In 2021 I did a bunch of illustrations of my roommates' and my kittens going on adventures; I love looking at the progression of my skill in digital illustration!
I started using Clip Studio Paint for the first time at the end of 2020, and this was one of the first illustrations I did in it. I did a lot of experimenting with different brushes and textures!
In February, I drew a version of Lady and the Tramp's spaghetti scene! I was starting to figure out how the brushes and other tools worked, and also working out how I wanted to stylize the cats!
March was a St Paddy's Day theme-- I giggled all the way through drawing this, and the gnome still makes me laugh when I look at it! I went a little more realistic body shape with the cats this time, whereas in the future I stylized them more.
I decided on an "April Showers" theme for April, and drew the cats as Animal Crossing villagers! Designing them was so much fun, and I still love how it turned out! The cats in the game all have rounder heads, like Pepper on the left, but Savepoint has such majestic cheek fluffs that I decided to incorporate the cheek tufts from the wolf villagers in his design. I used Devin Elle Kurtz's foliage brushes for this, and they made the background so quick and easy!
May was the kittens' first birthday, and we also got four ducklings! The other party guests are my roommates' late Pomeranian, Cid, and my family's cat, Marmalade! I decorated the cake with some of the kitties' favorite things-- qtips for Savepoint, caps from applesauce pouches for Pepper, and freeze-dried minnows and ice cream for both of them!
For July I gave them a beach day! I used a lot of references from Sketchfab, which allowed me to get just the right angles on everything.
The swimsuits have the same patterns on them as their real-life collars,
and one of my favorite details is Pepper's multi-kini-- some cats,
including her, have a lopsided number of nipples!
And in August, I decided to draw them as astronauts! I absolutely love how this turned out, and I really feel like I solidified my stylization for their faces.
