wildlife

Creature Design: Hello, New Orr Kid!

| Sabby G

CreatureDesign-OrrKid-Radiari

At long last, another Orr Kid has been ‘discovered’! The Radiari variant is, perhaps, the most nimble, if only for the fact that it is able to jump extreme distances with ease. Along with powerful hind legs, its body is streamlined and smooth to help it cut through air. Its namesake, however, comes from the radial plumes at its hindquarters. The main purpose of this rear crest seems to be communication, and is more pronounced in adult males. The Radiari also has tacky hairs on its feet which help it to climb and latch onto surfaces. It has the sharpest vision of the currently known Orr Kids.

Below is the inspiration for this latest creation, the White Egret Orchid.WhiteEgret2

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Happy New Year: 2015’s gonna be busy…

| Sabby G

IMG_20141216_115216

This is the year I really need to work on myself as not only an artist, but a freelance professional. I know what I’m good at, what I understand, so it’s time to focus on that and keep developing. The end of 2014 brought on a few clients, and, along with that, the hope and esteem that, ‘hey, I can make a professional artist of myself. I just need to work.‘ Key word there. Stop twiddling my thumbs. That’ll be my main resolution, methinks. So overall 2015 will hopefully be the year where I establish myself professionally. Wish me luck!

Now, aside from that, there are of course other smaller, more typical resolutions I’d like to conquer. Get back into ‘at home’ yoga, for example. I’m so bloody stiff it’s ridiculous. Also bum exercises, haha… Health-wise, that’s really it. The exercise. I’d like to think I’m a pretty good eater.

With a wedding on the way, I’d also like to keep my expenses at a minimum. Not so hard for myself, unless of course something shiny comes along…

Finally, get organized! Or stick to a schedule… something to help me manage my time and… well, everything! Again, with a wedding to plan and a profession to kick into gear, that is key. 

Oh yeah, and those three little chickies are frogmouth chicks, in case you were wondering ;)

Happy New Year! :D

Nature Sketching: Final Project

| Sabby G

NatureSketching-CreatureDesign-Final

Happy Holidays! The Evergreen Squirrel is what I came up with for our final Nature Sketching assignment, in which we had to invent a creature based on our previous class (or personal) studies. Considering the number of animals we had looked at, I decided first to come up with a little backstory. Where does it live? What climate does it have to deal with? What does it eat? And so on… My initial requisites where that it had to live in Canada, being able to survive our harsh winters. And, considering the time of year, I wanted to put a hint of Christmas into the design. Wildlife biologist that I am, it also needed to be realistic and above all else, believable! Read on for more research, sketches, and process (yes, ‘back’ pine cones ARE possible)! Continue reading →

Nature Sketching: Rhinoceros Research

| Sabby G

NatureSketching-Rhino-PenMarkers
Last week our homework for nature sketching was to research and draw a ‘large mammal’. During the class we studied from miniature models, subjects ranging from the great Canadian moose to the giant African elephant… while I love our national symbol to bits, the moose is quite the fuzzy animal, and I wanted to try something a little different… hence, the Indian Rhino. As armored as an armadillo, as warty as a toad. Perfect. Continue reading →

Nature Sketching: Drawing Dinosaurs!

| Sabby G

NatureSketching-Dinosaur-Dromaeosaurus-Cropped
At Syn Studio this semester I’m taking a course called Nature Sketching, in which we study a different variety of animal each week. From real (albeit dead) fish we moved on to live reptiles (a snake and lizard borrowed from a local pet shop), and last week we visited McGill University’s Redpath Museum. Our homework was to push one of our dinosaur skeleton sketches further, and fully flesh out our chosen subject. I chose the raptor-like Dromaeosaurus albertensis, a local North american species. Continue reading →

Inktober: Week One & Bonus Nuggets!

| Sabby G

Extra : LoZ Twilight Princess' Skull Kid
So this year is the first year I participate in this thing called Inktober… to be honest, it’s the first I’ve even heard of it since its conception back in 2009. Created by illustrator Jake Parker as a personal challenge, it has since grown into a worldwide phenomenon spanning the entirety of our social media globe! You can read up on it at Jake’s website, but essentially the goal is to draw in ‘ink’ every day of October (there are variations, however). I’ve already been doodling in pen each day for the past while now, so for me it’s more of a continuation of what I’m already doing. Instead, I’m trying to do some speed doodling, and various other ideas that pop into my head. Here’s a wrap up of the first week, with a few extras added for good measure ;)

As a sidenote: I’ve been posting all these (minus the extras – they’re bonus for you blog followers! ) on my instagram account, for those of you who are interested! Continue reading →

Playing with Promarkers: A Whole New Ballgame

| Sabby G
Caracal Portrait: My latest attempt at rendering fur using Promarkers
Caracal Portrait: my latest attempt at rendering fur using Promarkers

A belated happy fall (or autumn, if that’s how you roll), everyone! Finally, the season of colours, warm outfits, and harvest is upon us! Speaking of colours, I’ve been really getting into Letraset’s Promarkers; a less expensive version of Copics. These alcohol-based markers are fantastic, and, like their ‘cousins’, come in hundreds of colours… and I’ll be honest, deciding which colours to buy was, itself, quite an undertaking. Knowing my interest revolves around our natural world, I chose my hues accordingly, keeping in mind I would mostly be colouring fur, trees, and flowers. Still, by the end of two trips to the local art store, I wound up with a hefty collection… to start. Still missing my greys, though (using my PITT artist pens for now)! Continue reading →

Analytical Sketching: Sum Up

| Sabby G

Analytical-Animals
This Thursday will mark the finale of my latest course at Syn Studio, Analytical Sketching. Essentially, it revolved around building up objects and figures from lines and geometric shapes. It really helped me to build upon my basic skills, and I noticed a significant improvement in the ‘3D’ appearance of my comparatively flat sketches. We only ever used pen and markers, which forced us to commit fully to whatever marks we put down. Since then, I think I may have touched a pencil once or twice. Of course, I was already a pen fan to begin with! Here are a few highlights from throughout the 10 weeks. Continue reading →