This was the very first piece I created once I got my hands on Procreate. I was somewhat inspired by the ethereal atmosphere of a couple of screenshots from Ghibli Studio’s ‘Spirited Away’. I used references from that and some images online of forests with sunlight shining through the canopy. With that, I tried my best to create a very loose image of a neglected statue of a panda. The concept for this piece is that we, as humans, will only be left with memorabilia of Earth’s beloved creatures, such as the panda; all because of our greed and lack of responsibility for our environment.

Something that I learned while creating this piece was that it is enjoyable to be a bit more loose in my movements while drawing. I tend to forget to use more of my arm and wrist to draw rather than my fingers. When I focus too much on using my fingers, I tend to stress more on the little details rather than the bigger picture. I feel that I had a nice balance between loose and tight detail in this piece.

My favorite parts of this piece are the amount of intense darks and lights, the way the light from the sun bounces off of the floor and onto the statue, and the little details of the cracks on the face of the panda. I came into this piece expecting to get nothing from it since it wasn’t planned out too well, but I pleasantly surprised myself. I’m very proud of this piece.

If I could change anything at all, I think it would be to add more detail to the paws of the panda, the brush around the base of the statue, and more of a correct perspective in the pathway leading up to the statue. I honestly could change it if I wanted to, but I enjoy the fact that the lack of detail allows the viewer’s mind to fill in the blanks a bit.

Artist statement