Beak Mountain update

I haven't had much time recently to work on my own projects, but I want to thank everyone who gave critiques on the mountain picture.  Here's a progress shot to show that I'm attempting to address the various problems that many of you pointed out.  I haven't gotten to everything yet, so don't worry too much if you see something awry still.  For those who suggested that it needs a story, you're right (Curses! Why do I never think of basic rules like that until I'm deep into the painting phase?).  Still, I don't feel too bad since that wasn't the point of the piece; it will still work just fine as the painting process tutorial I wanted to make.

In other mountain-related news, I took my family up into a nearby canyon (about 30 minutes from my house) for a campfire/picnic last night.  Here's one of the views we had from our campground---although a photo doesn't give a very good idea of how impressive these mountains really are in person.

Also, if you haven't ever had wood-roasted hot dogs and s'mores, you need to find a way to make it happen.  Even if that means setting a fire in a dumpster and cooking before the fire department arrives [common sense alert for anyone who has none: DO NOT REALLY FOLLOW SAM'S ADVICE.] (<---Actually, this is not a bad mantra to live by).

Costume designs

I've been sketching with pencil and paper a lot more lately, and trying to get some of the rust off.  Unfortunately, I'm not confident enough yet to break the inks out, so these were inked and colored digitally.

As a side note, I've noticed that it's very difficult to design costumes that look good regardless of what the character is doing. Still, I've found I get the best results with a fairly straightforward stance pose.

Shadows

Did this for a Liahona article.  The printed version I saw had different colors and lots of pixelation, so I don't know what went wrong (probably something on my end).  At any rate, now you can see what it was meant to look like: