My First Collage!

Hai. This week will be a little less depressing than the past two, this week I'm gonna show you my first collage!! For those who don't know what a collage is, it's basically paper crafting cutting out shapes to make a piece of artwork gluing or taping together. Some people go all out and use fabric and other 3D things like beads, buttons, other trinkets, sometimes pressed or live flowers, really anything to make a 3D piece of art. I personally used my drawing and painting tools and craft patterned paper I was given by somebody.

I'll tell you a little about what I used since I think it might be interesting.


First, I used printer quality cardstock, it's pretty thick, perfect for marker because it's super smooth but not spongy, it's not good for watercolor though. I used this to cut out the butterflies and the leaves on the middle flower. To cut out the butterflies I cut a smaller piece off of the cardstock and folded it in half drew the wings on one side and cut it out, when unfolded it was even in size and shape. Then I sketched the basic pattern on it and colored with sharpies and Bic markers along with a white gel-pen. I based the orange butterfly off of a Monarch though it's not really a Monarch, and the yellow butterfly is based off of a Swallow-tail butterfly but it doesn't actually look like one at all. I basically based the colors and type of patterns more than anything else. I did make a blue butterfly but it was too big so I gave it to my mother to play with.


For the flowers, I made the purple check-patterned one first, for that one I cut out each petal resulting in a variety of sizes because I did one at a time. For the other two I cut a horizontal strip of the paper I wanted, then cut a piece vertically off of it and used that as a template to cut and have all paper being the basic same size then. After that I piled and used a paperclip to keep secured, drew the petal shape and cut it. - Gluing I glued the petals on to the center part (all centers were made with cardstock) and I glued a scrap piece of cardstock to keep the flowers secured together.


I didn't plan the layout for anything at the start I used laid it out on the paper as I went along. I added all shading and details myself using colored pencils and markers. The background is watercolor, the grassy area is craft paper too.

All Supplies Used:

• 6 Craft Papers (Patterned paper)
• Cardstock (White)
• Mixed media paper – Base paper (what everything is glued on)
• 14 Colored Pencils (5 Prismacolors, 5 Crayola, 2 EK Memory Pencils, 2 Other/Cheap)
• 20 Markers (11 Sharpies, 4 Bic, 4 IDenti Pens, 1 Prismacolor Black)
• Watercolor (Off brand, Raphael)
• 2 Brushes (one flat and one round)

• Scissors
• Eraser
• Stick Glue
• White Pen
• Prismacolor 03 Pen
• Sakura 0.3 mm Pen
• Mechanical pencil
• Three 3D Paint Pens.

Thank you for reading! I hope this was interesting. If you enjoy all things art, please +1, share on whatever social media you like to use, and follow me here. Thanks!


~ God Bless ~


~ Firefly

My Process For Inking -

My Process For Inking -

I've been questioned on "how do I create ink-drawings?"; Well, this is how in a nutshell!

I've done a much more detailed post on this, that can be found here.

First I sketch me out a drawing:

When sketching I start with a normal #2 pencil for the lines that show off the form then making the initial lines; Then I switch over to a mechanical pencil to tighten up lines so I see for sure what I want. - When I sketch I do actually sketch out the hatching and cross hatching but it's just as a guide I'll stray a little bit but I do follow it a lot as well. I'll also sketch out shapes for shading just so I know where to go. (More on sketching with 2 pencils here.)

Inking:
Before the actual inking I use my kneadable eraser to ghost out lines (for more information on that click here) then I actually take out my pens. - And speaking of which, I start with a smaller sized pen tip and go thicker as I go along; For pen brand(s) I normally use Sakura Microns or Prismacolor pens, sometimes I use something else like a sharpie or something but not always. (Reviews for pens here)

I ink the main lines first then move on to the details like hatching or patterns, it takes a while but it's easy to make a mistake and you can't really fix it; Correction fluid isn't really ideal although you could use a white pen but it's not a perfect correcting agent.

