March 5 - Fiddler on the Green

Isn't it a shame
The reaper said
He is quite alone here
And still waiting for you

~ Demons & Wizards, Fiddler on the Green

Both Demons & Wizards and Blind Guardian are fronted by one of my favorite singers - ‎Hansi Kürsch. He has such a distinctive voice, it's like I have two versions of the same band. Blind Guardian was my introduction, they have a concept album dedicated to the Lord of the Rings that became somewhat of a backdrop for most of my gaming adventures - but as the principle lyricist, both bands songs typically reference some of my favorite authors:  Frank Herbert, Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Michael Moorcock.

This song is a poetic tribute, well worth your listen (link).  The Fiddler on the Green is death who is beseeching a younger girl to take his hand, because he had taken a boy (her soulmate) too early.  I read that this was based on Hansi witnessing two car crashes within a week, the first claiming the life of a young boy - the second a young girl.  *tears*

This inspiration for making this came from a baby reaper Ace of Clay made on his YouTube channel.  I went through an alarming amount of iterations trying to get the cowl look right hanging over the face, but I had to give up because I was getting obsessive and stuck.  I need to be mindful of the adage "done is better than perfect". 

March 2 - Devil

“For an occurrence to become an adventure, it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it.”

― Jean-Paul Sartre

Continuing with the balloons as if were a video game company theme from yesterday.  Now what are you left with?

You could always work on improving the engine, but work vs reward effectively major development is done and management likes efficiency.

Red balloons?  Got em.  Uhhh.. make a Devil?  Sure I guess you say.  But in your heart, it feels like you sold out.  The idea should be the key.

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Other balloons like this:

March 1 - Goblin

"Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!” he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say ‘out of the frying-pan into the fire’ in the same sort of uncomfortable situations."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

If you think of a balloon like making a video game, the first iteration would be the prototype, proof of concept.  Does this work?  Does it make sense?  Is it fun to play?

Playing around with the pig form from yesterday.  Lackluster pose.  Proof of concept.  Kinda fun though.

Making a video game - you would be left with two options, make the engine even better (more detailed, more .. stable?), or use that engine to tell a story.

February 29 - Chuunks

Creativity is a daily exercise, not a talent.

~ Stephanie Deming 💖

I'm a little sad to see an end to the run of purple pig artwork.  What started as a silly idea, turned into one of my favorite things ever - and a number of the images I now have hanging on my wall (they were so good!).

This quote is from a motivational poster the my lovely and brilliant wife helped create.  I'm not going to be posting balloons daily.  But I promise to exercise some sort of creativity every day!

.. and it's only fitting for me to make some sort of different interpretation of the purple pig.  So here is ... grouchy pig guard face man with chicken legs.

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Some other purple pigs:

February 28 - Yvettegilbert

"I'm the Happy Horse, horse, horse, so full of love of course of, of course, it's time to be carefree so come with me, Happy!
[Hooves clomping]
Here it comes, here comes the fun! Are you ready? Clippity-clop! Flippity-flop! We got no time to mope-and-mop! Let's ride the magic rainbow right to the tippy-tippy-tippy-tippy."

 ~ Happy (Patton Oswalt) - Happy!

Yvettegilbert is a masterful artist on Fiverr that creates unique hand drawn illustrations, the kind of art that makes your brain melt it's so good.

.. and my brain is goo, because this recreation is well beyond anything I could have envisioned, amazing line art, great texture, an the expression of an expectant puppy wanting to go on a walk (as mine is patiently waiting for me to type this before we head out).

If you haven't seen "Happy!", do yourself the favor and watch it - it's a fantastic super-dark comedy (you can do no wrong, Patton Oswalt).  That way you'll understand  when I say that this is my imaginary friend.   Love.  This.

February 27 - EmSophia

“The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist.”

~ Ananda Coomaraswamy

EmSophia is a new DeviantArtist - but offered to create this inspirational piece of art!

So you'll have to excuse me if I blubber a bit about this one, because come on!  A baby pig dreaming on a cloud under the pig moon?  I want to squeeze it "You're so fluffy!" kind of cute, or poster in an infants bedroom adorable.

"Twinkle Twinkle, Little Pig,
 Underneath the moon so big,
 Snuggled in a cloudy puff,
 Dreaming dreams of yummy stuff."

February 26 - jeffsoaresart

“Art is not delivered like the morning paper; it has to be stolen from Mount Olympus.”

~ Wayne Thiebaud

I was intentionally looking for artists who were new to Fiverr, asking anyone "make something-something 'purple pig'" will at least get you a weird stare.  So better to ask someone not busy doing real purposeful art that will make the world a better place.

Jeferson Soares (jeffsoaresart) is a Brazillian Illustrator with a degree in Graphic Design who loves creating illustration for awesome projects. And obviously since he is working with us, he is willing to compromise on that a little. May I present the esteemed Sir Darcy VonStinkle Applebottom III. Pronounced Von Shtinkle if you please.

I like the squeaker redesign fitting into the character, like a radio box.  It's got a bit of a steampunk look to it.