Tag Archives: pen & ink

The Village of Little Sprout, for Jungle at IF

The Village of Little Sprout, process and final
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, gel pen on Bristol Board

Submitted for the topic “Jungle” at Illustration Friday. My latest unconventional cityscape, it was very fun to make. And I would like to live there. :)

I was also quite pleased with this cat, though she has only the most distant connection to the jungle, having moved to the Great Red Plains in her youth.

Tarabell the Theurgist
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Shown here with her ceremonial robe and shield, Tarabell was one of the three founding members of the Lunar Cat Council. A cat called Elsbeth wears Tarabell’s robe now, with great care and reverence.

The Lunar Ceremony is open to visitors twice per year, and it is a grand and wondrous honor to see the entire Council in their ancient finery.

(Somewhat more realistic than previous cats!) Made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com.

Thanks for visiting! I forgot to send out my last post, so maybe take a look if a robot called Croissant sounds interesting to you.

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Sizing Him Up, Copic Art Card

Sizing Him Up
2.5″ x 3.5″, pen and ink, Copics

Croissant is the sort of name one acquires when one’s owner allows his six-year old to name his robot butler. Croissant bore it stoically, after the fashion of his kind. But perhaps it made him slightly more suspicious of visitors to the family estate. Other robots, in particular, were forced to endure quite stringent scrutiny.

For the topic “Robot” at Illustration Friday. It’s a bit abstract! And I’m not sure how the big fellow ended up with a lizardy texture. Experimenting, I suppose!

I also figured out a way to get that white on toned paper look, which is to use white gel pen in a sketchy style over lightly colored areas. In this case, lightly colored with warm gray 02 or 03. I also tried to cover up the design in the large eye with gel pen. To mixed results.

Thanks for stopping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Red Setter in Copic Markers

Red Setter Called Waldorf, process and final
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers, fine liners, gel pen

Waldorf was a reader from a very young age. At three he was a fan of White Fang and the Jim Kjelgaard series of dog books. But lately he prefers such diverse topics as Nordic legends and artisan cheese making, with the occasional Philip K. Dick.

If you were a reader and a dog lover like me as a youngin, you probably read some Jim Kjelgaard. We had an Irish Setter named Rusty, and as a result I was particularly fond of the Big Red, Irish Red and Outlaw Red books, but also Snow Dog and Desert Dog. I was also a huge fan (and cried frequently!) over White Fang by Jack London. The other dog book I remember fondly is Champion Dog: Prince Tom by Jean Fritz, the uplifting tale of a scrawny Cocker Spaniel runt who grew up to be a champion many times over.

Made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com. Did you have favorite dog books as a young person?

Beautiful reference photo, (a Gordon Setter). Thanks for stopping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

The Peace Flower, Inspired by the East

The Peace Flower
5″ x 7″, Copics, Microns, gel pen on Bristol Board

This Peace Flower is a peaceful protest design which offers a large flower in place of the warrior who would normally be riding this elephant, perhaps across an Indian countryside. The background was inspired by mehndi design (henna design), most traditionally used to decorate the hands and feet of Hindu brides, or for other festive occasions.

Submitted for the topic “Protest” at Illustration Friday. [Actually made for a friend who may or may not see this post before the item arrives at her house. But it was too good for the topic to pass up! Ok, really I kind of shoe-horned it into the topic. But still!] I’m not sure if the entire background should have been red. Didn’t want to risk it.

Thank you for your visit!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Sir Valance Surveillance for Illustration Friday

Sir Valance Surveillance
5″ x 7″, Copic Markers, Micron & Prismacolor fine liners

Made for the Illustration Friday topic “Surveillance”. So I was just going to do a dapper fellow called Sir Valance who liked valances. But Bert thought I should make him standing behind the valance, and then I thought it should be an ad for his detective agency. I thought the idea was too complicated and I didn’t think I’d be able to illustrate it.  But then I did. Which is very satisfying. (And the result of  a lot of practice. Tons. If you wondered.) ;)

Murmak Cogwrench ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, Microns, gel pen

And this is an art card for a “People of Planet X” swap, which is third in a series after People of the Forest and People of the Sea (see previous posts)! I tried to get some vital statistics so I could introduce this fellow, but the universal communicator reverted to ones and zeroes and I wasn’t able to fix it in time for this post.

Thanks for visiting! Progress pics below. Questions and comments always welcome!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Patterned Skulls in Ink for Illustration Friday

Arturos and the Witch’s Eye ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, gel pen

There was once a mute witch who lived in a cave outside of town with her cat called Arturos. She sold love potions and healing balms to any villagers brave enough to visit. As legend tells, she plucked out her own right eye, and the right eye of Arturos, and switched them. It is said her new eye allowed her to see into the twilight world of cats. What Arturos saw, he never told.

