Nuki News #92 - Stitch Study!

You could say I'm getting WAY ahead of 6/26(Stitch Day) with this, haha!

So, this last week, after finishing my queue and doing the monthly AMA, I do believe I hit a spot of burnout. I didn't draw at all, at most colored a sequence on stream that I didn't get to finish in April. It was very odd; usually burnout I feel is more associated with an unwillingness to make or draw or do what it is that you're burned out of.

But I still very much had the desire, it never left! But my brain, my hands, they didn't have the juice or creative energy to make anything....for myself. Whenever I finish up with comms, I generally do not want to spend more time drawing for others, otherwise I *would* risk burning out on art making in general. 

This probably sounds similar to a previous Nuki News, #88 to be exact:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/64198243

But in this case, I fortunately don't have as strong a desire to isolate as I did at the time I wrote that. But now, I am thinking ahead, things I wanted to make(Character designs, or story stuff) are like pulling a heavy weight out of dark sticky molasses.  

Fortunately for me, while I was working on my commission queue, I had youtube playing, and found inspiration and possibility from the Lilo & Stitch movies. Looking at the art style of it, there's a lot that gels with my own! Big noses, expressive eyebrows, chunkier forms and bodies, and a plethora of short stack style characters, such as Stitch himself, ahah. 

I took to studying the character(and some others like Jumba and Gantu aha) for a few days to help me loosen up. While gathering reference for these, I have to admit I got so worn out I had to take a nap. That's how low my juices are for drawing anything for myself, that even practice seemed to sap my will.

Nonetheless I pressed on, and after 3 days of this I got to feel my willpower come back. It's still tenuous, but I'm feeling good about it. 

When it comes to getting yourself out of a mental funk, reaching outside of yourself is usually the answer; it broadens your mind to taking on new ideas.

Of course, studying a shows' style isn't enough, unless you plan on copying it and adopting it more wholly. I don't though- I want to take what's there and leave what I don't need behind. From left-to-right you have a transition of Stitch drawings; going from relying on the show to making it my own on various degrees.

The left drawing is me relying 80-20 on the show and then my own tastes; the middle is more close to a 50-50, which is why it looks more awkward and not as strong a pose as the left or right! Middling stages are usually not as inspired or attractive in the learning process, and can often be where people give up! I know I wanted to. The left drawing's face looks much more appealing. The right one is more the opposite; truly drawing Stitch in my style!

And here's the results of taking the drawing on the right, and linearting it and flat coloring. Impressively, didn't feel the urge to shade it for once! On top of that I used a lineart brush I actually enjoyed! Talk about a turnaround. 

I think I got my groove back. :)

Hope this helps you in some way if you're drawing, too. And if not, I hope it was satisfying to read and see the progress. Thank you for your support!