#septembug 2020

[chameleocoonj]

Need mail delivered in the underground? Need personalized fancy paper for the letter? These two septembug friends are just what you need! They’re based on trapdoor spiders and paper wasps. I always thought the spider’s abdomen looked like a stamp or wax seal, perfect for important documents. As for the wasp, I was inspired by pictures of nests made of colored paper that people leave out for them. Paper wasps are little artist architects and I love them. :>

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #my characters #bugs #insects #spiders #wasps #trapdoor spider #paper wasp #is it too on the nose for the wasp's name to be polly :'D #she makes all her own clothes and ntoebooks and supplies etc etc

[calamity-flames]

Septembug day Four: Hitchhiker!!

And only a little after midnight!!! (Help I’m so tired)

This one has the firefly because I find them on me a lot when I go inside during summer lol. Little hitchhikers! Silly but that’s what I thought of so

#art #drawing #doodle #sketch #septembug #septembug 2020 #septembug2020 #firefly #fireflies

[chameleocoonj]

These two are based on hammerhead worms and springtails respectively, pretty drastically different vibes, I think! Giant predatory land planarians are invasive species where I live and I just think they’re super cool. As for springtails, I only ever had teeny tiny white ones hitchhiking into my millipede tank, but I did remember that viral picture of one that looked like a raspberry going around... so cute... :>

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #hammerhead worm #planarian #springtail #collembola #putting clothes on a worm is not an easy task #i dont think his outfit turned out very good- but after i sketched a hat on top i just had to stick with it #bugs #insects

[chameleocoonj]

Song and legs: a dog day cicada and a bunny harvestman. My first ever dnd character was a cicada themed bard, so I took this opportunity to redesign her in a more literal buggy fashion. I saw a harvestman recently and their legs really are crazy- it was just a solid brown color though so I took inspiration from the famous bunny species and how its front limbs look like nervous little sleeves when its cleaning its legs.

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #bugs #insects #cicada #harvestman #spider #not a spider but close enough to probably trigger the phobia #i have a fairly consistent visual language down for spiders in my little bug world- but not harvestmen #i think this look is different enough to be distinguishable #i simplified the legs a LOT to try and balance the cute and creepy where you could go either way #hope it worked lol

[chameleocoonj]

Who’s that soldier with the handsome mandibles? Who’s that lady with the innocent look? Here are two friends based on a dobsonfly and an ichneumon wasp respectively. For a bit of a rush job on some busy days, I like how these turned out a lot! :>

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #my characters #bugs #insects #dobsonfly #wasp #ichneumon wasp #parasitic wasp #when i see parasitic wasps in my yard im like... please leave a few caterpillars for me im begging you #they are very elegant and pretty tho- its hard to get mad at them- parasitism is a way of life ya know #i ahve seen a male dobsonfly like once and it did scare me a bit- big chompers but in reality they arent vrey powerful #or so ive heard haha

[chameleocoonj]

The mighty antlion rogue moves undetected in the sand, while the mysterious bag witch watches over the twig forest. I’m fairly happy with these two, but I think I’ll probably revisit the second one in the future- I got a little tired when working on the stick cloak haha.

#my art #septembug #septembug 2020 #antlion #bagworm #caterpillar #bugs #insects #i tried really hard to get the humpbacked antlion look most of them have- but that one species with the neck was just too alluring #my characters

[chameleocoonj]

Here’s the next two septembugs, based on the wavy mucksucker fly and pseudoscorpions. I think the first fella is the leader of a fly cult with haltere symbols, and the second is a tiny traveling scholar on the hunt for good books. These two were very different processes- I juggled with several options for eyes before settling on a fly, but the pseudoscorpion worked for me right off the bat. 🦂📚

#my art #septembug #septembug 2020 #my characters #bugs #insects #fly #scorpion #pseudoscorpion #wavy mucksucker #flies #im giving myself a mini challenge to see how far i can get before i just HAVE to do a moth haha #both eyes and mimic came really close

[chameleocoonj]

After spending a lot of time struggling with a firefly design, I remembered the tiny wooly aphid and how they float around like little fuzzy fairies in the afternoon sun. With rain I tried to avoid the obvious earthworm to not fall into the same struggle, but I ended up with a worm anyway because they’re just great. :>

