Sunday, September 27, 2009

Ribbon Lattice


New printer/scanner set up yesterday, and it's not fully functional yet. When it is, I'll update "about my tools and materials." Meanwhile, here is yesterday's drawing, a lattice pattern with ribbons of color and a white ribbon woven through.

The main colors are bright, but softened and shaded with cool grays and other colors. For the background, I used my custom color B2000, and after it dried, I colored over it with colorless blender for a blurred, somewhat cloudy effect.
  • For a brighter drawing with similar colors (Cathedral Shapes), click here.
  • For a basket weave drawing and how to draw basket weave, click here.
  • For more ribbon-theme drawings, click on the "ribbons" label, below or in the label list to the right.
  • Copic colors used: Cool gray multiliner. Background B2000 (see above). Main ribbon colors B14, R24, YR 24, YG63. Shaded with C0, C1, B26, E71, BG96.
  • Paper: Neenah, cut down to 5x7"

Friday, September 25, 2009

Curved Shapes in Greens and Yellows


A very small, abstract pencil drawing. Curved shapes colored in greens and yellows, with an airbrushed background.
  • Copic marker colors used: Y06, YG21,63, G21,40; Copic airbrush Y06 and speckles of YG63. When I color on top of pencil, I try to dab the colors on, instead of dragging the marker tip across the pencil lines, to avoid smearing the pencil.
  • Paper: a 4x4" square of Strathmore medium-weight drawing paper.

Blog News 4

Updates to Mostly Markers, other than new drawings posted, since the last Blog News:
  • Added labels for brightness (vivid, mid, muted). To see the drawings in each category, click on "Brightness: Vivid," "Brightness: Mid," or "Brightness: Muted" in the label list on the right.
These labels give my personal, overall impression of the coloring. "Vivid" is strong coloring, often primary colors. "Muted" is softer, paler, perhaps monochrome - often still colorful, but with a quieter feeling. It includes my black and white drawings. "Mid" is mid-range, somewhere in between vivid and muted.

As a few minutes of browsing in my blog will show, I'm attracted to using vivid, intense colors. For me, one of the joys of Copic markers is the brilliant, transparent clarity of their brighter colors. But I also enjoy working with soft, muted colors, where my paler and grayer Copics help me to be colorful in a gentler way. And for either vivid or muted colors, I can use simple coloring with interesting contrasts, or I can layer and blend colors without them getting muddy. (For examples of each, click on "Coloring: Complex" or "Coloring: Simple" in the label list on the right.)

I've tried to place consistent and helpful labels on my posts. One reason for all my labels is to help my viewers find drawings they might enjoy. Another reason is to give me a way to sort and view my own drawings in various combinations. For a description of my labels that may not be self-explanatory, please click on About My Labels, in the label list on the right.

For more Blog News posts, click on the label (below, or in the label list on the right.)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Spiky Plants

Spiky abstract plants with subdued streaks of color.

I airbrushed the background last (using the Copic airbrush) with a pale blue. Because it was so pale, and there was already some blue color in the leaves, I didn't mask anything when I airbrushed.

February 6, 2010: Today I posted a revised drawing (above). I wasn't happy with the hard horizontal lines at the base of my plants. So I cut it in two with my sharp craft scissors, just below the base of the plants, cutting unevenly to follow the lines of the mulch. Then I moved the bottom portion up about 1/16" to cover the horizontal lines. I added some irregular black lines along the cut edge. I taped it across the back with acid-free scrapbooking tape, and used my 2-way glue pen in a few spots on the front. It looks better to me now. See below for original version.
  • Copic marker olors used: plants- streaks of BG93,96, E71, blended with custom color B2000; ground- W1,3, V000, YR09 on W0, W5 on W0; background- airbrushed with B41
  • Paper: Neenah, cut down to 5x7"

Monday, September 7, 2009

Purple Statice Flowers in a Speckled Vase

A stoneware vase with statice flowers. The vase and trivet were airbrushed (using the Copic airbrush), with lines of colorless blender to decorate the trivet.

Click here to see my May 2010 statice drawing.
  • Copic marker colors used: purple multiliner; flowers V000,04,09, B24 0n V000; leaves YG91,63; vase W0 base, airbrushed with Y95 and V09; rim of vase Y95; trivet airbrushed with BV04,23.
  • Paper: Neenah, cut down to 5x7"