Let's keep the Octransfur retrospective going. As before, the full resolution pictures can be found above, click here to check out the timelapse playlist, and my commentary can be found below. Let's go~
Day 17 - Voice - I want to start with a small, slightly-embarrassing admission: despite dabbling with object shows and designing an object OC/sona for myself, I still have yet to properly watch BFDI. ^^; Anyhow, back on topic, the thing that I was most interested in for this picture was designing the speech bubbles to match our character designs. Funnily enough, the thing that took the longest with this one was finding the right song lyrics for our dialogue (The time stamps are accurate, too!). The rest was just as straightforward as any other picture, for the most part.
Day 18 - Sunset - In addition to getting a lot of practice figuring out the creases and shine of pooltoys again (and folding one up to boot), I used another trick I don't use all that often. I found a 3D model of a Suzuki Cappuccino online and traced over that for the sketch after I found myself having trouble getting the car to look the way I wanted. I still had to draw the trunk lid myself, but there's no shame in using a 3D model to help get the details right. Sketchfab is a great resource for that kind of thing.
Day 19 - Treasure - I got a bit overambitious with this one, but I figured I could let the text do most of the heavy lifting. We actually figured out the rough outline of the text a few days in advance while discussing the commission. This picture reminded me that it's a good habit to write down ideas as you go so that it's easier to write the dialogue later. This is where the stress really started to pile up but that's a story that's better left between friends.
Day 20 - Neon - First-person point-of-view pictures are always a treat, aren't they? Normally there would be a mirror in this kind of picture, but in this case you're not really the star, you're just along for the ride with Reggie and his friends. And yes, I did draw everyone cheating in some way. There are two Aces of Hearts in play, Reggie and Leon both have cards up their sleeves, Scuzz is actively switching out his hand while everyone is distracted, and I'm playing another game entirely. It seems like you might be the only honest player here.Just add some neon lighting (and neon Umbreon rings) with a touch of glow, and you've got an underground card game to fit the day's theme. This also happens to be another timelapse where I'm particularly happy with the transition between musical tracks. Sometimes you get really lucky with the search for appropriate music and find two songs that pair up perfectly.
Day 21 - School - This is another picture where the dialogue came first. The original plan was to make another big impromptu group picture/YCH, but I was starting to run out of steam by this point, and there was also a spot of drama (if you were there, you remember; and if you weren't, it was really minor so don't worry about it) that lead to the scuttling of that particular plan.So what to do when you're stressed? Go back to your comfort zone. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: PMD is one of my very favorite settings. Add in a dash of teasing a close friend, my old colored-dialogue trick, and indulging some schoolyard moods, and you're good to go.
Day 22 - Swift - The commissions continue, and my Emolga form makes a return. No better way to whip yourself back into shape than a training session, right? This was a happy case where the commissioner and I ended up in sync on the brainstorming process. Aside from inanimate TFs making for easier cameos, this was good practice for comic-style dialogue and sound effects. While I normally use a set font for dialogue, I find that handwritten dialogue gives a more raw feel that works well for shouting and sound effects. It really lets you dial in the right feel depending on how you arrange the letters.
Day 23 - Tired - I was falling behind a bit by this point, but I figured I'd start running out of steam around here. That's why I put Tired about two-thirds of the way through the month when setting up 2025's prompt list. Experiencing the emotion you want to draw makes it easier to depict, funnily enough. It was a treat to work with another plane enthusiast on a planedragon picture. They're a DC-10, but I still had to settle on an appropriate form to join them for a transatlantic flight. Naturally, I settled on the Baby (Air)Bus: the A318; one of the littlest transatlantic passenger jetliners. After that, it's just the usual process of looking up schematics and pictures to get all the major details (control surfaces, door placement, cockpit window shape, etc.) right, and following through.
Day 24 - Mischief - Here's where I really started falling apart, in a way. I actually skipped this day (along with Day 25) and finished it after the end of October, skipping straight to Day 26 so that I wouldn't keep any paid commission days waiting. So in truth, this was drawn on November 1.Anyhow, I kept it simple (and a bit self-indulgent). Zorua is the natural choice for mischief, and It took a couple tries to get the expression right on my Zorua form, but I knew from the start that I wanted to mess with a trainer. So I picked (on) Hilbert from Black and White; half because he has an outfit that's recognizable when in shreds, and half because his is a name I could remember. After the usual work, I added some blur to the snout and paws of our volun-victim, borrowed a battlefield background design to keep things simple, and slapped on a bit of magic to finish up yet another first-person point-of-view TF.
Anyhow, that's the third quarter. I'll be back tomorrow with the final quarter~