#septembug #septembug 2020 #bugs #insects #wooly aphid #earthworm #worm #i was going for a fairy princess vibe on the first one #as for mr worm- i think thats a good example of a more 'monstrous' race dnd style in bug world #insects are like humans- arachnids like orcs and elves- and the rest like a bugbear or merfolk or something

[chameleocoonj]

And there we have it, the last two septembugs! For grass, I thought of an american dagger moth caterpillar which I found traversing the blades in my yard last year. For crawl, I decided to make something based on my pet Sonoran Desert millipede Myriam who passed away earlier this year. They make really great pets, and I’m excited to hopefully get some more soon for my new tank, but I’ll never forget my sweet little lady Myriam. <3 

Thanks for joining me on this bug journey, and extra thanks to everyone who gave it a shot and made some beautiful bug art this month! I hope I have time to do it again next year!

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #my characters #insects #bugs #caterpillar #american dagger moth #millipede #sonoran desert millipede #stay tuned for a septembug pdf with extra design explanations for each entry #still figuring out if/what to charge bc i've already posted all the artwork but putting it together in indesign is taking a whileeeeee #i just want to give artbooks a shot and see how that goes #it is taking a millennia to get a job and i feel like that's at least something I can do while waiting to hear back from people haha

[chameleocoonj]

Yet another set of friends- these ones are based on the western tiger beetle and the dot-lined white moth. Tiger beetles are speedy predators that can tolerate the hot sand beneath their feet by staying on the move and high off the ground on their long legs. I decided to finally break my no-moths challenge for cold because the fluffy dot-lined whites I see around here are just too cute, plus they have a great pop of orange to offset a cold blue color scheme. ☀️❄️

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #bugs #insects #beetle #moth #tiger beetle #western tiger beetle #dot-lined white #dot-lined white moth #i really like my tiger beetle but i want my little bug world to have a bit of a fantasy leaning #im not sure if it looks too much like modern sportswear to fit in ya know?

[chameleocoonj]

These two are based on the black beauty stick insect and the eastern carpenter bee respectively. The little display wings of the stick insect are truly beautiful, and the fluffy carpenter bees that frequent my porch also visit all the honeysuckle in our yard. I had to work late on the bee because my brother came to visit, so I tried to replicate a design I lost when my computer died earlier this year- his name was Xylumber Bullybuzz! A bit of a friendly lumberjack type with a passion for woodworking. 

#septembug #septembug 2020 #my art #my characters #insect #bugs #carpenter bee #bee #stick bug #stick insect #black beauty stick insect #insects #bug #septembug tag is wack btw- my stuff at least is only showing up if its the very first tag

[chameleocoonj]

🐛 My Septembug book is now available! 🐛

Now you can see all of my Septembug designs with additional design process information and behind the scenes files! The finished images will always remain free to view here on my blog, but the whole package is up for just five dollars on itch. Also, if you’re one of the handful of cool people who participated this year, send me a message if you’d like a free copy. B)

#my art #septembug 2020 #bugs #insects #meant to release this a week or so ago but again work is sucking away my time haha #the free versions exist bc i do not have the rights to my googled ref images but i thought they would be cool to see with the sketches

[calamity-flames]

Sorry I missed yesterday’s and got a little lazy because I’m so tired but here is this for

Septembug days 5 and 6: Elytra and Web!

I went different tonight and did a Warrior Beetle who is gathering some old spiderweb to use as rope later. Our little snail boy got overheated and is seeking shade in our new friend’s elytra, because it’s large and blocks the sun quite well

I’ve posted on why I’ve been missing haha for the two of you who care 💛

#art #drawing #doodle #sketch #characterdesign #septembug #septembug 2020 #septembug2020 #warrior #warrior beetle #beetle

[calamity-flames]

MY FIRST ENTRY FOR SEPTEMBUG!!!

As hosted by my dear friend @chameleocoonj , I am gonna do my best to participate, and I plan on drawing my little snail boy every time! Maybe! We will see!

First up is Garden. This is inspired by the garden spider my dad used to have by his door. He named her “Flower” and fed her bugs when she didn’t have any in her web!

#septembug #septembug2020 #art #drawing #doodle #sketch #characterdesign #snail boy adventures #septembug 2020