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

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Freedom...

Next episode in the saga of the mermaid is when she breaks free. A couple of pencil sketches helped me explore how this would look and I changed from a side view to a foreshortened view from the front.

Drew an outline onto watercolour paper and began filling in with paint. Used two water brushes from a set in my stock.

Built up colours on the stylised fish that are the mermaid's companions. Here they've brought her a piece of coral to shred the net and are pulling it open for her to escape. 

I wanted to overlay coloured pencil but it was a very different effect than I'd planned as the paper was so textured. It was impossible to create the almost burnished result that I get when using Bristol Board which is very smooth. However the colour is much brighter with watercolour as a base. Mixed media paper might be a good compromise. 

The foreshortening was better at the pencil drawing stage - I need more practice. Her hair has lost it's fluidity present in previous drawings. Would like to redo this image.

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Recurring characters...MERMAID

April 2016 saw the start of the mermaid drawings, very much doodled, and the anatomy of her hands could be better. Fish are her hovering friends helping her to gather fallen pearls from her broken necklace.

Wrote a blogpost in August 2016 on using Letraset inks and redid an earlier doodle of a mermaid - LINK

November/December saw the beginnings of the green mermaid, pearl necklace, glowing orb and those shoals of little orange fish.

And a detailed study of her face as a first step to moulding her image as a recurring character.

Using foreshortening, although roughly executed, is taking the mermaid a step closer to comic art. Creating drama. It was in February that the drawings began to become a series.

The most recent drawing in my sketchbook, March 2017, shows her trapped in a net and wondering how to get free. The next stage, her freedom, is currently what I'm working on. Sometimes stories unfold as I draw and re-draw similar images and characters.

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Metallic markers...

Got some Winsor & Newton Promarkers in metallics as part of a Christmas gift - I had looked at these in my local art shop before and wanted to try them.

As usual the markers are dual tipped with small and large point and colours include: Violet, Blue, Green, Silver, Gold and Red Gold. The Red Gold is a cross between gold and copper, almost like an 'old gold'. They are smooth to use and unlike the usual alcohol Promarker the ink doesn't bleed through to the other side of the paper. 

I had thought of a peacock or a mermaid as the metallics might suit either and settled for the latter. Sketched onto Bristol Board with pencil.

Defined the pencil and erased any excess lines. Her pearl necklace had broken and the beads were scattered on the sand beneath. 

Used alcohol Promarkers to colour, Faber Castell colour pencil for the background and each of the Metallic Promarkers to highlight an area of the drawing. The mermaid was outlined in Dark Indigo coloured pencil and white gel pen. 

Silver outlined the pearls, blue the scales on her tail, gold on the leaves of the seaweed and both green and red gold on her hair.

Fun to use and the quality of ink is good.

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ABADID 5...ARTWORK Watercolour markers

I have a mixed collection of Letraset AquaMarkers and Winsor & Newton WaterColour Markers. Colours range through yellows, orange, red, blues and green. 

Continuing with the green mermaid theme I sketched her gazing at an orb as a small shoal of squid-like fish swim towards her. Inked in the drawing and choose to use the watercolour markers. I'm never sure I'm using them correctly - they tend to rub and distress the surface of the paper. While I was colouring I wondered if there was a different way to use them. Perhaps not by shading in using a 'bottom left to top right and reverse' motion and instead gently trailing the tip on the paper like a brush. I haven't given up on them even though they do result in a cheap marker look until the watercolours dry. 

I outlined the figure and fish with a heavier fineliner and then outlined that with white gel pen. I'm trying out some Gelly Roll by Sakura but although there's a lot of hype around these gel pens I think I do prefer the Uniball Signo. The Gelly Roll ink takes a moment to dry before looking white whereas the Signo ink dries almost instantly. Also used a fineliner to draw swirls in the background of water and highlighted this with white gel pen which helped the marker look of the coloured background. Happy enough.

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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.