Another scroll done

And It Doesn't Look That Bad.

This is a scroll for a friend. I think that it looks nice... Now that it is done. I spent so much time thinking that I was wasting my time on it 'cause it was so bad.

Here is an example of how I made it:

1) I found the image and finagled the 'L' into an 'F'
2) I traced the image using a light box. Joy levels were high. My friend will be so happy.
3) Took a break 'cause painting it will be so easy.
4) Somehow make the spit-turner look more like a troll than the original image.
5) "We'll fix it in post!"
6) Start putting paint down. "My colors aren't working. I must not know what I'm doing. This is going to look awful. Why did I choose these colors?"
7) "Why did I take such a long break from painting? I forgot everything I learned about painting. I'm barely better than a 3rd grader doing finger painting!"
8) Put everything away and build a new work bench for the basement so that I can feel what accomplishing something is like.
9) Pull everything back out and start painting again.
10) Start filling in all of the elements. "Why did I do this image? Nothing I'm doing looks like the original image. The troll looks like a mutant troll."
11) Start the shading. "Now I know I don't know what I'm doing. This looks terrible. I might as well throw it away and never do it again."
12) Finish up another scroll and take heart that perhaps I can do this.
13) 30 SECONDS LATER: start looking for another image to make a replacement scroll.
14) Power through the insecurity.
15) Start the highlighting. "You know... This doesn't look half bad. I don't know what I was worried about."
16) Make a minor mistake while doing the whitework. "AAAAHHHHHHGGGGGG!!!! I ruined it! My friend is going to hate me!"
17) Finish the piece and rationalize the experience. "I knew that I could do it. This will look great when it's handed out in court. Easy as pie. Mmmmmm, pie.....!"
18) Notice that I forgot to paint legs on the cook. Or add the fire.
19) Drop an 'F' bomb.
20) Experiment with fire on a scrap of paper.
21) Find a method that looks good-ish.
22) Make a mess with the Yellow.
23) Make is worse with the Orange.
24) Put too much water in the Red and smear the Red into the Orange and Yellow.
25) DAMN! That looks good. I'm on fire!
26) Put the brush down and walk away, thinking that I knew I could do it.
27) Grudgingly admit that it looks nice and that my friend will like it. 
28) The spit turner still looks like a mutant troll. But I'm okay with that.

This is pretty much what I go through when I make scrolls. For the most part, I'm happy with the end results but I sweat over making the scroll.