I started on the following post, days ago, but then life happened...
A mere day after feeling completely stuck, my creativity returned to me ( not an unusual thing to happen )
I was on my way to the river ( a 20 minute walk on a dusty hilly dirt track ) for a swim and had brought a notebook, paper and some pens along.
This is what I penned down:
(I considered adding a picture of my notebook, but it looks too messy and pretty unreadable for anyone but me so I decided otherwise)
MAKE 'MRS MOSQUITO' Book #2 ---> Add Mosquito Art to that book
Add more Mrs. Mosquito to the story.
I am referring to my upcoming book Hypersensitivosaurus and Cold Turkey, where I say 'the story'.
Tiny bits/ pinches.
The bits/ pinches part was a word joke metaphor for mosquito bites. I realize they don't pinch though ( I guess I was thinking like adding a pinch of salt haha ).
For instance: end of chase, at sunset ( or end of book )
fig tree scene...
(Mosquitoes like sweat and CO2)
I learnt the latter recently. The same goes for flies. This is why they often hang around your face, mouth/ and nose, especially when you're physically active.
...or both ( chase and fig tree / end scene )
Briefly during chase
finally, at end
when they are about to fall asleep
( perhaps they aren't even bothered by it )
Fun Fact ( for you, not really for me ):
A mosquito has been bugging me ( pun intended ) in the last couple of nights and disturbed my sleep. It was a tiny mosquito that I can't seem to keep my hands on.
In other words, Mrs. Mosquito has been visiting me, as if she stepped out of my story.
In case you didn't know: Mosquito males don't sting and are silent. As mentioned before, the one in my bedroom was a tiny little bugger and I didn't manage to catch her or swat her with my pillow, no matter how often I tried.
By the way, In case you missed out on this in the past or you would like to give it another watch. Mrs Mosquito ( and the inspiration for this character ) came to me about a year and a month ago, as described in this little mixed-art-with-voice-over-video that I posted back then: Mrs Mosquito, June 2020
It's fair to say that a bunch of replies/ feedback on my earlier write up Fast Food - An Illustration for my upcoming Book - both online and offline - also helped a bunch. The current me makes decisions based on how I feel/ intuiton mixed with feedback from others. The latter does not just motivate me but sometimes gives me new ideas. Thank you @selfhelp4trolls @justinparke @anafae @ryivhnn for your ongoing support! I really appreciate it :<)
Today, after a bunch of days spent with loads of people, mainly outdoor, I am back to my introvert creative alone time in my house on the hill. I can't wait to start focusing on my writing and dino art once again!
P.S. The colorful dino piece at the top of this post was actually created ( without thinking much ) in my twin sister's kitchen yesterday afternoon, surrounded by a bunch of people. I made use of some awesome 'pencils', belonging to my niece and nephew, that are some kind of mix between crayons and coloring markers that I never used before.
Later that night, my 7 year old nephew Miko asked his 7 year old friend:
Do you Like the art that my uncle makes? ( referring to this dino piece )
and his friend replied with:
Yes, I do!
That was pretty cool haha!
My 5 year old niece also told me she liked the drawing and wanted to keep it.
I have been pointing out, repeatedly, that I am creating a book that is meant for both children and adults and feedback like that confirms, once again, that I should stick to this kind of mixed art.
The first two words on the following page from one of my many notebooks tells you half of the story related to the illustrations for my book:
I really wanna add both sketch type drawings and more colorfol, elaborate art to my book. How I see it now, is sketches among the story itself and 'art' pieces in between the chapters.
I really can't wait to show you the final result but please bear with me!
To quote a fragment of the ( start of my book):
Hypersensitivosaurus felt pretty much out of breath. It must have been all the running. It sure wasn’t caused by smoking too much. After all, we weren’t in volcano season.
His giant lizard tongue hung out of his mouth, making him look a lot less intelligent. And believe me, raptors are clever giant lizards so you can only imagine how dumb he must have looked.
Your favorite velociraptor decided to pause for a bit…