This past week, in a fit of nostalgia, I rewatched HoND for the first time in years. I followed that up by rewatching The Lion King. Whatever problems there may be with the stories, I think from an artistic standpoint, those are among the best animated features ever made. Watching them again reminded me of
what a dork I am for still knowing all the words to every song why I went to art school in the first place. I've learned how to draw...but I'd forgotten why. In any case, whatever's been blocking my creativity for the past six+ years finally moved. Thursday and Friday were spent furiously sketching...it's now Sunday night, and I've got my first finished painting in...I can't even remember how long. My scanner isn't working, so I actually did this from sketch to finish in Photoshop, and for the first time ever, I'm happy with the results.

This is Some Kind of Ridiculous Owl-Turtle Thing, from the
Tales of Mu by
alexandraerin (AE, if you happen to read this, I'd love your opinion, but please don't tell your readers before I've had a chance to post it to my website) He first appeared in January of
last year, and I've wanted to draw him ever since, but I just couldn't find the energy. I've got a few more that I'd like to paint, and some looooong overdue requests to catch up on so I really hope this lasts...