The Immortal Elephant in the Room

As a member of the Long Lost Friend Studio Patreon, after a year at the BFF tier, a supporter can request either an illustration from me, or a felted sculpture from Michelle. This time, my ticket got punched and I was tasked to draw Manmoth, an elephantine immortal in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe.

For my medium, I went with ink, ink wash, and watercolor. Just a few years ago, I was really hesitant to even try ink wash, and had no intentions of ever working with watercolors.

Now these two things make up most of my commission work. I’ve really come to embrace the loose, not-completely-predictable quality of wet media. And I like to think that I learn a little more about the process each time I pick up a brush.

I can confidently say that the change in my workflow came as a direct result of starting the YouTube channel with Michelle and experimenting with different media in front of the camera. Something about the pressure of deadlines and the idea that people see my goof-ups made it fun, and helped me focus. So now, something that I’d have been too nervous to even try three years ago, I’m doing every week just for fun.

If you haven’t stopped by the channel to see both Michelle and I hack our way through various projects using different mediums and materials — learning a little along the way — maybe the Manmoth process video below is a good place to start.