pencil and the background with orange highlighter lol

→ On the right was post-new-art-supplies! It probably would have been much easier to color this with colored pencils but I couldn't help wanting to try out my new ohuhu markers :D

↓ I was planning to not spending at all on prime day but seeing ohuhu markers on sale broke my resolve, and it all spiraled down from there ( ._.)... got a set of gouache paint and oil pastels as well, will probably play with them later *happy noises*

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More mini sketches (with photo references)

→ On the left was my second attempt with alcohol markers. Tried layering and blending techniques - it was so much fun but I am so bad at it haha :D The light on the face was messed up because I underestimated the value of the more-or-less skin tone marker, so it was fixed (?) with a white posca marker...→_→

→ On the right, I wanted do wet-on-wet for the background, and the paper did not like it one bit... I was afraid to anger the paper further so I just color-penciled the beak and feet ( ._.)

(maybe it's time to look into wet/mix media sketchbooks...)

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Hello! This is Bai, and it’s my first post here (and please pardon my English). I have been having terrible art block since the beginning of the year, so the plan is:

1) use reference photos (which, oddly, I never did before o_o)

2) use traditional media (instead of digital)

3) draw / study things other than people!

4) use prompts

5) try different stylizations...?

And I thought it might be a good idea to post these attempts and document my struggle (lol)

Here are some of my recent sketches (most of them used photo references), on a mini sketchbook size of my palm :D ↓

→First time using a grey pen brush. On the right is what I see in the mirror every morning -_-…

→First time drawing animals! I love, love, love baby emperor penguins. So cute!! <33 I have not used colored pencils in perhaps a decade, and (evidently) I am not very good at it. They are so fun to use tho! xD

→On the left was what I drew while eagerly waiting to go to all-you-can-eat sushi with friends lol. Watercolor is another media I have not used in years (and am not very good at), but I am excited to go back into it!

→On the right was my first time trying markers!! I messed up nearly everything but hopefully I’ll get better after learning more about them :D

I will post more as I have time to draw. Hopefully I can get through my art block some time in the future :)