A love letter to a tree I think is cool

 

My concept so far! Her hands will be drawn in. Just let me yap first.

I was inspired by The Faerie Queene after reading two cantos, finding myself immediately drawn to the aesthetic of Una and her lion protector. I thought it'd be lovely to contrast a feminine form and a beastly, masculine lion.

This is one of those things where I had the original idea for a while but only found the motivation to finalise things yesterday. It took a while but I landed on the idea of a beautiful woman kicking back with what's supposed to be a lion sidekick.

Very original, I know! Very on-brand for me too. As you can see, there's no lions. I want to draw lots of tiny ones running amok. I love playing with the scale of things. It adds a sense of whimsy to an otherwise pretty 'grounded' setting.

After getting the rough silhouette and composition down, I got to work refining how the lady looks. I dedicated a solid hour to her face in the morning. I can't believe how long it's been since I've last drawn every single day, but I didn't expect to struggle with drawing her slightly downward glance... 

I had a hard time figuring out how her eyes should look. I wanted it to be closed but then realised having them open looked better. Plus, they communicate her personality better. She's quite pretty. I like her more I look at her. Her hair definitely helps, I think. It's flowy, elegant and kind of trendy. It's also a bit short in the canon of my illustrations. I usually like it really long since my hair is quite short. 

The shapes are nice too. The bulky base of the tree complements well with how her hips curve and it's very sexy I can't stop staring at it.

At any rate, I have yet to talk about the tree.

If anyone knows the name of such an interesting tree, please let me know!

Here's another photo of the tree I mentioned! It's so cool. It looks like it has an illness but it's just its fruits. Cool, huh! I'm afraid I can't find a tree even half as cool as this on Pinterest. Also, if I want to see it again, I have to walk down a very speific route. Then again, I don't think I've seen this tree anywhere in Singapore, sigh. 

Yipeee

I'm obsessed with this tree. I'm glad I finally get to draw it. May this drawing be a love letter to this amazing tree!