challenge: Updating old work

'Scent' April 2015

Had set myself the challenge of selecting a previous drawing and updating it. Since early 2015 I had begun to 'doodle' and over the coming year amassed seven sketchbooks filled with images. These doodles had not been pre-sketched with pencil but were drawn freehand. There is a roughness about them but that's a quality all of their own.

I chose 'Scent' to rework and completed a pencil drawing based on the original doodle. The character became rounder, more 3D. I elaborated on the shapes and forms although I tried to keep the essence of what was in the original.

With a fineliner I outlined the image and erased any pencil marks. 

I used a mixture of Copic, ProMarker, flex and Chafford markers for the initial colouring. pale shades were laid down on which to build further colours.

Further tints were added to indicate shaded areas. the sky became a dome of blues and purples. Texture was given to the brown and green ground with dotting and spiralling. A white gel pen highlighted areas and provided added leaf strands (something inspired by TheMonsterPaws). Further shading was done in both grey and purple Copics. 

In the doodle the figure stood behind the brown 'earth' but in the reworked piece she seems to rise from the middle of the flowers. 

Coloured pencil added definition to the image on the figure, the sky, hills, flowers and green background. More work is done to the eyes, nose and lips. A final edging in both black fineliner and white gel pen finishes the piece below.

'Scent 2'  June 2016

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit
All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.

mini art books

1st mini art book  

The mini books were a development from 'doodles' I'd begun to draw with alcohol markers from 2012. Wanting to make the images more three dimensional I thought of making illustrative books and kept the size small partially to test out the idea and also because I like tiny objects.

I used small greetings card stock, drew & coloured on the plain side and glued the outer surfaces together. After trimming them I stained the edges with the broad end of a ProMarker.

In each of the mini books drawings were done freehand, without pencil sketches, in the style of the 'doodle' art I'd been making. In the 1st book each double page is unrelated to the others, the book being a collection of individual mini artworks. The images are a mix of fantasy creatures in fantastical settings. 

Alex and Kayla from Oh Hello Stationery Co now own this little treasure.

'full fathom five' is the 2nd mini book, made not long after the 1st. The artwork is based on the story of Ariel's song from the Tempest written by Shakespeare. I've loved this poem/song for a long time. I love the imagery in it and its description of the power of the sea to make irreparable changes.

 'Full fathom five thy father lies,

'Of his bones are coral made.

'Those are pearls that were his eyes,

'Nothing of him that doth fade

'But doth suffer a sea-change

'Into something rich and strange.

 'Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell, ding-dong.

'Hark! Now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.'

I pictured the bells on long ribbons masquerading as seaweed. And the beach with its trails of weed and stones is like a beach from the North Coast of NI, hit by the Atlantic with every turn of the inward tide. 

This book is my own little treasure, made for me by me.

 

'Swarm' was based on an animation I had begun to draw at art college and never finished. In the animation a swarm of ivy leaves, like birds, fly around a single tree. The ivy begins to strangle the tree before flying off in a swarm once more, leaving the tree to slowly fall and merge with the ground beneath it. 

In this mini book the swarm is something sinister, bird-like but also like the 'V' of 'Venom'. The character realises that an attack is happening and tries to defend his/herself.

As the character grabs one from the swarm we can see it has eyes and may be sentient. The swarm engulfs the person, pulling up grass and fallen leaves as it swirls around.

Almost cocooned by the swarm the person beings to metamorphosize, darkening like the black of the swarm itself. 

The person's skin and hair changes. Their irises reflect the transformation and echo the first image of the book.

There's something nice about having a three-dimensional artwork to hold, to turn its pages and reveal further images. Like a small comic book without words.

There are other poems and verses of songs I'd like to illustrate in book form. Mini-sized or larger, a book of images to flick through and stimulate the imagination.

Tomorrow's blogpost: Art Process 'Bird'

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit
All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.

Pens, pencils & paper...

'Playing Ninja Zombie with Shadow' 2013

When creating artworks from start to finish I use a range of pencils, pens & markers. I also use different qualities of paper. 

My Rotring retractable mechanical pencil is the only pencil I use to sketch. It has a nice weight to it and although I'm able to buy different strengths of lead I tend to use a basic HB. Once the sketch is finished and tweaked I begin to ink it. 

'Moon tree' 2013

At Christmas my son bought me a set of Unipin fine liners in a range of nib sizes. They're comfortable to use, are water and fade proof, and are pigment ink which doesn't shift when coloured over with alcohol markers. Before this I used either a Letraset fine liner 0.7 (waterproof, non fading pigment ink) or a Rotring Tikky Graphic 0.5 (pigmented ink). The Rotring has a lovely soft touch on paper and I'll be looking to build up my collection of these.

