Hey Hive!
We're back again with another Art Attack! If you're new to the series, this is where I share my drawings and the process behind them. A behind-the-scenes look at my artwork, if you will. This is not to say that I'm very good at art, or that I'm a professional in any way. In fact this is the opposite, and serves as a reminder to how I first started, and lets me track my progress too!
So if you missed the last couple of posts, I've been sharing the process behind one of my biggest art challenges ever - the Christmas Countdown Challenge! This is actually a backlog back from December 2020, which is why it's Christmas-themed! We're just approaching the winter months though, so this is also getting me hyped for this Christmas for sure!
But anyway, this Christmas Countdown Challenge is where I draw pieces according to the song; The 12 Days of Christmas! I'm sure everyone is familiar with that song and we're currently up to Day 7 now since we did day 6 last week - six geese 'a layin!
So the next line in the song is:
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying
Five golden rings
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree
This one was a little tough since I didn't really have any references for swans, and I didn't really have an idea on how I wanted to do this piece. So to Google we go! I went to search for some inspiration and found these stock images:
For the swan I found this really simple one by Artico:
So I decided to draw the swans swimming in a lake. And I went to look for some references for the background and found some nice minimalist ones:
Source: dreamstime
There's just something about these minimalist nature wallpapers that look so good and peaceful. I love them.
Source: vecteezy
Then I was thinking of what time of day I wanted this piece to have, and since I'd drawn a night one and a sunset piece in this series already, I thought a dawn sky would look lovely.
And I'd just so happened to come across this stock image that was perfect! I loved all the colours in this, and the lake being in the middle was the right position to put the swans in.
Source: dreamstime
I also found the landscape version of this image to get the full picture. I think the portrait one was a little better though but I wanted it to be slightly wider so we could see more of the lake and it would match with my screen sized canvas.
So I started with the background first since it would take some time since there were a lot of colours. This was different compared to how I usually did my piece though since there wasn't a dark outline around any of the elements, which I guess is what gives it that peaceful, minimalist look.
I tried my best to emulate it as well as I could, but the trees were difficult, as always. But I added in some extra details in the foreground to add to the depth.
I did trace the mountain as close as I could though, but I had to take some liberties when it came to colouring since I didn't want this piece to take up too much time. So I didn't go into too much detail on the back island since I wanted to give it more depth and also focus more on the lake where the swans would be.
Then it was time to draw in the swans themselves! This was probably the easiest of all since I just traced it and coloured it.
I was initially thinking of how I could make the swans look different but it's difficult since they're just white. And since there were so many of them and I had spent so much time on the background already with all the shadings and tones I decided to just keep it simple and duplicate them. But I made them look like a family with the parent swans and baby swans! It reminded me of the duckies I saw in Finland when I was there and the baby ducklings would swim behind their mama.
I also decided to forego the reflection on the lake. Initially I was thinking of adding it but then I thought it was making the lake look cluttered and I didn't want to steal the spotlight away from the swans so I just left it at that.
Overall, I think this piece turned out really well! I like how the swans stand out but also fit into the background at the same time since nothing has an outline. They all blend well together. And despite not having reflections, I think I managed to recreate the stock image pretty well. I also didn't add in the sun behind the mountain which was a hack so I didn't have to account for the lighting effects of the trees! Big brain move right. XD
I did say I was going to be replicating the things in the song now that we're past the halfway point. There was going to be a lot to draw and it'd be difficult trying to make them unique. But for now I think this looks good and I was really happy with this piece! Maybe the front should be darker but since there's no sun this works too I guess.
What do you think?
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
