"Annihilation - The Deer"

"Annihilation - The Deer"

[sources: x / x ]

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the deer-creature(s) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

I originally didn't plan on posting this separately and only using it in a 'Annihilation' moodboard/aesthetic (that I haven't posted yet), but then looked through my files and decided to clean it up a bit and actually give it its own post.

Again, this is partly meant to look artistic, part realistic - the branches are from a stock photo but edited so they look almost hand-drawn, and almost as if they are sprouting from the deer's head. The branches make the deer look very alien but regal, just like the ones from the movie did.

Still not quite sure what to make with the text(s) on these pieces however. I'm not sure topography and choosing fonts is gonna be one of my strengths. But the pic looked a bit unfinished without some text imo.

"Who's Lila? - Tanya Kennedy" aesthetic/moodboard

[sources: x / x / x / x / x ]

Aesthethic/Moodboard made with GIMP using stock images from unsplash for the character "Tanya Kennedy" of the videogame "Who's Lila?" by Garage Heathen. Both the game and this piece of art make use of 'dithering'.

Additional thoughts beneath the cut:

This moodboard was both easy and difficult to make; easy because I managed to choose a set of pictures that immediately seemed to 'fit' for me and that I ended up using. Difficult, because we find out a lot about Tanya's inner life in the story of 'Who's Lila?', and she has connections with so many characters - so narrowing down what to put in this moodboard seemed a bit daunting before I started.

I think in the end, I managed to convey a couple things about her but haven't dipped too much into spoiler territory - I feel the relationship with William is hinted at in the pic with the cigarette (which has her face hidden, which I think also fits well in regards to her character), her phone hints at the connections with various people etc.

Maybe I'll make a part II one day, or a moodboard that focuses more on specific parts of Tanya's story. For now though, I think this turned out quite well.

[background picture: x ]

Mixed media collage with an original drawing made by me that I then edited and colored in GIMP, and combined with a picture from pexels.com for the background. Based on whatever the heck Kane Pixels may or may not be teasing in his instagram stories and on his server connected to sun imagery and the phrase "splendor"/"splendid".

Further thoughts below the cut:

This was *awesome* to make; I haven't done traditional drawing in a long while and while I had to edit and combine multiple drawings in GIMP, it was great to see that I could make something like this myself completely from the ground up. I honestly wasn't sure I could and seeing that I indeed can do this is a huge boost for my self-confidence.

Coloring isn't something I am very good at tbh, but this gives this piece a sort of uncanny look that I actually think fits it quite well. Kinda gives it tarot-card vibes a bit.

To give a bit of background on the inspiration for the pic, Kane Pixels has had a few instagram stories and posts in his server that include similar motifs; a smiling sun and the phrase 'splendid'/'splendor'. Personally I think it might maybe be connected to the "Splendor Solis", but it could also just as likely be trolling on his part. We'll see.

No matter whether this ends up being *anything* on his part, it was fun to try and recreate the general idea and feel of the posts and just run with it, and to prove to myself that I could make something like this in the first place.

I have a different picture with a stock photo background as well as a picture with just the sun-mask-figure, which I will hopefully also post in the future.

"Basilisk 2000" (Aesthetic/Moodboard)

[sources: x / x / x / x / x / x x ]

Aesthetic/moodboard for the horror game 'Basilisk 2000' made by Akuma Kira @stylishkira, made in GIMP and Aseprite with stock images from pexels.com and wikimedia commons (CC BY 4.0). The pictures have been edited via color indexing.

(I recommend opening the aesthetic/moodboard in a separate tab for the best viewing experience, tumblr really compressed esp the top right picture.)

Good thing the video by Sagan Hawkes about this game taught me that 'perfection is the enemy of finished', or I would have struggled to finish this piece. Which is kinda fitting.

I found and followed a tutorial by tofupixels about color indexing with palettes in Aseprite and found out that this isn't just great for making pseudo-pixel-art backgrounds, but also for emulating the low poly graphics of the 2000s web and video game graphics. Which in turn made me remember this little game and inspired me to try and make a moodboard for it in a matching art style.

I (re)listened to the video by Sagan Hawkes about the game while making the moodboard. Making this was fun and a bit frustrating at times. But I also learned a lot, which is always great (and a good antidote to perfectionism, since learning new things is always an improvement imo).

I might post some of the graphics I used (or didn't use) for this piece separately, since I like how they came out so much.

"Ladybug" (pixel art)

Made in Aseprite. 2nd ever pixel art project/sprite, made on the first day trying out Aseprite for pixel art.

(A big thank you to pixel artists like @tofupixel, @pixelartjourney and all the others who post tutorials, share their knowledge, and encourage people to try their hand at this artstyle. I wouldn't have even tried this if it weren't for you and people like you!)

(Originally written 08/24/24) HOLY SHIT I AM DOING PIXEL ART LET'S GOO-

Ahem. Sorry for the outburst. But like. At the point I am at rn, first preparing this post, I made this piece literal minutes ago, and it is my *first day* attempting to do pixelart and like...I love this piece. So much. I haven't felt this giddy in a while, which is saying something, considering how happy making art has made me feel those last few weeks.

After I made my first project (a little sprite, which I will also post soon), I wanted to try other stuff in Aseprite, preferably stuff I might be able to make into patterns for example. I thought about veggies and fruits first, then thought of a ladybug. Considering they are meant to bring luck and I love those little critters, it was a perfect choice.

There's still room for improvement, obviously - my first attempts at lighting anything but what I did in this version wasn't...great. But considering I spent about 2-3 hours on this and this was my second ever project/first day of doing this, I'd say this is a huge win.

I might continue to tinker around with this, we'll see. But I am already so happy with this version I wanted to share it.

Also, for anyone reading this (in which case - thank you for letting me ramble lol) - I used references and am not very fluent in Aseprite yet, and still I was able to do this. I do not think it is some kind of inherent 'talent', just determination and willingness to try a hundred different things until one is satisfied with the result. As well as the joy of creating stuff.

If I can do it, you can do it too, is what I am saying. I never would have thought I'd be able to make something like this and yet I did. And I think others can too.

[sources: x ]

Patterns (as PNGs) of The Rolling Giant from Kane Pixels' "The Oldest View" on Youtube, made with screenshots in GIMP. The Julien Reverchon Giant was originally made by Kevin Obregon.

This is from my phase of finding out how to make patterns and becoming a little bit obsessed with making them. The intention was to make some stuff that fans could potentially use for a fanpage or blogs, for example as backgrounds. I got a bit lost in the various filters and options in GIMP as well lol.