I’ve added and filmed a little more to the ‘Serendipity’ drawing I started in last week’s video.
This time, the drawing is in real time with me talking through my thought processes, along with some random waffling too. No music, just talk, and I think you can hear the nervousness in my voice.
I hope you enjoy watching the video – it is around 30 minutes long.
Not only is it Thursday but it’s also a new month and also April Fools’ Day.
I needed to draw some cute kawaii goodness the other day, and as the characters are fooling around in the template I thought it would be perfect for this week’s template.
Unusually for me, I’ve gone with a cute pastel rainbow color palette for the month long color palette challenge.
The template, and the color palette challenge, are via the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group. Free to join, free to download and join in, all that I ask is that you follow the terms and conditions of use.
I loved seeing everyone’s coloured version of last month’s colour palette challenge and template on the group. So much fun, and so many different ways of using the same few colours to bring life to the lineart template.
Drawn on A4 paper with Unipin 05 pen.
Coloured digitally.
At the start of March, we launched the first month-long colour palette challenge for the members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group. I also posted a template that could be used for those who have access to a printer (or any template from any of my books if not).
Here is my coloured version of the template.
I like working with limited palettes. I don’t find limited choices confining or a challenge. Instead I find myself liberated from the choice of colours to use when completing an artwork. I end up with a more coherent/cohesive artwork than if I’m allowed to play in the sweetie-shop of the limitless colours of the digital realms. The limited palette makes me focus on the work in a different way, usually on shadow and highlight, as shades of these colours are always allowed!
In hindsight, these colours wouldn’t be a natural choice for me to use. I chose colours that reminded me of spring-time flowers and leaves and the lovely clear blue skies we ca get. Black and white are there, of course, for various shades, shadows and highlights.
So, tomorrow there’ll not only be a new template, but a new color palette challenge. I already have the template drawn and good to go, I just have to choose the colours to use.
At the start of March, along with the weekly template, I set a color palette challenge for members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book fans. I asked for all of you who took part to hold off sharing your wonderful colorations until the last Wednesday of the month, which happens to be tomorrow!
I’ve finished colour the template using the rather spring-like colour palette, and here is a fragment, a snippet of my completed template.
I’ve finished the line art for this particular design. Now, it’s adding colour to it, which is going to be a long job.
I’m trying out a color palette of greens, peaches and dusky pinks, but I’m not sure about them, or maybe I’m not fussed on the background. I’ll see how I get along. It’s definitely a work in progress.
I’m not sure what happened with the design. I had intended to leave open space in the design to add a lighter, airier feeling to parts of it. That just didn’t happen. I’m not sure about some areas, but I do know that colour can make all the difference to a design.
A4 Marker Paper
Pentel disposable fountain pen, 02 Uniball Unipin pen, and a 0.38 Uniball Signo Dx pen
Backgrounds and colours added digitally using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro
Note – I’m not paid, sponsored or supplied with any products.
I started this drawing yesterday evening. It’s not finished yet and, as always, I’m not entirely sure where it’s going. Intuitive art is me it seems!
This is being drawn on A4 marker paper with a Fountain Pentel pen – which is a disposable fountain pen with a plastic nib that allows different thicknesses of lines to be drawn. It’s actually rather nice to draw with.
I’ve added a light creamy-brown background digitally.
“Serendipity (n) – the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”
Serendipity strikes once again! I’ve been thinking for quite a while about trying to get one video a week done for my YouTube channel . When visiting Amazon, one of the suggestions for me was a ‘document camera’ – a camera on an stand with all kinds of buttons to adjust the lighting and zoom and so on. A camera that is all set up and that will plug and play with my PC. So, after some thinking and dithering, I decided to purchase the gadget. It’s also compact, stable and can be positioned unobtrusively as well.
It arrived yesterday, and took minutes to set up and get going! And then it’s taken hours to get the new versions of the video editing software I use, trial videos to see how it works. Trying to speak as I draw, and eventually an hour long video that I waffled a lot in. I removed the audio, edited the video, sped it up to almost three times the usual speed, and added music and so on. And the result is the video at the top of this blog post.
I’m sure I’ll find it easier to do the more I do this. Also, I’ll work out how is the best way for me to create YouTube content that is interesting. And, I’ll eventually remember how to talk without too much waffling on as well! Failing that, I’ll have to learn to do a voiceover!
The drawing in the video isn’t finished and I intend to complete it during future videos.
Now, I need to decide on a video day, and I’ll have to think of arty things that will make interesting videos.
This week’s coloring template for members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group, is full of botanical goodies and not an arch or geometric pattern in sight!
The design was drawn on A4 cartridge paper with an 05 Unipin pen. I then scanned the drawing in, tidied up little bits of it. I added colour,background and texture digitally.
I seriously worry about my choices of colour these days! I’m far more comfortable with either monochrome or a limited colour palette, with the focus being on highlights and shadows.
If you’d like to print a copy of the template, then all you need to do is pop along to the facebook group.
Natural Paint-on paper by ClaireFontaine approx 8.25″ x 8.25″ (21cm x 21 cm )
Flower motif – Tim Holtz’s Ephemera
Various other papers as mats.
Black fine Uniball ‘Eye’ pen
Gold Sakura Gelly Roll pen
White Sakura Souffle pen
White and brown pastel pencils
Today’s offering is another entangled/zentangle cartouche around a piece of vintage ephemera.
I’m trying to learn lessons of past attempts at these kinds of frames or cartouches. The layers of borders seem to work well for me. They’re balanced and cohesive. Also, the colours used help to bring them together as well.
Central focal image – Tim Holtz’s Ephemera.
Various designer series papers as the mats for the focal image.
Overall artwork size approx 7″ x 8″ (18cm x 21cm)
Distress Ink to colour papers and mats. Mossy green Staedtler Triplus fineliner. Black 03 Unipin pen. Mossy green and black Carbothello pastel pencils.
This one I am happy with. For cartouches/frames I prefer to work in borders rather than a rambling series of patterns and motifs. This seems to satisfy my love of symmetry/balance, yet still allows the use of organic patterns. I really did breathe a sigh of relief when I completed this one.
I am considering adding either colour or metallic ink to the seeds in the outermost border, possibly some shadow within each triangular motif as I realised I forgot to do that.
I did start work on another similar project. I’m really not happy with the penwork. So, I’m going to remove the central motif and mount it on a new piece of paper on which I can draw the borders/frame/cartouche. Not everything has been lost in this case.
Art is the Adventure 