So, I got this idea stuck in my head the other day – drawing a mosquito. Not just any mosquito, mind you, but one specific to Bahia. Why Bahia? Well, hangs onto that thought for a sec.
First things first, I needed to actually get started. Grabbed my usual sketchbook and pencils. Nothing fancy. Then came the hard part: finding a decent picture of a Bahia mosquito. You’d think the internet has everything, right? Wrong. Lots of generic mosquito pics, sure. But something clearly labelled ‘this critter buzzes around Salvador’? Not so easy. I spent maybe an hour just clicking through blurry photos and scientific diagrams that didn’t help much for drawing.
I eventually settled on a few images that looked like the stripey-legged type, the Aedes aegypti, ’cause I remember those being a real pain when I was down there years ago. They’re pretty much everywhere in Brazil, including Bahia.
Getting Down to It
Okay, pencil in hand. I started sketching. Trying to get those super thin legs right felt impossible. They’re like threads. And the wings, all veiny and transparent. Don’t even get me started on the pointy bit they use to bite you. It’s tiny! Frustrating stuff.
- Tried light strokes first.
- Focused on the body shape, kinda hunched over.
- Added the stripes on the legs last. That was key for the Bahia vibe I remembered.
Honestly, midway through, I almost crumpled the page. It looked less like a mosquito and more like a weird spider that had a bad accident.
Why Bahia, Though?
Right, back to Bahia. Thinking about those mosquitoes brought back this memory. It wasn’t even about the bugs. I was in Pelourinho, Salvador, trying to buy some little painted wooden figure. This vendor spots me, the obvious tourist, and quotes some crazy price. I try to haggle, you know, like you’re supposed to? This guy just laughed. He knew I’d probably pay it anyway. And guess what? I did. Felt like a total idiot afterwards. Walked away with this overpriced trinket and probably got bitten by three mosquitoes while standing there arguing. The heat, the crowds, the feeling of being slightly ripped off… drawing this mosquito somehow connected back to that whole messy, vibrant, annoying feeling of being there. Weird how the mind works, eh?
It’s like that time I tried learning coding. Started with Python, everyone said it was easy. Then hit a wall with some weird library conflict. Spent days on forums, getting nowhere. Just like trying to draw those stupid mosquito legs perfectly. Sometimes the simple things are the most annoying.
Finishing Up
Anyway, I pushed through with the drawing. Stopped trying to make it perfect. Focused on the general impression – the stripes, the annoying pose, ready to bite. Used a darker pencil to make the body stand out a bit more and add some shadows.
The final result? It’s okay. Not gonna win any awards. It looks like a mosquito, maybe even one you’d swat away in Bahia. It captures that slightly irritating memory. It’s messy, a bit rough, but it’s done. And that’s the point sometimes, just doing the thing, remembering stuff along the way. Documenting the little battles, you know?
