Happy belated solstice/happy father's day to those who celebrate.

You know, drawing what I do, I sometimes get asked if it turns me on. Truth? It doesn't. I have a lot of nude images on my computer (the porn files), and view even more on an almost daily basis.

But when I'm looking for an image for reference, I rarely think "oh, I want to fuck this or that person" and whip out the vibe. Sadly, my thought process runs more along the lines of "I like the angle her leg makes to her hip," "the lighting on this is beautiful, I wonder if I can capture it?", "the foreshortening in this is extreme...am I good enough to try it?"

Not terribly sexual thoughts, I'm sorry.

I know on one of the art forums I go to, someone asked the question a while back: "Why do you draw erotic art."

The answers ran the gamut: because I like porn. Because I didn't see anyone else drawing the porn I want to see, because I enjoy it, personal fapping material, etc., etc. The answers were as many and varied as the people who answered.

I started because I wanted to draw anatomy better. One of the first people whose art I admired made it a point to say that clothing can be a crutch when you're starting out...know the body first, and then dress it. I both do and don't agree with this, because I have a horrible time drawing clothing. I can, and I do...but I don't always like to.

Now, why do I continue drawing nudes and erotica? Because I can. Because I'm not as good as I'd like to be. Because I need to learn coloring, and I'll move forward from there. Most of the things I draw currently are fairly straight-forward, pinup type pictures. No backgrounds. Yes, I probably need to learn to draw backgrounds. Point is: I draw what I like. I draw to the point that I'm happy most of the time with what I do.

Last week, I drew a fast, kinda sloppy picture as a gift to someone. I rarely draw true-to-life, so it wasn't great. But I wasn't displeased. Now. How do you respond when someone gives you a gift? Normal response is thank you, or something along those lines.

Wanna know the response I got? "Oh. It's pretty nice. Have you ever seen my art? No, I won't show you...it's really professional. I used to get paid for it."

Yes, this hurt my feelings. Quite a lot actually, because what that said to me was that my art wasn't any good. I was depressed, I wondered if it was worth the effort to continue drawing when it was going to be received as such. And I posted about it on LJ.

Funny thing about my LJ...I have several artists on my friends' list. One of whom is a brilliant artist and professional colorist. Her advice? Fuck this person. She made a few additional comments...not blowing smoke up my ass, but letting me know that I've come a long way (she's seen stuff I've produced pretty much from the beginning. I've been drawing seriously for maybe six years, and I have come a very long way).

I've never been professionally trained. Everything I've learned, I've taught myself. I'm not saying that I wouldn't benefit from life drawing classes, from learning about colorization, etc., etc. I would. But when finances are tight, you learn from what's available to you. Or I try.

So...long post to sit through to get to the art:
Felis non Grata

Felis non Grata. Her story is coming.

(this post was replicated from [link] I post a semi-regular art-blog there...duplicated the post to include the hentai foundry link )