digital art

Illustrated Journal Page and Lettering Practice

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Sunday morning (and Saturday evening, which was when this page was started) is the perfect time to practice my lettering, a quirky kind of illustrated journal page, and digital art practice.

I had intended to use just three, maybe four, basic colours for this page, but the vegetables threw me a tad!

I drew the page on paper with a fine Zig Mangaka Flexible pen. The Colour was added digitally after scanning the page. And I had a lot of fun as ideas clicked into place to add colour to the lettering.

Admittedly, some of the inking work is a tad clunky, but that could be fixed if I wanted to. It is a sketchbook page, and so perfection isn’t required. Giving myself permission to work with what I deem as less than perfect is an important lesson I’m trying to learn. Expressing myself in this wobbly, wonky, imperfect, quirky, eccentric, whimsical kind of way is a work in progress.

Oh, I’ll still draw detailed, intricate black and white pen designs. But I suspect I’ll do much more of this style of art. I have much to learn about it, using colour with no black lines, for instance. But I know it’s all a process, and I’ll get to where I need to be. I know that I’m really enjoying the combination of traditional ink drawing with digital colour – tradigital?

I’m not sure my Doodleworlds critters belong, but I just couldn’t resist popping them in to fill an awkward space!

Template Thursyay! Doodleworlds.

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It’s Thursday, so that means it’s time for a new colouring page (template) for the facebook group Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans.

I was in a bit of a whimsical mood this morning, so spending some time visiting Doodleworlds was just perfect. I also got a tad lost in adding colour to this template.

These are a lot of fun to draw, and to colour. Because of their cute, whimsical and imaginary nature, any colours go! These are drawings I find easy to add colour to; it seems the brighter, more vibrant and varied the colours are the better! Unline a lot of my other art,w which can become confused and incoherent looking.

So, I lost myself in adding colour to this drawing, even though I’ve not totally coloured it in.

A Sunflower and Wheat Mandala

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I decided that I’d like to turn the sunflower and wheat elements of yesterday’s drawing into a mandala. And this is the result.

I’m fairly happy with it, though I think some parts lack contrast to really give them some visual volume. But it will do, for now. I like the hint of a suggestion of the whole mandala being sun-like. it also reminds me a little of hand-coloured etchings or prints. It would have looked more like a woodcut if I’d used heavier lines and more texture. These are things to try to remember and put into practice in my next mandala like this.

Template Thursyay! Colouring page 28 July 2022

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Thursday is the day I gift a colouring page (or template) to the members of Angela Porter’s Coloring Books Fans Facebook group.

This week it’s a mandala. Why? Well, I just really wanted to draw a mandala!

I enjoy the calming, meditative process of mandala drawing. And as I didn’t want to disturb that calm space I found myself in by making a right mess of adding some colour, I decided to go with an analogous colour scheme. Soft blue, teal and green are also very calming colours.

As it’s a colouring template, I’ve not added lots of textural patterns. However, that is something I can always play around with at another time. For now, the high contrast that brings a feeling of volume and dimension to the design is good enough.

Lettering practice, 23 July 2022

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I’ve had a funny couple of days, not necessarily in the funny ha-ha way, though!

I had a migraine yesterday, so no video nor post was possible. I’m feeling better today, just still very, very tired.

Today, I had plans. I was awake around 5am, again, and so did some pencil lettering ‘sketches’; the finished result of one is in the photo.

I thought I’d start to digitally ink the lettering in and add colour before turning my attention to a YouTube video. And the phone rang, and it was a friend. So, during the over two-hour-long chat, I managed to mostly get this done! Yup, I can ink in a sketch and so on while chatting. I just can’t chat and sketch, generally.

My plans to record a video this afternoon were then scuppered as I couldn’t keep my eyes open! So, on waking, I completed this particular piece of lettering and doodling.

It really is practice for me. I’m not only practising my lettering skills, but I’m also trying out new brushes and tools and so on in Clip Studio Paint. That is a constant practice for me. I tend to learn how to do something when I need to do that something!

This one is probably as good as it’s going to get. Time to move along to the next mini-lettering project and learn and practice more!

World Environment Day 2022

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If we all do what we can, no matter how little we think it is, then collectively we can make a huge difference.

I just couldn’t fit all the ways we can do things to reduce our impact on the world’s habitats.

Hand lettering along with whimsical plants. This was definitely a labour of love and took me well over 20 hours to complete. But I got there!

Sneak peek at this week’s coloring template

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Over the past few days, I’ve been creating YouTube tutorials on drawing my style of whimsical things – fish, flowers, circles filled with patterns, fungi, and leaves. So, I thought I’d use some of these for this week’s template. And for some reason, I wanted to add a fishy totem pole, or three maybe.

Whimsical things do make me smile. And with whimsical, imaginative kinds of line art, it gives permission to use any colours that seem fun. I add colour digitally, and the colours are often vibrant and cheerful when I add them to such cute drawings.

Of course, the drawing has to be completed, but you can watch me draw this section by clicking on this link. Maybe even draw along or create your own version!

As far as I am concerned, there’s never enough whimsy in life. This kind of art lets me escape into a cute world of my own making and, at the same time, take a break from the sad, bad, heartbreaking news that can flood in from all directions. Art is something I do have some control over and, for a while, I can imagine that I’m journeying in a world that has none of our earthly problems.

Template Thursyay!

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Thursday is the day I gift a colouring template to the members of Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans Facebook group. I know that not everyone uses Facebook, so I am working up the oompf to sort out a mailing list, so please bear with me while I do that.

This week, it’s a right feast of funky fungi, with some flowers and foliage thrown in for good measure. As far as I’m concerned, in my inner whimsical universe, all fungi are funkily coloured! And I had a lot of fun working with colour in this one, as well as a new brush or two in Clip Studio Paint.

Today’s Pattern Exploration Video

In today’s drawing tutorial video on YouTube, I take a look at Ansu by Lori Manoogian CZT. It’s a rather versatile tangle pattern that makes lovely flowers and foliage for sure.

You can view the video by clicking on this link.

Funky Fungi Lettering Practice

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Carrying on with the mushroom theme … I’m taking a course on hand lettering and it just seemed a good idea to have some fun and combine mushrooms and letters!

I actually did this originally in pen in my sketchbook and I was quite happy with the result. However, I wanted to see how I could rework it digitally. So I did. And here it is!

I’m so much happier adding colour digitally. Though I do need to play around with different kinds of brushes to get different textures in the colours.

Onwards and upwards with the lettering, a little at a time!

Sneak Peek of this week’s Coloring Page

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Click on this link to view today’s video on YouTube.

This week’s colouring page (or template) is drawn and I’ve added a little colour to it. I decided to feature some of the tangle patterns I’ve been exploring in the last couple of days. These are Ginili, Gingo and Fragment D3.

It’s really unusual of me to stick to a fairly limited number of patterns/motifs in my drawings. It was a really good experience!

I was so tempted to use the space between the stems of the Gingo leaves to add various blues, making it a bit like stained glass. I didn’t this time. Maybe for tomorrow. I’m not too keen on my colour choices today. Perhaps I really do need to get to grips with the idea that a limited colour palette is best for me and to stick to it!

That’s if I can drag myself away from the hand lettering course and practice that I’m so enthused about. I quickly show the pages completed so far in my lettering sketchbook in today’s video.