Toucan Timelapse
A lively drawing update with some flash fiction! (LOTS of pictures in this one, Gigglers...)
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New Subscribers: Welcome to The Giggler! We’re on a never-ending quest for amusement and unadulterated fun here. Sometimes my newsletters contain updates from my life as a voice actress and filmmaker, other times I share original short fiction to make you chuckle, and today is all about my adventures in learning to draw (plus a cute short story to go with one of my drawings). Thank you for being here!
Hey Gigglers!
For my birthday, my parents got me a Magic Drawing Pad! 🎉 I had no idea just how much I’d love this thing, but wow, I love this thing. Nothing beats a pencil (or a good line marker!) on paper, but having a portable tablet has made me want to draw even more.
I’ve been drawing in bed late at night, on the patio, and in the living room while rewatching Spy x Family (one of our favorite anime shows!), and it’s been fantastic. (I realize I could have done this with my sketchbook, too, but it’s much more fun with a magic drawing pad and no eraser bits to clean up after, lol) The battery lasts forever, the stylus never needs charging, and—the best part—there’s a Timelapse feature in Clip Studio Paint! That means you can see my entire drawing process from start to finish! Check it out:
Having a drawing tablet now means I can start all those 21-draw.com digital art courses on landscapes that I’ve been looking forward to!
...But let’s be real, I cannot even draw a straight line yet. 😅
So here’s what I'm doing to advance my skills:
Stick with Mark Kistler’s art classes because they’re fun, and now I can make cool time lapses out of them!
Follow along with NerdForge’s drawing skills timeline. I recently became obsessed with their channel (seriously, check them out if you love nerdy things and watching the creative process unfold). In one video, Martina made a PowerPoint to teach her fiancé how to draw in 100 hours. Obviously, I became a patron just to get my hands on that PowerPoint. LMAO.
Level up my shading and perspective skills. According to the NerdForge lesson timeline, that’s my next step. So far, I’ve made the following (if you’re reading this in an email, you may need to open this post in your browser to see the image gallery below):
I love shading—it’s so relaxing! I was supposed to keep these exercises quick and simple, but I got carried away on almost all of them. 😂 I also discovered a smudge tool that mimics blending with your finger on paper, and it’s way too much fun.
Meanwhile, in Mark Kistler’s classes, we practice these skills while creating fun, follow-along drawings. For one, I decided to test out the gouache paintbrush in Clip Studio Paint—check out my toucan!
Then, just for fun, I ran the image through RUNWAY, an AI tool that turns images into cinematic video clips. You will not believe what it did to my toucan!
Everything you see, I drew! AI just made it all move in 3D, isn’t that wild?! RUNWAY also turned my painted donut into a 3D rotating donut—because why not?
I am having way too much fun with this Magic Drawing Pad. I even dreamed about one-point perspective last night. LOL.
Of course, I wouldn’t want you to feel robbed if you signed up to The Giggler for entertaining flash fiction, so...
Here’s a cute story about my colorful toucan!
Tico the Toucan 🐤
Tico the toucan had one little flaw—
His beak was too bright. It defied jungle law!
While others could hide in the leaves up high,
Tico stood out like a painted sky.
When he spotted a mango, he raced to go grab it,
But before he could reach it—snatched!—by a rabbit!
He leaped for a pineapple—gone in a flash!
A monkey had swiped it with one speedy dash.
He reached for some berries, but try as he might,
A sloth (of all creatures!) had beat him—mid-bite!
"You're far too flashy," Pepito declared.
"Blend in, or beware—you’ll be easily snared!"
So Tico tried mud. He tried leaves. He tried twigs.
But nothing could cover his colorful digs.
He sighed as he watched all the others succeed,
His bright beak a beacon, his hunger a need.
Then Pepito, feeling bad for his friend,
Hatched a plan to bring his woes to an end.
He whispered to creatures who perched in the tree,
"Perhaps he’s enchanted! Just look—don’t you see?"
The rumor took flight, as jungle tales do—
"Tico brings fortune if he blesses you!"
Then whispers arose from the jungle that day—
"A magical bird! Look, he's floating our way!"
"A legend! A wonder! Good luck, he bestows!"
And suddenly everyone brought him mangoes!
And just like that, from sloth to baboon,
The animals served him a feast before noon!
Pepito felt glad as he watched from his tree,
Hearing his friend munching quite happily!
Tico grinned back as he munched on his treat,
"Why blend in, my friend, when life tastes this sweet?"
Babam! Drawing updates and flash fiction?! What a heckuva Thursday, huh?
Hope you find time for some fun this weekend—or at least get into a little shenanigan or two. 😉
Until next time!
Alexa (AKA The Giggler)
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—Alexa
That's the most super cute toucan and toucan-based poetry I've ever seen. Bravo!