digital artist

Template Thursday … on a Wednesday!

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I have a time lapse / speeded up video showing how I created this image, from start to the completion of the partial colouring available to view on YouTube. Just click anywhere on this paragraph.

Well, more of a preview of this week’s template before I make it available in the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group tomorrow (24 June 2021).

I felt the need to create a mandala today. Indeed I’ve not drawn a mandala for two or three weeks or so. A nice change for me, not just with the mandala, but working digitally after a while of working with traditional media.

Adding colour digitally makes me wonder why on earth I’m spending so much time struggling with traditional media – watercolours, coloured pencils, Inktense, and so on.

I think it’s the challenge, to work out how to make these media work for me. And to prove to myself I can work with them.

Still, I really do find working digitally a dream, but with it’s own challenges too. I know I have a lot to learn still, but in my own time. And I need to apply that to working with traditional media, though you’d think after 20 odd years of really focusing on arty pursuits I would’ve worked it out, wouldn’t you? Obviously not yet!

It may be that I have to work out which type of medium I work in depends on the purpose of the art. I think traditional media are more just for fun for me, for a change of pace, for a bit of a challenge, to use in sketchbooks and explorations of drawing/art, preparation for digital artwork even.

And that there, traditional media for fun, relaxation and preparation for digital work may be the function of traditional media in my artistic journey.

I’ve worked out that I enjoy drawing with pen, or pencil, on paper, though I do enjoy inking in sketches digitally too. Adding colour digitally to these drawings seems to work well for me.

I may come to a realisation that I really need to discard traditional colouring mediums in favour of digital colouring at some point in the near future, maybe reserving a couple for sketching trips out, perhaps. Only time will tell.

Except, I keep saying that, yet I keep on going back to the warring pleasure and frustration that comes with traditional media.

I may eventually work this out, or it may be a tug-of-war that I experience for the rest of my life.

Template Thursday

Angela PorterLeave a comment

Coloring Template and Timelapse Video

It’s that day of the week once again – the day I create a new coloring template / coloring page for the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group.

This week, the design is botanical, entangled and a tad on the abstract ‘mechanical’. As is my want, I’ve partly coloured the template to start to breathe life into it.

Drawn with Unipin pens on Claire Fontaine Paint On mixed media paper. Digitally coloured in Clip Studio Paint Pro.

I’ve also created a video. The drawing and colouring took me over 3 hours this morning, so I’ve sped the video up so it takes just a few seconds over 20 minutes.

Still not too well…

I’m feeling better today, but I’m still not right. My stomach/digestive system is still delicate and I have a headache on and off. I did get a bit more sleep last night, but not enough really.

Still, I’m on the mend and taking it easy again today.

Having said that, while this video was processing and then uploading and processing again in YouTube, I managed to edit two templates I drew on Tuesday and then ink in the one I wanted to use a symmetry tool to draw it. So, I’ve got some more templates done for the book I’m working on. The total is now 13 out of 31.

I don’t know if I’ll get any more done today. I’m flagging badly now and feel the need to sleep. I may have another mug of tea before I take a nap and see if that perks me up a tad.

Willingness – Part 2 – Starting to add colour

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I’ve been awake since stupid o’clock. After trying to return to sleep, I decided, around 6am, to get up and do some arty stuff.

So, I thought I’d record my next stint at adding colour to ‘Willingness’. I’m doing this digitally, and I had figured out the colour palette I’d like to use for it. I made some adjustment to the dusky purples I had in the palette and added some brighter versions, but they’re a tad too saturated and bright, so I’ll adjust those colours and re-colour the areas in which I’ve used them.

I love how the peaches and yellows almost glow against the soft blue-grey background.

I spent nearly an hour on just a few bits and pieces, and while I was working I was chatting away. I then realised I’d started having a bit of a rant about a couple of poor shopping experiences I’d had with businesses abroad, and how products sent to me weren’t what I’d ordered or were not as they were described. Not just that, but the huge difficulty in getting a refund of any kind from them. With the latest one, I just feel like throwing the towel in. I’m out of pocket with product that is not fit for purpose, but they’re whinging about how they’ll lose profit if they refund me, even if I return it all to them, at my own cost, so either way I’ll be out of pocket, not them.

Sometimes, I really think it’s just not worth the hassle and stress.

Anyway, that made me turn the video into a timelapse with music. Nearly an hour of art condensed into about seventeen minutes. You can view it here.

Monday Mandala – WIP

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Yesterday, I used one of my rather mechanical entangled drawings last week to generate some tiles and surfaces in Repper. I figured out my colour palette and how I wanted to add colour yesterday, and this morning I continued to work on the design for over an hour.

Rather than having radial symmetry, this design has two axes of symmetry – horizontal and vertical.

I did record this process, and I found myself talking about some things that are too personal to share. These were some things I needed to voice, to hear with my ears rather than my inner voice. The process was valuable to me, but not something I want to be available to all and sundry.

Instead, I deleted the audio, and replaced it with a brief voice over introduction and some music to accompany the sped up video recording. I condensed over an hour of work into about fifteen minutes.

I also learned that voice over is entirely possible to do, but that I need to find a different way to do this. The function I used in Movavi only gave me a few seconds of voice over time. I’ll work it out for sure.

WIP Wednesday

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An abstract drawing that I started yesterday. I think the drawing is complete, maybe. But I wanted to start to add colour to work out what palette I want to use.

