#4 A false start and a CRabby scallop

So, it was the fourth of october when I decided I would give Inktober a try. So, the prompt was Scallop. Easy, hum? It is an object so it seemed so, but off course I could find a way to make it harder... I am an OCD-haunted pearson so the ideal of leaving three days behind  was unbearable. I though: Scallop is easy, so are the first three: Gargoyle, Bat... Even Scurry (creatures hurrying up with tiny feet? That was easy!) I would do all of then...  And maybe it would be possible using pen and paper, but there was Resolution #1. Right?

So, it was the evening when I decided to make "fast, rough, sketches" for all of the four initial prompts. It was almost midnight when I realised I was still in the concept fase for Gargoyle (Day 1). A change of plans was in order.  "I can always return to these first three later", after all, "the important thing is do #4 Scallop and try to keep up from this on".  I finishid and you can see the "pretty thing" below. 

The idea actually came actually in a quite straightforward way: Last time I was trying to draw directly in digital (I used my Intuos/Wacom and SketchBook Pro) was creating embriological sketches for the alien life in my Exobiology series (which is a whole other thing). But, the main thing is that I had already made sketches like these:

I was actually creating a lot of image references for the other creatures which would have a bodyplan that is half inspered by the echinodermata half for a crab-like appearance (there is a  whole thing in convergent evolution about every creature ending up looking like a crab). So I did a bit of internet diging and AI generating for reference images I already had weird things and assembled a few more references like these (and a few others I lost):

So the main ideas were there: kind of a standing radial simetry with many appendixes, a body that is composed of scallops and a general crabby look (both looking a crab and being in a grumpy mood). I used bilateral simetry to build the first elements and then broke it with the final layers. 

Unafortuantelly my lack of practice with layers was a real hindrance and I made every possible mistake in the layering.  The results are that I dont get a cohesive step by step evolution of this image. I may someday post the layers I got, maybe as an example of how NOT to layer you drawing. Bus, maybe not.I remeber, however that the idea for a funny hair I got from this pretty pencil drawing of a basket of sea fruit I found somewhere. 

Last touches were the grumpy look (which are easy with such a good looking fellow). And then I published on IG... O the 6th o October. Yep. It took me two days more to finish this first one. But I actually hurried up this time and worked on the prompts for day 5 and day 6...