Smile for the world... by @WanderingSkipper (Skip Waters)

Seeing the small, plain space where life as I knew it was about to change brought up all-too-familiar feelings that that often come with taking first steps... Apprehension, anxiety, nervousness, even a splash of excitement. I wondered how many other people, artists or otherwise, felt this way before putting up images of themselves for everyone to see. In that regard, I felt there was very little difference between photos and drawings, even if my present skills would show a different story. Long story short, what we were about to do was going to to take the level of internet anonymity down a level or three.

I turned to see her fiddling with the camera as the otter watched intently, seemingly as eager about the photo-op as she was. It was fairly easy to see that neither of them were the shy type. They did not need to be...

There are plenty of silly things people worry about. Strangely enough, I couldn't quite think of anything off the top of my head to back up that last thought, but in my experience, silly worries are something everyone needs to confront sooner or later. Naturally, I was no exception, since my immediate concern was a rehearsal for stepping in front of the camera.

"Okay... here goes..."

There they were again... Second thoughts.

"Pamelia, is this really necessary?" I asked, not for the first time.

"We talked this over already." she said, looking up from the camera. "Remember, you promised yourself AND to me..."

"Yeah. It's just that... I mean, I'm still getting used to drawing... us. Then there's the clothing details, I'm still learning that... and I haven't even started on backgrounds or shading."

"But you said yourself... They seem like nice folks who believe you don't have to be a pro right away." She took the camera off the tripod and sat down next to me, still trying to get it working, "'Sides, your graphite scratching's just fine so far... right, Squeaks?"

The otter squeaked in response.

"Thanks... Not easy to argue with reasoning like that, I guess." I said, grinning. I then took a closer look at the camera myself. "Are you sure it's not broken or anything?"

"Nah. It's just a little stubborn..." she replied. "So... why are you so worried? I'm pretty sure they see sketchiness all the time."

"First-time jitters?" I offered.

That was mostly true, but that was another story. I picked up the camera trigger lay at the base of the tripod and offered it to the otter, who took it, trailing the connecting wire behind him. He placed it atop a stack of books on the floor and waited.

"Want me to get the other one in the bike?" she asked.

"It might be a little easier to work with it if you just pulled up your sleeves for a few seconds..."

"Says the one who gave 'em to me in the first place." she snickered, still fumbling with the camera despite the sleeves.

"Very funny. You want me to take a few more months to rework your outfit?"

She held the camera towards me to hold onto for her, which I did. Her sleeves concealed her actions as she clicked something into place, and the screen on the back finally flickered on with a beep.

"Alright! We're good to go!" she said as she took it and started mounting it back onto the tripod.

I looked at her uncertainly, "Could I at least try adding some shading or refine a few of the details?"

"Oy! No more delays! It's just one world of people, and you already put off your New-Year deadline for more practice, so come on!" She pulled me along by an arm and kept going until we were right in front of the viewfinder.

She put sleeve-covered arm around me, holding me close as she smiled at the camera, "Smile for the world, daddy!"

"Is now a bad time to mention I'm a bit camera-shy?" I said, nervously rubbing my neck.

The otter squeaked again as if to say, "Say cheese!" as he pushed the button, triggering the camera...

---

... and that's my first addition to DeviantArt, and depending on how things go, this will be far from the last one.

Yes, the nervous guy is yours truly, and aside from the obvious shortcomings of my drawing skills, I think this turned out okay. As you may have guessed, I would have rather worked on it a little more, but I had been saying that to myself far too much for many of my projects, so I was encouraged to end the cycle somewhere.

Anyhoo, as for the girl and the otter, there is a great deal of story behind them, a lot of which I'm not ready to present just yet. In any case, I'll reveal more about them later... Unless they beat me to it. :)

-Wandering Skipper