Camouflage Chameleon

This was my entry for camouflage at Illustration Friday. I like to be a little different than everyone but all I could think of was chameleons. I did some sketches of chameleons with AK-47's sneaking through the jungle but I felt like it was too cartoony for me (meaning, not cute enough). Then I noticed how tightly wound the tails were on the photos of chameleons I saw and it reminded me of a snail - I wondered what it would be like if a snail thought the same thing. I was very pleased with the idea. I had a lot of fun with the jungle too, inspired by background paintings for Disney's Tarzan.

Two things I always think a lot about when I do a piece is composition (or movement) and color. If you go to my blog and look at the pictures I've done, especially for IF, you'll see that each one has a color theme. Also, I think a lot about how things flow. Sometimes my characters will have knees but bendy-rubber arms, or visa-versa or both of one or the other. It's more about how it flows than realism or consistancy. Scroll down (or go to my blog) and see my self-portrait for Monday Artday's “My Secret” challenge. I have an arm with an elbow and an arm without. The arm with an elbow is pulled in with fingers splayed to show excitement and delight while the arm that curves up indicates grace and art. These are the things that get to me the most when I look at the work of master illustrators. I always pay attention to color and composition. When you study other's art it helps to think about how it was done but also ask yourself why the artist made the character stand that way or bend that way and think about the colors used and how it makes you feel.