goss

It's the 1st of October, and the start of our annual Drawtober challenge over at drawesome! :D

I don't think I was able to manage participating at all last year, but I'm determined to do it this time around. Sometimes it helps to keep a theme in mind or a particular direction to go in, so I'm thinking about focusing on figure drawing - gestures, line of action, musculature, that sort of thing.

Day 1's prompt was THROUGH A WINDOW. I sketched the figure from a reference photo and filled with marker:



Feels like I haven't done any art in forever, so this is a good start I think! :)

One of my art goals is learning to convey movement using fewer strokes, to develop a more loose and natural figure drawing style, which I know will only come with practice. Not sure how many sketches I'll be able to do this month, but I'm hoping for around 10.

Here's the list of daily art prompts, for my own reference: ( Drawtober 2025 Prompts )

Title: Jim
Artist: goss
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death
Character: Jim Jimenez
Rating: G
Content Notes: For drawesome Challenge #71 - Pride!. Digital drawing of Jim, an awesome non-binary character on Our Flag Means Death, using the non-binary flag colours yellow, white, purple and black. I was also inspired by the ceaseless fluidity and flow of the wide open ocean. :)

Preview:


( Click here for entire artwork )

I just turned off reposts on Bluesky, and it's made a world of difference to my reading experience!

My Bluesky dash suddenly feels so much more like I'm perusing my reading list here at Dreamwidth. :)

I never really got into using Twitter, so Bluesky's really my first experience with this sort of platform. It started off great when I just signed up, but over time, as my flist has expanded, I thought it'd be nice to reconnect with long lost fen from back in the day, but instead my enjoyment's declined.

I think it's mainly because, while of course people are free to use these platforms in whatever way it fulfills their needs, what I want from my own social media experience is to hear from YOU and what's going on in your life, you know?

What books you've read, what's stressing you out at work or at home, what good recipe you've tried out this week, how's your health and family, what new hobby you've taken up, which tv characters you're omg so into and why. To me, the reblogs are missing the passion factor, the personal connection.

I don't need an online news feed. IRL, in addition to cable tv, we have several hours of Al Jazeera running on public tv on a daily basis, so I get international news. We have newspapers delivered at home, so I can keep up with my own nation's politics and happenings.

If news and politics are affecting you in some way, I want to listen to whatever you have to say, because I care about you! But that is a totally different thing to an endless barrage of impersonal reblogs that I have to sift through to get to you.

With everything going on with my life right now, these days especially, I have to ration my energy and how I expend it.

So THANK YOU to whoever suggested turning off reposts. And for those who might need it, here's the link if you're using a browser to access Bluesky. You can also:

Go into 'Settings' -> 'Content and Media' -> 'Feed Preferences' -> unclick 'Show Reposts'

Done! :)

Tough times are ahead for all of us, and although we seem to be on this inevitable trajectory, we have to help each other get through it. And we will, together. Our connections may not be physical, but they are very real.

There is a link between Creativity and the Human Spirit. That spirit is what will see us through these dark times. I think this is where fandom and our online community will play a vital part in the years to come.

It is easy to feel isolated though, like you're shouting into a void, and it's all useless. I think that now more than ever, we need to re-double our efforts to engage with each other, strengthen our interactions and reforge connections in our online spaces, whichever corner of it that you turn to for comfort and comradery.

Let your presence be felt by your fellow community members.

Sometimes creating a post just takes more energy than we're capable of. But try stepping out of lurkdom, and take a moment to directly interact with someone, be kind. Share:

- A ♥, a virtual hug, a sympathetic shoulder
- A word of support, encouragement
- Congratulations on a win
- Sympathy on a loss
- A question, a recommendation or suggestion
- An 'I enjoyed reading this!"
- An "I hear you", you are not alone

Commiserate. Start a longer conversation if you're up to it. But really, there is so much value in all the small ways that we can let someone know that we are listening, and that we care.

Title: Gwen Redraw
Artist: goss
Rating: G
Character: Gwen
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Content Notes: Created for drawesome Challenge #66: 10 Year Redraw. This is a redraw of Gwen from Merlin (BBC), which I'd originally done for the drawmelot Zodiac Challenge on LJ, about 13 years ago.

The original drawing was done with pen and watercolour pencils. Although I was happy with the overall concept and details of the piece, at that time I wasn't able to capture Gwen's specific likeness, and have always wanted to take another shot at it.

The redraw is a quick digital sketch done on Adobe Fresco. I found the original photo reference, and worked from that to try to get Gwen's features right. I'm still learning how to blend with the digital watercolour brush, and the shading on her face needs more work. But in terms of the sketch itself, I can definitely see an improvement in my portrait drawing skills. Although not a perfect likeness, she's waaay more recognisable now, so I'm satisfied with the overall result. :)

Preview:


( Click here for entire artwork )

And here's a timelapse video showing some of the process:
( Timelapse Video for the Gwen Redraw )

Title: Timed Figure Drawing Practice 1
Artist: goss
Rating: G
Content Notes: Created for drawesome Challenge #64: No Erase. Thanks to yhlee for the nudge that helped me finally sit down to get some drawing practice done tonight. :)

These are digital drawings based on a timed series of poses, from this Youtube video. Having a clock ticking down, and not being able to undo or erase, made this quite an interesting challenge. I'm just pleased that they came out somewhat recognisably human. :b

Preview:


( Click here for entire artwork )

Title: Gesture Drawing of a dancer
Artist: goss
Rating: G
Content Notes: Created for drawesome Challenge #63: Let's Move. Digital drawing using Adobe Fresco. Gesture drawing of a dancer in mid-spin, using a still shot as reference. Taken from the awesomely energetic Indian dance performance I was at a couple weeks ago. :)

Preview:


( Click here for entire artwork )

And here's a timelapse video showing the process:
( Timelapse Video for Gesture Drawing of a dancer )

One more entry for the Zentangle challenge! :D

Title: Connected
Artist: goss
Rating: G
Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Character: Nyota Uhura
Content Notes: This is my second entry for drawesome Challenge #62: Zentangle: From the Heart. Another digital drawing using Adobe Fresco, this time using the pencil tool.

I absolutely love Uhura! Celia Rose Gooding's performance of "Keep Us Connected", my favourite song from the musical episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, directly inspired this piece. <333

Preview:


( Click here for entire artwork )

And here's a brief timelapse video showing part of the process:
( Timelapse Video for Connected )

The drawing is based on a screencap from the musical episode. I took it from this YouTube clip of ( Uhura singing Keep Us Connected )