Photo of the day.

[moonvoice]

Working.

It drives me crazy to only work on one thing at once. But, likewise, it also drives me crazy to leave illustrations unfinished. So that's why I tend to work in batches. Not because it's more economical or I should, but just... I don't like to work at one thing at a time. I'm not that kind of person.

As it turns out, animal totems don't generally want to filter in just 'one at a time' either.

Comments

[spider_fox]

Omg, TURTLE!!

And vulture...Turkey? Black?

But still, TURTLE!!

[moonvoice]

Turkey vulture
Green sea turtle
Ant (specifically bull-ant)
Willie Wagtail

-

Just in case anyone else wants to ask! :D

[spider_fox]

Danke :D

[silverjackal]

Oh, I particularly like the vulture personally, but in terms of what you've "captured" the ants strike me as particularly bang on! :)

[lupagreenwolf]

Oooooh, a revamping of the turtle!

[burningbright]

Is that an Egyptian vulture I see? *peers at it!*

[burningbright]

Iiii should've read the comments. Turkey vulture is also awesome! :D

[ariestess]

Oh... These are all gorgeous. I am completely enamored of both the sea turtle and the turkey vulture. And just from seeing it so far, I'm already guessing I'll be juggling my fun money to get my nephew a very kewl present...

[sundog]

I'm already in love with the turkey vulture. They're very common here and I love them so!

[drgnhlr]

Do you find that animals of similar energy want to be grouped together? Or are they all trying to pile down the pipeline?

[goddess_incarnate]

I love the sea turtle!! They're so cute!

[bunny_m]

What, no love for the WIlly Wagtail? *adores*

Awesome work, as always, Pia.

[hrafn]

I really like what you've done with the geometry in the sea turtle background.

And there's something about the willie wagtail - not just this picture, but the previous one, too - that gets to me. In kind of an uncomfortable but compelling way. Like, I want to look away, but I also want to keep looking. Something about the energy lines coming out of its beak.

[hrafn]

Huh, okay, correction: the picture you have up with the totem essay doesn't do that same thing. That one is pleasant.

Maybe because the bird doesn't look all angry.

[moonvoice]

They are known as curious, yet highly aggressive and hostile birds too. They're someone what of a contradiction in Australia. Many people love them for their cheerfulness, but many have been swooped and attacked by them as well; they regularly take on dogs / cats / horses / people etc. who get too close to them or their nests.

[hrafn]

LOL! They sound like neat little birds (I just read the whole essay/description you have up). But I have a certain kind of affection for friendly but fierce little birds.

[bunny_m]

they regularly take on dogs / cats / horses / people /geese /ravens /eagles /etc. /etc. /etc.

They can and will go anything that they feel has crossed the lines in their heads. Adorable and aggro, convinced they are both Right and invulnerableun-catchable, they'd be correct about one of those, at the very least.

(You can't even catch the little buggers in a mist net, as they are so agile they just roll out of them.)

[feralkiss]

I like the first two at the top and how you're straying away from current art/getting back to something I appreciate in your art, that is the variety of backgrounds and shapes you can use. IMHO, with your "as totems" serie, you've sometimes resorted to the same graphical elements to the point of repetitiveness (in the two pictures at the bottom - arc of circle, several of them, then circles as well as swirls branching off.

Those same elements is something common to a lot of "as totem" serie and though I guess it's voluntary, I miss the diversity found in, as an example, the oracle deck (even though some of the diversity there might be because it's old art so there were less consistency... I think there was a deliberate effort in catching what's unique with each of these animal energies). I miss seeing that in your totem art. :)

[moonvoice]

Oh I totally agree the 'as totems' pictures get repetitive. They're also 80% of all of my art sales, and nothing has ever sold as much nor been commissioned as much. I think my strengths in totem animals and everything else lies in different pictures, but in order to survive as an artist, I need to do that 'as totems.' People don't consistently buy anything else. Not minis. Not the larger pieces. Not anything else. I guess it's my commercial compromise; a way of getting the totem energies out there, while still being able to make money off the artwork.

[feralkiss]

Yes, that's understandable, I didn't take the business aspect into consideration when I wrote my comment. 'o'

[amethystfirefly]

Oh, these look great!! I can't wait to see the finished projects.

[xmetanoiax]

Greeeeen seaaaaa tuuuuurtleee! I didn't remember there being one in the oracle deck, for some reason. <3

I remember doing some volunteer for the conservation effort in Tortuguero as a kid and deciding I wanted to be a marine biologist just so I could work with them forever. Maybe if there are prints when you're finished I'll send them one! :)

[white_rabbit]

Simply gorgeous. I'm not sure what it is but I always especially like the pieces where the energy swirlies are coming out of the totem's mouth. :)

[filhotedelua]

I love your insects.


Just curious - any chance of some kind of Hummingbird in your planes?

[moonvoice]

I've actually illustrated hummingbird twice already, and currently have a Ruby Topaz Hummer (a type of hummingbird) for sale in my Etsy right now:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66182044/original-ruby-topaz-hummer

[filhotedelua]

shame on me - sometimes we are so accustomed with the animals that live next to us that we forget about the fact that not all of them will resemble the others. I've already saw the Ruby Topaz Hummer image, but don't imagined he is a kind of hummingbird (I always think in them with long beak, like the Swallow-tailed Hummingbird...

[sarah_tv]

And a random "Ant is awesome" call.

[shistavanenjedi]

The sea turtle looks great.