Friday 31 March 2017

white markers, pencils...


I usually use a white line around figures to make them stand proud and have tried out various gel pens for that purpose. Hybrid is useless, Gelly Roll isn't as good as I thought and my current favourite is Uniball Signo.

So I began to think about other white markers or pencils and wondered how good they'd be. Even the Signo gel pen can find it difficult to outline on top of the waxiness of coloured pencil. 

I doodled six faces and tidied the graphite lines with a pencil eraser.




Used alcohol markers on Bristol Board and on top laid down a layer of coloured pencil - Faber Castell Polychromos. I used each of the six markers and pens to outline the heads and also drew open stars on the backgrounds.




I used the Faber-Castell water soluble Albrecht Durer white pencil by dipping it into water before applying it around the head. It went down easily though I needed to sharpen it a few times as the line grew progressively thicker. (Forgot to draw the stars)


Liquitex paint marker was clear, definite and very easy to use. Wedge shaped nib. I found the marker in 2-4mm which was fine enough to work with. Clear stars on background.


The extrafine Montana acrylic marker wasn't a brand I'd seen before. Pointed nib. It worked the best of the six mediums. Stars on the background were clear and fine.


I'd used Faber-Castell PITT artist pens before and liked the quality of the indian ink. The only white marker pen I could find in this range was a large size which had a bullet nib. Coverage was okay but it isn't as vivid as some of the other pens.


The Posca marker was small with a pointed nib and the results were very good, even over the pale grey background. Easy to use.


Of the two pencils I tried the Inktense didn't perform as well as I'd hoped. I dipped the point into water as it's soluble but it took a lot of dipping to finish outlining the figure. It covered the coloured pencil adequately but the result is soft and hazy. I'd be interested in trying this range on a separate project.

I'll probably be using the Montana, Liquitex and Posca and giving the Signo a rest.





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.



Wednesday 29 March 2017

masking fluid and watercolour - Part 1


The last time I tried using masking fluid I it was with alcohol inks and the result was woeful. I wasn't sure if it was the Bristol Board that made the masking fluid tear the surface (Four Bunnies of the Apocalypse) - Bristol Board is a great base for markers as it's very absorbent. But since reading this Craftsy tip on using masking fluid I reckon I had made an error. In my impatience to dry the fluid I'd applied heat from a radiator. So I'll have to give the alcohol inks another go with added patience.



For now I'm using the masking fluid along with watercolours. Going back to the blue figure that I've worked on in my sketchbook which in turn evolved from a figure-drawing practice tool online - Line of Action. I wrote a previous blogpost about the blue figure - REDO blue figure in sketchbook - and this is a continuation of that drawing. What was originally a gun in the online photograph became a broomstick. And the blue figure is now a witch in the light of the full moon.


I used Winsor and Newton masking fluid to protect the figure while I washed the background in shades of Turquoise, Ultramarine and Payne's Grey. Some Vermilion and Sap Green were added to break up the sameness of the colours. I decided on a whim to use sea salt on top of the wet paint. By the time I'd found it, opened it and used it most of the wet paint had already dried. The areas that were altered have almost a crystalline effect.

Allowing the masking fluid to dry naturally and lifting it as soon as the background was touch-dry made removing it very easy and without harm to the surface of the paper.


Filled in the white space with light teal and shades of pale cream for the skin, moon and broomstick. 


Part 2 to follow...



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.

Monday 27 March 2017

Mini Art Books 3 - Mermaid


Sometimes the mini art books I make have unrelated images and other times they tell a story in pictures, the details decided in the viewer's mind.


Began to put together the unfolding tale of the green mermaid in book form as a means of making the storyline clear to myself. I also enjoy making visual art into something other than a flat, two dimensional surface.


Two of my 'watery' hued markers were running dry but I used them and added coloured pencil across the surface. I've only ever used alcohol markers in my mini art books and wasn't sure how the pencil would stand up to glueing and folding. It was fine and I'm now thinking of experimenting with different mediums to make further books.




The story is laid out over five double pages and pulls together the time after the mermaid escapes from the net and before the ship is destroyed. It seems a mermaid's pearls can be used as currency.







Mini Art Books 2 - November 2016
mini art books - May 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.

Friday 24 March 2017

Swirls, circles and dots...


Got out some watercolour paper and drops dots of wet watercolour paint, working the paint into the paper by swirling it. Overlapped colours and then applied tiny dots of colour onto the still damp paper.



Added painted swirls and clusters of white circles...and then got out the coloured pencils to add shaded areas.



Textured surface of paper created rough areas of colour. Used coloured fineliners (uniball) and circled dried dots of colour.


A very enjoyable exercise, quite meditative...



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.

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Sketchbook...web spinner...


Opened up my sketchbook and began to draw...


Pencil followed by ink. The drawing began with shape of the face, then slant of the shoulders and division of the features on the face. Drew her hand holding a wand which developed into a spider. The triangular shape at the top of the page suggested a cobweb.


Worked and reworked the coloured pencil until I was happy with the depth of colour in the background, closer to what was in my mind's eye. Like watercolours, layering the coloured pencil seems to give depth to the result.






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.