Submitted to “Worn” for Illustration Friday. Both the eye and the skull are quite worn! They were displayed for a short time at the Oddity Museum of Ulster, but were reportedly removed when an elderly couple insisted the eye was moving in its (borrowed) socket. At least that’s what the placard beside the plaster replica says! I do not know if any of this story is true, but it does bring a touch of magic and a few curiosity seekers to the village.

Red Yellow Skull, and Red Skull with Lizard
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, gel pen on Bristol Board

Two more skulls! I quite like the red one with the lizard. This is not subject matter I usually cover! All three were created for a “Bones” swap. I’ve been thinking lately I want more cards for my shop, and fewer for trading – simply because there is only so much time in the day! On the other hand, the swaps provide lots of inspiration in the form of other artists (just like Illustration Friday!) and also require subjects I am not as familiar with, which is excellent practice. Balance is the thing I must find.

Reference photo for the red skull (it’s a bit spooky). Thanks for stopping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=large]

Stippled Ammonite Lizard

The Ammonite Lizard, 5″ x 7″
Copic markers with 1.0 Micron pen

Created as a Secret Solstice gift for a very cool dollmaker artist called Ruth Morris. Here is her website! And here is the Sumner & Dene Gallery with more of her totally fun and brilliant and odd dolls! I happen to also be the lucky guardian of a Lion Shaman doll and a Fairy doll.

All of the ink is done in stippling. Something I had not done in one, possibly two decades!  But I think it went pretty well. I did go back with my trusty Signo Uniball white gel pen for some highlights. Tons of progress pics below, as well as some close-ups.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback about posting frequency and blog things from my last post. I am aiming for twice a week. Thanks so much for stopping in – comments and questions are very welcome!

Ammonite reference photo.

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

A Bear and a Beetle – Copic ATCs for IF

Sun Bear Art Card
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners

Ok, he may not be traditionally sweet, but I think he has a sweet face! Due to some trading requests I’ve done a bit of (pseudo) realism this week! And it’s always sweet (sometimes bittersweet!) to go outside our comfort zone. Submitted, as you may have guessed, for the topic “Sweet” at Illustration Friday.

I have been paying more attention to my process recently. I do a lot of layers with the markers, which not only helps in removing dreaded marker lines, but also results in some really nice blending. I counted the pens I used for this guy. 24! Two sizes of fine liner (0.05 and 2.0), a little bit of Uniball Signo white gel pen, and 21 Copics! Mostly browns and grays, with several orange, two blues and two greens.

Am I relying too much on different marker colors? Could I achieve the same result with fewer? Who knows! I can only do things the way I do ’em! (You will see that many of the colors disappear completely in the scans below.) I could have darkened some more shadows but have been trying to stop messing about with things before I wreck them. Here’s the reference photo.

And now, if beetles can be sweet, how about this guy?

Orange Wonder Beetle Art Card
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

This fellow was created by looking at this photo of a gray beetle. I tried to give it a name that suited its beetley charm. A beetle against the sky – he could be huge! Or tiny.

Thanks so much for visiting! I should have captured some more progress on the beetle but did a pretty fair job for the bear.

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Beauties and Beasts, Fairytale Inspired Art Cards

Beauties and Beasts
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art card. Copics, fine liners, gel pen on Bristol Board.

(Top) Lucy and Jake, Beauty and Beast; (bottom) Keko and Boris, Malia and Luther. These cards were inspired by a weekend Fairytale art-athon at Illustrated ATCs. You may notice this is quite a departure from my normal portrait-style art cards (just a head/face and usually facing forward). Of course, you could say these are just two portraits! But there’s a big difference. One is a simple study; the other is a relationship.

I decided to keep the first one (Lucy and Jake), traded the second at the fairytale a-thon (this weekend. LOADS OF FUN. Something about doing art with other people, and posting it up, even though you’re all in your own little space far away in the world). I really do a lot of good work and try new things, inspired by all the other great art.

The bottom two may go in my Etsy shop! (By the way, tons of other original art cards there, too. I don’t like to mention it every post. But sometimes.) :)

Two of my other favorites so far are the Alice in Wonderland cards:

Mad Hatter Louie, and The Time, Alice!
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Thanks for stopping in! Lots of progress pics! Feel free to leave a question or comment. :)

[portfolio_slideshow id=2252]

Gargoyles Art Cards in Copics

Teeth Gargoyle & Mutton Chop Gargoyle
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Submitted for the topic “Wild” at Illustration Friday. Now perhaps you don’t think of gargoyles as wild because you think of them as stone statues. If so, you have clearly never seen one leave its perch in the dead of night!

Fortunately, these four specimens are not the man or woman eating type. They are pacifist gargoyles. However, they look extra wild and dastardly in order to hang with the other gargoyles. Though mostly the quiet ones keep to themselves, occasionally gathering for Mystery Science Theater night.

Canine Gargoyle and Denim Gargoyle
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

These four guys were created for an art card swap. I’m quite pleased with the eyes, which I’ve been working on improving.

Thanks for stopping by!

[portfolio_slideshow size=large]