<center>![FAN ART!.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/SiAZhGph-FAN20ART.png)</center>
<center>![image.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/LEmBKupo-image.png)</center>
<center>I like, totally feel like I'm not posted in FOREVER! And ... it's true. I generally stay pretty busy and creating a post (for me) is no small feat. Cause perfection, duh. 😎</center>

# You're an artist too, CarrieAllen?!?!
Well, not really. Not yet. But I'm working my way in that direction. They say that I only need 10,000 hours of a topic under my belt to be an expert. No problem.😏

*Now, I don't wanna spend DAYS (more than I already have) on this post, so Imma ONLY focus on the art at hand with the following paragraphs to help you understand:*

Around November of last year, I decided I want to be able to DRAW things, rather than have to constantly search for Free Use stuff to repurpose. I found an AMAZING FREE program called [AUTODESK SKETCHBOOK](https://sketchbook.com/). It's amazing, did I mention that? Anyway, I started using it daily for at least an hour... learning how to draw and do it with a mouse. It went well. Sweet hubs @chrisroberts then INSISTED on getting me a [tablet](https://www.xp-pen.com/product/432.html) so I could draw with a pen. That was a hard sell cause I wasn't sure if I'd stick with it yet. 

**Fast forward to today:** I'm still at it! And  I love it! Like, I wanna do it a LOT. So far I'm dealing with the LOOK and REPLICATE version of my lessons. And by lessons, I mean articles and videos I find online with suggestions on how to be a better artist, faster. 

# The Fan Art
As mentioned above my goal here was to REPLICATE as closely as possible an image by just looking at it (no tracing!). *Side note: if you're JUST starting out, you should definitely practice with tracing. This gives you an eye for what to look for when you start doing it on your own.* It's not too bad. It's not exact, but it's pretty close. And truth be told, it helps I used the exact color matches from the original artwork. 😉  Here's a side by side for comparison, then I'll walk ya through my process.
<center>![cropped.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/tjITwuhy-cropped.png)</center>
You'll note she has no feet... Cause the image didn't originally have any I wasn't entirely sure what to do with them... so I just didn't. And I have the intention to create a huge tree that she will be in as a background, but will need more time for that.
Overall, I'm quite pleased with how she turned out. What do you think?

# The Sketch
So... I started by just attempting to draw her with a basic pencil (in the app). There was a lot of erasing even to get to THIS starting point. Just look at those hands!
<center>![Screenshot 567.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/W9oKyuwl-Screenshot20567.png)</center>

# The Layers
I'm not good at layers yet. In fact, it's safe to say I'm pretty bad at them. 🤣 I try to remember which one I'm on... but often fail. The next few images reflect this.

This first layer (er combo of awkwardness) was initially the 'hard line' I started to draw over the sketch and really get the shape of her going. I also got carried away on the eyes at this point. I had a LOT of trouble with the eyes. And this layer I also chose for hair highlights. 😏 
<center>![Screenshot 568.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/7nV9dxrv-Screenshot20568.png)</center>
# Clothes?
Time to add some color to her ... outfit? Meh. She's a Wood Nymph. She's generally naked and wrapped in some sort of flowy cloth, out of modesty... but she still knows she looks good. 😎

Oh! This shadowing and shading thing is also hard for me. I totally don't understand how to SEE where these should go... but I'll get there. Note how differently she is turning out from my initial sketch.
<center>![Screenshot 569.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/Jri70qFa-Screenshot20569.png)</center>

# Body Color and More Shading
In hindsight, I would NOT have used the soft airbrush to color her. I ended up just going back over it with a felt marker anyway. Oh! And these shadows? Also hard. But I made her boobs look good! This was a struggle! I didn't want her having loppy boobies. Nobody wants that.
<center>![Screenshot 570.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/oIiCZpeU-Screenshot20570.png)</center>

# Hair!
I spent HOURS on this. Those waves changed a lot. And I'm not entirely happy with how the highlights turned out, but really don't know now to make them any better at this point. Her hair did end up quite a bit fuller than the original... Couldn't help it... it just kept growing!
<center>![Screenshot 571.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/fhspnb0C-Screenshot20571.png)</center>

# The Flower!
I was totally gonna do a yellow flower, cause yellow is the best of all the colors... but I really like the complimentary red against the green hair. Again, those shadows. No idea. I would have never thought of this.
<center>![Screenshot 572.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/Q0ftazbq-Screenshot20572.png)</center> 
# The Background
I tried to make a background. I can SEE it in my brain, but cannot yet transfer that to canvas. I will need to learn more about landscapes and such (and do some Bob Ross tutorials) before I get anything worth sharing in that arena. For now, a simple gradient of color to help her pop.
<center>![woodnymph  ff.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/s1ckWs7z-woodnymph2020ff.png)</center>

# The Gif!
I LOVE seeing gifs of artwork steps. It's one of my favorite things. Here's mine!
<center>![](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/G3W2Qmel-woodnymph20gif.gif)</center>
<center>![](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/eja1MUi2-rainbow20motion.gif)</center>
<center>![](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/e6qYEdXJ-Thats20all20folks20pink.gif)</center>
<center>💛![](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/tuBTi2Pn-carrie20signature.gif)</center>
<center>![](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/carrieallen/eja1MUi2-rainbow20motion.gif)</center>
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<center>*For more information on our community projects check out our [DECEMBER UPDATE](https://steempeak.com/@helpie/helpie-update-december-2019)*.
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