Talia the Turtle

Meet Talia the Turtle!

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)




Yay! I'm excited about this one. Ain't she cute? =)

This portrait took 3.5 weeks to finish instead of 2, which I'm not so happy about. But, I feel that I was successful in two of the three challenges from last time.

Challenge #1: Vary the composition - Instead of having one solitary figure on the right hand side of the canvas, I created 3 figures which spread across the top area. (I was still able to leave enough white space on the bottom left where the book's text will go.)

Challenge #2: More active posture - Three consecutive figures show the downstroke and gliding motion of the turtle. This simple and energy efficient movement propels the animal through the water, allowing it to swim for long periods of time without coming up for air.

Challenge #3: Push the expression - I don't think Talia is particularly expressive… since the sculptures were a lot smaller for this portrait, there wasn't as much detail in the face to refer to. With some imagination though, she seems to be quite inquisitive. She's checkin' you out!

Lesson - it may take more time for something new, but growth and quality are worth the effort
Discovery - I have had a very narrow understanding of sculpture. I would not only like to do more hanging figures, but I would also like to explore different materials.
Challenge - a night time scene

Hope you like Talia! As always, I would love any feedback. =) Now, on to the next animal… I think I'm going to do a kiwi bird. Since it's nocturnal, it will be good for a night time scene.