Once inked I erase my pencil lines, depending on paper and eraser I might have to go over lines to darken them again; Often when erasing the lines become dulled.

Tips:

• If at all possible, ink at a table or at least use a clipboard, the harder the surface the smoother your lines look.
• Don't press hard on a pen, you could: bend the tip, force too much ink out, or cause not enough to come out causing your ink to look sketchy.
• Keep a paper behind your picture when inking (if you are using a sketch book), this is so if ink bleeds it won't go on the next page.
• When you want to add shading and you already added hatching, make lines got the opposite direction of the lines you've already set, this will make a criss-cross effect that will make it appear darker.

____

I hope this was helpful to those who asked!

May God Heal and Bless all You Know and Love. ~ Amen ~

~ Firefly

[Traditional Art] Inking Process - Il Gatto Con I Fiori Di Primavera

[Traditional Art] Inking Process  - Il Gatto Con I Fiori Di Primavera

This is the inking process of a new drawing I hope to actually finish without getting bored half way through...This isn't a "tutorial" this is just a walk through of what I did.

The pens I used are my "Prismacolor Premier Assorted Markers", the sizes are as follows:

• 005
• 03
• 05

Okay Lets Begin!

The drawing is this one here.

1:

I started on the face of the cat using my 05 pen, first the "hair" and then the eye and the top half of the muzzle. - On the muzzled I tried my best to do a swift but careful line as to make it smooth and not ridged, I started from the first indication of the "bridge of the nose" down and around until half-way through the mouth, then started from the end of the mouth until the end of the first line.

2:

I inked the bottom of the mouth and face along with the rest of the hair that I wanted to keep, the ears and the nose. - To make the hair look smooth and sleek I tried to do swift lines.

3:
Next I went to the cloth that's around the cat's neck (I guess it's a scarf) and the lady bug on the cat's head. - Again, using swift smooth lines with the pen, trying to keep the pen flat down on the page not on a slant.

4:
I inked the butterflies wings and body but not his legs and feet.

Now I have switched to my 03 pen and added the pattern on the scarf and the little ladybug. - I didn't worry about how perfect the pattern looked as the flowers look kinda sketchy and simple anyway.

Bigger Version

5:

I've now moved  on to the butterfly and added the rest of his details (legs, feet simple pattern etc...), and inked the daffodil.

6:

Next I inked the iris that's tucked behind the cat's head, along with one of the small butterflies and the ladybug on the iris.

7:
Afterwards I inked the tulip and the lily that is intertwined within the leaves, and the other butterfly along with the little ladybug on the lily leaf.  - At this point the initial lines are down and I'm almost done.

8:

Lastly I added the final details to the fur, thickened outlines on the flowers and cat, alone with tuned up the eyes; For this I used my 005 alone with the 05 and 03. - An I'm done!

I hope this was helpful or at least interesting! 


 

May God Bless You, Your Family, Friend; Along With The Health Of Yourself, Family, Friends, And All Who Know You. ~ Amen

~ Firefly

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Inking Pens, Which Brand Should I Get?

Inking Pens, Which Brand Should I Get?

Many people myself included enjoy to draw with a hard-lined style, but when starting out most of us have had the question “Which Pens Should I Get?”. Today I will give you an overview on the different pens I have used and you can come to the conclusion yourself which pens you'd like to get!

Sakura Brand:

Sakura is a Japanese Company headquartered in Japan, they make an array of art and drawing supplies, I personally am a big fan of their Micron and Pigma-Sensi Pens along with their white gelly roll pen!

Micron:

The Sakura Micron Pens are make specifically for inking They Come in Sizes ranging from 0.05 mm – 0.8mm giving you a great vastness in depth if you use the pens correctly. Their tips are a cylinder shape being round with a flat bottom.

