digitally coloured

Entangled Fantastic Fungi – coloured

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Entangled Fantastic Fungi © Angela Porter 2019 - Artwyrd.com
Entangled Fantastic Fungi © Angela Porter 2019 – Artwyrd.com

Yesterday, I took some time to finish colouring my ‘Entangled Fantastic Fungi’ drawing from the other day.

I’ve said it before and, no doubt, I’ll say it again: colour brings my drawings to life. It also takes me a lot, lot longer to colour the artwork than it does to draw it! I think it would’ve been quicker with traditional media, such as Chameleon marker pens. However, I like using digital tools for coloring and I use opportunities like this to explore the different settings and various brushes so that I can add to my range of techniques I like to use and the effects I can get.

It’s a slow process for me, and it can be both enjoyable, satisfying and rather frustrating! However, I think I’m making some progress in finding my way through the plethora of options available and gaining some understanding of what they do and how to make them work the way I’d like them to work for me.

I also am enjoying drawing on paper with these Tombow Fudenosuke pens. Using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro to add colour to my drawings is me having the best of both words for sure!

There’s also the addition of a background texture, which, I think, makes all the difference. The pale grey tone of the background helps to tone down the brighter colours in the image, enhancing that kind of vintage kind of vibe I was going for.

Of course, it goes without saying that I used my Microsoft Surface Pen and Surface Studio to colour the image. Being able to use the pen on the screen, just like pen or brush or pencil on paper, is fantastic! I’m finally getting to grips with making use of the pressure sensitivity of the pen and exploring ways in which I can use it, as well as setting up brushes to suit my needs.

When I think back to when I bought my Surface Book, my aim was to draw templates for coloring books digitally so I didn’t have to scan in paper. It was also to make it easier to clean up the images. I had no intention of colouring the images digitally.

I think I’ve come a fair distance since those early days. I’m still surprised at how the ability to create digital art by using a Surface Pen on the screen of the Surface Studio as if the screen was paper, has opened doors to creative expression for me.

Inktober 2018 – Day 7 – “Exhausted”

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Angela Porter Inktober 2018 Day 7 - Exhausted

Exhausted is how I feel today, so the prompt is very apt!

I woke with a migraine-type headache, and it’s only recently begun to lift, after quite a few Anadin Extras (it’s ok – I kept within the recommended dose!).

Headaches like this leave me exhausted afterwards; it’s only a good sleep that helps to remove the last remaining vestiges of them. Maybe I’ll nap in a while.

What hasn’t helped is yet another day of hammer-drilling next door. I’d’ve gone out if (a) I could see to drive properly and (b) I wasn’t expecting a delivery of a new printer.

My Epson printer died on me on Friday. Terminally died on me. It’s not been used that much. It has been used for scanning more than printing, but it just refused to work, no matter what I did.

I wasn’t very happy with it. The ink jet thingies didn’t work well after a while and I got streaks in the printing – no matter how often I cleaned them. I only ever used genuine Epson ink cartridges.

The scanner was really slow too.

So, I’ve returned to a Brother printer; this time a mono laser printer, and it arrived today and I managed to set it up relatively easily.

So, my Inktober drawing for today is above. I drew it on paper with a black Papermate Ink Joy gel pen. I scanned it in (didn’t check the settings so bits of top and left are cut off).

Then I threw it into Autodesk Sketchbook pro to change the colour to one that looks more washed out and exhausted, just how I feel – blue and grey and pale at the moment.

I wanted to add colour to the hand-lettering, but the headache means I couldn’t be arsed to do so at the moment.

My drawing skills aren’t brilliant on this one. The headache has affected my vision a tad as well as giving me slightly wobbly fingers. As the headache goes, all will be well again – and it’s nowt to be worried about; I get these headaches from time to time and I’ve not had one for more than a month now I think.

So, once I’ve finished this post, I’ll be off to make the great restorative – a good mug of Yorkshire tea! I think I may be able to face a little something to eat too, which could help too to lift some of the exhausted feeling.