strangelittlecreatures

[strangelittlecreatures]

Some isopod studies from reference. I wanted to get some practice in before attempting to make some isopod pins. Fun fact: Terrestrial isopods have 7 main scutes (plates) before their little butt plates start.

Col erase pencil and marker.

[strangelittlecreatures]

I applied to the Galaxycon Columbus 2025 artist alley and was accepted!

This will be my first time vending at a con since 2010. I used to sell at 5 to 8 conventions a year, and conventions were a big part of how I put myself through college. However, all of my signage, storage, displays, and product are no longer around and I will be starting from scratch.

The convention is in December. Time to make some trinkets!

[strangelittlecreatures]

Designing the Everlux for Flight Rising

In November of 2024 Flight Rising released the Everlux dragon breed.

Designing a new dragon for Flight Rising is always an interesting challenge. The dragons need too be unique, fit into a square, and have enough surface area across both their bodies and wings for separate patterns (genes) to go into both. This breed originated from the Light Flight, and we wanted to explore a more alien dragon design. I came up with several concepts for the breed, but a heavy-set caterpillar inspired dragon is the direction we ended up going in.

Before proceeding with a final, I decided to do some studies from reference to learn a bit more about caterpillar anatomy and how their segmented, soft bodies worked. I did several studies from photographs of monarch butterfly caterpillars. I took the opportunity to draw in my sketchbook. Up until this past year, I have not been doing a lot of practice studies, and since picking up the habit, I’ve found that I observe more carefully and learn more by drawing on paper. With digital art, it is very easy to cut, move, and warp drawings after the fact. With paper, I was required pay attention to get the proportions as accurate as possible from the get-go, and I think it helped me to draw more mindfully.

With some practice under my belt, I proceeded to tighter drawings that fit the Flight Rising dragon style and template requirements.

And here are the final templates used for the game! Between the drawing and final stage, the FR art team provided helpful feedback on the hatchling. It was determined that the pulled up leg was busy and read poorly, so it was streamlined for the final. Getting an additional pair of eyes on something is always a good idea!