This is it so far, after a couple of hours mucking about with colours, layer settings and so on. I’m quite happy with the dusky pink and mossy green, but not so sure about the dusty blue.

This isn’t my only work in progress. I’ve just finished uploading my daily morning drawing vlog on YouTube:

I started to draw another abstract drawing in this vlog as I talk about inner critics, overly talkative me, and other stuff.

Both drawings are being done with a micro sized Uniball Eye pen on Canson marker paper. The paper is so smooth and a pleasure to draw on with pens that dry quite quickly, like the Eye pen.

For now, once I’ve done my social media posts, I need a break. The sun is shining and my feet are feeling eager for a little walk. So that’s what I’ll be doing in about an hour!

Mandala Monday WIP

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Mandala Monday

Monday is definitely mandala day! I’ve been working on this mandala for the past week, on and off. It’s taken me lots of attempts to get the colours and brushes to work the way I’d like. I’m quite happy with it now.

I like the combination of warm and cool violets and teal-ish greens. They’re close enough together on the colour wheel to work harmoniously together.

I’m just adding colour at the moment. I will think about adding patterns to the various areas once the colour is all complete.

Although the black lines are quite bold in this design, the colour seems to make them almost disappear. They seem to become, almost, the darkest shadows that separate the different colour areas, deep cuts that delineate the different sections. I’ve never really noticed that before, and I think it’s a nice observation.

I’ve been enjoying, as always, adding shadow and highlight to give that sense of volume and layers to the design. It’s always fascinating to me how such simple use of colour can add so much interest.

Vlogging

I’ve worked out that all the youtube videos I’ve been creating are really vlogs. I can be incredibly dense at times about such things. I do talk about different things in them than I do on this blog. My thoughts are different when I write and when I talk it seems. Or perhaps the process of writing slows my thoughts down in a way speaking out loud doesn’t.

Anyway, I’m enjoying creating the vlogs. As I draw every morning just for fun and to warm up my muscles, joints and creative mind and heart, it’s nice to share that process with others. I hope people gain inspiration and insight from the vlogs.

It’s been heart-warming and humbling for the lovely comments people have left there. I really appreciate every like and new subscriber.

In today’s vlog, I draw on vellum, and then paper when the vellum curls too much to be easy to hold down.

Zoom get togethers

Saturday I hosted a Zoom get together for any members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group who’d like to join in. Last night, I was chatting to Brett, one of the founders of the group and the person who keeps everything running smoothly there. She often has trouble getting onto Zoom, and so we decided to give it a go and we worked out the best way for her to join in.

So, after a short chat, we both suggested about the same time that we could open the meeting up to the group. One member joined us and we chatted until just past midnight for me.

I’ve also set up a meeting for Tuesday tea-time, UK time and the details will be posted in the group for members to join in.

Anyway, I didn’t really settle down to sleep until around 2 am, and I’m really feeling the lack of a good night’s sleep now. I suspect another nap will be on the cards sooner rather than later. However, I do want to get out for a walk again today. I’ll be trying to time it to dodge the heavy rain showers we seem to have.

Template Thursday

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It’s Thursday so that means a new coloring template for the members of Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group. This week it’s a mandala.

As it’s the first Thursday of the month, it’s also the start of the month-long color palette challenge. This month, I’ve chosen one of my favourite colour palettes – verdigris tones and copper.

As usual, I’ve made a start on the template, and this month I recorded the process and me talking my way through it and it’s available on my youtube channel.

Monday Mandala

Angela PorterLeave a comment

And the second post of the day is a ‘Monday Mandala’.

I started adding colour to this one last week. I’ve spent the morning and some of this afternoon completing it.

It’s worked out OK, though perhaps a bit too brightly colourful for my present colour choices. I’m still learning how Clip Studio Paint works.

Monochrome, that’s what I’d like to use to colour this, or a similar pattern. Maybe I’ll turn my attention to that in a little while. It’d be nice to compare the two for sure.

Template Thursday!

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For this week’s template, I asked the members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group to suggest things they’d like to see in a coloring template. I had 20 unique suggestions. So, I numbered them, rolled 1d20 (that’s one 20 sided die to those who aren’t RPG-ers!). The first roll suggested I create one of my templates with the smaller pictures as part of it. The second roll suggested different shapes. So, I did just that, using suggestions from the list!

I just couldn’t fit in three of the suggestions – a mandala, a train on a bridge and jungle baby animals (unless the cute toucan-like bird counts). So, I think I did pretty well.

It was a different way for me to create a template. I was conscious of needing to get as many suggestions in as I could, so I drew the picture frames first. That means there’s not so many layers in my design as I like. Still, it probably worked out just fine.

It’s going to be interesting to see how people manage to colour this one in, particularly all the small patterns around the little pictures.

The design was drawn with a medium Uniball Eye pen on squared paper. It was scanned in to clean up and edit the design and add colour.

April’s Color Palette Challenge!

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Over on the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group, we have a monthly color palette challenge. April’s was a pastel rainbow colour palette which went beautifully with the cute, whimsical, kawaii, Doodleworlds coloring template.

This is my finished version. I drew the template on paper with a pen of some description (I can’t remember now!). Then, I’ve added colour to the template digitally.

I’m looking forward to see how people have coloured either this or another template from one of my coloring books using this month’s color palette.

I now have a week to work out what the next one will be!