Alright folks, let me tell you about my little deep dive into the symbolism of sea turtles. I was just chilling at home the other day, scrolling through Pinterest (as you do), and BAM! Sea turtle image. Got me thinking, “What’s the deal with these shelled dudes? What do they even MEAN?” So, naturally, I went down a rabbit hole.
First things first, I fired up Google. Did a bunch of searches like “sea turtle symbolism”, “sea turtle spiritual meaning”, “sea turtle in different cultures” – you know, the basics. I skimmed through a bunch of websites, blogs, and even a couple of academic papers (trying to sound smart here, haha!).
What I gathered was pretty interesting! Apparently, sea turtles are seen as symbols of longevity, perseverance, patience, and wisdom in many cultures. Think about it: they live for ages, they travel massive distances, and they take their sweet time doing everything. It kinda makes sense, right?
Next, I wanted to get a little more hands-on. I decided to try and express this symbolism visually. I grabbed my sketchbook and started doodling. My first attempt was a total disaster! Looked like a mutated pancake with flippers. But hey, gotta start somewhere!
I kept practicing, trying different styles. I sketched some super realistic turtles, some more cartoonish ones, and even tried a few abstract designs using just geometric shapes. I played around with different colors too – blues, greens, browns, trying to capture that ocean vibe.
After a bunch of failed attempts (and a lot of eraser shavings), I finally came up with something I liked. It was a stylized sea turtle swimming towards the sun. The sun, for me, represented hope and new beginnings. The turtle, of course, symbolized the journey, the perseverance, and the wisdom gained along the way.
I scanned the sketch into my computer and messed around with it in Photoshop. Added some textures, tweaked the colors, and threw in a subtle ocean background. It wasn’t perfect, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out.
My key takeaways from this little project?
- Research is key. Gotta know what you’re talking about before you start creating.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try different styles, techniques, and colors.
- Practice makes perfect (or at least, better). Don’t get discouraged by bad drawings.
- And most importantly, have fun! It’s just art, after all.
I even printed out my finished sea turtle design and framed it. Now it’s hanging on my wall as a little reminder to be patient, persistent, and to enjoy the journey, just like a sea turtle.
So yeah, that’s my sea turtle symbolism adventure. Hope you found it interesting! Maybe it’ll even inspire you to explore the symbolism of something you’re curious about. Go for it!
