MOTH
Moth are often overlook by many people for their dull looking color. When I hear word moth, the first thing that came into my mind is a powdery brown winged insect that looks like a butterfly but the ugly version of it. Moths are known as a pests when they are in they larvae stage or a caterpillar.
Who could have thought that moths can be beautiful and a very helpful insect. Moths are food to a wide variety of wildlife, including other insects, spiders, frogs, toads, lizards, shrews, hedgehogs, bats and birds. Night-flying adult moths form a major part of the diet of bats. Many birds eat both adult moths and their caterpillars, but the caterpillars are especially important for feeding the young. Some of Britain's favorite garden birds rely on caterpillars to rear their nestlings, with our blue tit chicks alone needing an estimated 35 billion a year! Moths are also a factor of pollination in plants and it is a factor of seed production.
Unlike any other moths Luna moth is so different in color. So, let me show you what is a Luna moth that actually brought me to look deeper and further about these moths.
image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/501869952204138077/
Luna Moth
Luna moth or Actias Luna is a lime-green moth, it has a wingspan of up to 114 mm (4.5 in), making it one of the largest moths in North America. This moth only live for 2 weeks or less. Unlike any other moths it doesn't have a mouth to eat and it doesn't have an appetite because it doesn't have a digestive system. I think that's why they just live for a short period of time.
There are some beliefs that luna moths are apparently a symbol of spiritual transformation. Luna moths also signify rebirth and new beginnings as they represent a continuing quest for truth and knowledge, gift of intuition, psychic perception and heightened awareness. I suppose these things are associated with “seeing the light” since the luna moth is nocturnal but will gravitate toward light in the night. Of course, these symbolisms are lore passed down through the years but is interesting to wonder what started these beliefs. And then again, who really knows? One can only wonder whether sighting of such things are merely coincidence or indeed something more.
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I am so in love and amazed with the color of this moth and how beautiful it is. So I decided to make an art about this moth and about its name which means moon. So I thought about the Moon Princess which is famous in Japan and mixed it up with the concept of Luna Moth.
DRAWING AND COLORING MATERIALS:
STEPS IN MAKING THE MOON PRINCESS ARTWORK
1.
STEP 1:
2.
STEP :
3.
STEP 2:
I use BG1 (Blue Grey 1) in the hair, #63 Cerulean Blue for the eyes and some jewelry.
I use #1 Wine Red for the top part of the wings. and the top part of the dress. #59 Pale Green for the rest of the green color you can see. #37 Pastel Yellow for the antlers of the moth and the antlers-like design on the dress.
I use the #47 Grass Green on the other parts of the skirt, #27 Powder Pink for the Skin (you can also use #29 Barley Beige but unfortunately I already consumed all the ink of it), #9 Pale Pink for the lips and for the inner part of the mouth I use #7 Cosmos.
4.
STEP 4:
I add a moon on the top left corner and use BG1 Blue Grey 1 on the moon and BG3 Blue Grey 3 on the craters of the moon. I also use #103 Potato Brown(the darker one) and #25 Salmon Pink (lighter shading) for shading the skin of the princess.
I colored the background BG7 Blue Grey 7, it helps to emphasize the princess an the moon and the drawing.
And Lastly, I use the #47 Grass Green for adding details on the wings and on the dress. and this is the final output.