This week’s painting is loosely based on one of my favourite TV shows call “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. My sister and I used to watch it religiously when we were kids, and we recently started rewatching it for nostalgia’s sake. I decided to paint Appa, who’s a flying bison and companion of the main character of the show.
I began brainstorming what setting I wanted to paint Appa in. The show follows a group of characters across various nations and settings, so there was a lot to choose from, but I settled on the Air Temple, which is where Appa originates from. The Air Temple reference photos that I was using were quite detailed, so completing my background involved sketching many tiny buildings on the edges of cliffs. During my research, I found a fantastic video created by a Youtube channel called Art Talk With Mr. S. The video provided a step-by-step tutorial that I could follow to sketch Appa’s body before beginning to paint.
I’m quite happy with the end result of my painting. I found it hard to figure out the scale initially in my sketching stage. I wanted Appa to be at the forefront of my painting but wanted to ensure my background had enough detail despite being fairly small. I feel that my shading skills need some work, but otherwise, I’m pleased with this week’s painting!