After watching a couple of artists on YT and Vimeo I purchased a Pentel GFXP brush pen. Using this is an entirely different technique but I find keeping it upright like a Japanese ink brush works best. The hand and wrist movements needed to work fluently take a bit of practice but the effect is good and the quality of the brush and ink excellent. I mostly use it to accentuate outer lines after colouring an artwork. A nice touch to the shiny black casing is the foiled Japanese symbol on the cap.

To add highlights such as light catching on a character's eyes a white pen is best. Mine is a Uni-ball Signo broad (pigment ink, UM-153) which is a tried and tested pen, a bit like a high-end gel pen.

I've tried out a number of different alcohol markers to colour my line drawings. An all-time favourite to date is the Copic ciao, double ended with both super brush and broad nib. The brush gets the most use as it's very flexible and can carry ink into the finest of areas. The ink can be built up to create a very smooth, almost dense effect. They can be pricey but I'm currently searching for a good deal on refill ink which should mean making my art is more affordable. My local arts supply store tell me that there is a shortage of Copics because of the rise in Manga art but I can't say how accurate this is.

'Moon tree' coloured 2014

I have a number of Letraset Promarkers which have stood the test of time well - the Promarker seems to have been taken over by Windsor & Newton so whichever name you purchase it's the same product. The pens are also double ended with a small point on one end and a broad nib on the other. The quality of ink is very good and loaded with pigment and a handy design touch is the nub on the pen cap which prevents the marker rolling off the desk when not being used. 

Another option is the Flair marker by Letraset. This has both brush and broad nib although the brush is nowhere as flexible as that of the Copic. The ink is passable but doesn't compare to that of the Promarker.

A very cheap option is the Stafford, usually less than half the price of others. For the price it's not bad but the continuity of quality does not run the same from marker to marker. It has a both broad nib and point though the latter can sometimes blunt quickly through use. Some bleed more readily than others which can ruin an artwork if not careful. And often the ink colour does not match the label. However they're a great 'first' alcohol art marker and can come in handy if you're a strapped-for-cash artist. Using these to colour larger background areas can save your more expensive markers.

using Sharpies - Oh Hello Stationery Co drawing challenge 2015

I couldn't resist the chance to try out Sharpies and have a range of permanent markers with neon and metallics within my collection. The shape and point of nib can vary from marker to marker which I find very hit and miss. Colours are always intense but often don't tally with the colour of the marker cap. Coverage is also good but not quite the same flat colour as the Copics. I have completed online art challenges only using Sharpies and they've been fine but I wouldn't use them for my artworks.

Days 21 & 24 from Listers Gotta List/The Reset Girl Jan challenge 2016

Ballpoint and gel pens also have a place in my art materials. Pen points are usually fine to medium on ballpoints and when used for an overlapping shading technique the eye then mixes the colours. A small collection of pens can therefore produce many more blended colours. Gel pens are great for building up colour and creating patterns on top of patterns.

My Dad had a set of coloured pencils which he used to tint drawings for an architectural course he studied. And I now have his Mars Chroma pencils (by Staedtler of Nurnberg). 13/6 (13 shillings and sixpence) is the price written in pencil on the box so they're pre-decimal - an expensive purchase in the 60s. They're water resistant and almost gleam when shaded heavily over copic marker or gouache. And I have to be extra careful when sharpening them as the vintage leads can and do easily break. I've kept any broken leads as I'm sure I've seen some kind of gadget with tiny claws which might grip them, allowing me to use every morsel of colour. I love having these pencils even though the box is battered and suffered water damage some years ago. 

My first sketches are done on 150gsm paper which can take a lot of heavy erasing but I like the quality of 250gsm Bristol Board which is very smooth to work on with alcohol markers and I end up with a very durable final piece. I find mixed media is usually better done on watercolour paper 150gsm+.

I'm constantly trying out new products on the market to extend my repertoire and I'm finding that I discover new favourites. YouTube tutorials and reviews are an excellent place to learn about what the art companies are producing. Plus your local art store is worth dropping in regularly to test out and get the feel of markers and pens.

Links:

bloowabbit facebook page

bloowabbit Pinterest page

Baylee Jae YT video - 'Better Than Copics?'

Sophira-Lou YT video - 'Fineliners V Watercolours'

Sakuems YT video - 'Product Review'

Tomorrow's blog: 'History of an artist (me) Pt1'

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit
All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.