Image From "http://www.discountart.com"

Tip Sizes:

• Pen Size 005 = Point Size 0.20 mm
• Pen Size   01 = Point Size 0.25 mm
• Pen Size   02 = Point Size 0.30 mm
• Pen Size   03 = Point Size 0.35 mm
• Pen Size   05 = Point Size 0.45 mm
• Pen Size   08 = Point Size 0.50 mm

There are many colors and they are very useful if you don't want to be limited to black, I believe they aren't multiple sizes however and are limited to 0.1mm.

Microns come in packs/sets of different styles, like 

• Sepia
• A pack of all the sizes listed above
• A Manga-Comic Pro pack complete with 00.5, 0.3, 0.8 along with a Pigma brush pen and Pigma graphic 1 pen (1.0 mm) and a mechanical pencil, 0.7 mm lead size (extra leads and erasers not included)

There are other packs and lists all that can be found here.

They are marketed as permanent and waterproof.

Pigma Sensi:

Pigma Sensi are closer to a marker type tip ranging in sizes from 0.1 mm – 1.0 mm they are very nice to ink with, they're the first real inking pens I used.

Image From "http://cdn.dickblick.com"

Tip Sizes:

• 0.1
• 0.3
• 0.5
• 1.0

Pigama Sensi's are supposed to be water proof but when I played with watercolor paint when I was younger they seemed to bleed a bit but they might not have been totally dried; still it's something to keep in mind if you ink before painting to color. The Pigma Sensi Pack/Set has All Sizes Said above plus a mechanical pencil and a Sakura brand foam eraser.

These cost about $10 for the pack mentioned above. (Prices Vary By Store)

Image From "http://www.quickship.com"

White Pens:

I've bought two different pens that are white that are Sakura Brand, Gelly Role White Pen, and a White Pen Touch, I personally prefer the Gelly Role Pen over the Pen touch.

Gelly Roll:

The Gelly roll is very smooth once you get it moving but considering I use a lot of medias it gets a little picky on wanting to go totally smooth but it looks fine once you get it to move, this is good for smaller details and about 0.99 cents in Micheals (Prices Vary By Location) per pen.

Image From "http://www.qsupplies.com"

If you need to highlight something with a very big area you could use white craft paint or go with...

Pen Touch:

Pen touch is a pump type pen and gets very messy, I'm sure if you practice with it you can make it work for you but it can be irritating, but it can't hurt to try it out if you want.

These are more expensive about 3-4 dollars in Micheals.

Sharpie:

Sharpie as an inking pen is a good option if you want to start cheap but effective, there are a few non-numbered sizes to choose from, even a retractable version of the fine point. Y
ou can also buy a white pump pen much like the Sakura Pen Touch, but this pen I found is less messy, it's oil based but costs about $4.00 if you include.

Image From "http://theartsupplystore.co"

Tip Sizes:

• Ultra Fine – about 0.1-0.2 mm
• Fine – about 0.8 mm
• Normal – about 1.0 mm
• Super – maybe 2.0mm; Or a Chisel Pointed tip.

Note: Size measurements are my personal estimates.

Sharpie does have a scent that if you have hyper allergies or are super sensitive might bother you, so that might be good to keep in mind. Sharpies also bleed through paper very fast so make sure if you draw in a drawing pad or a sketch book to keep a paper under the paper so the next page of your book isn't stained or marked, even if it's a wet media paper it's better to be safe than sorry!

Sharpie Sells other pens and markers varying in price, size, and color.

I used these when I was first starting out, and if you are super new you might wanna start cheap and work your way up as you get better.

Ultra Fine Tip Marker, $1.54 from Hobby Lobby (Prices vary by locations)

Prismacolor:

The only pens I own and know of from Prismacolor are called “Prismacolor Premier Assorted Markers” They come in the following sizes:

• 

  Image From "http://www.amazon.com/"

  00.5
• 0.1
• 0.3
• 0.5
• 0.8
• B – Brush Pen
• C – Chisel Tip

I've been using these since about October of 2012 and it's almost June of 2013 and they still work well, all except the 0.05 one, that one seemed a little dull from the start though; they work a long time and are very smooth, they don't bleed much even on dry media paper but I still say put the paper under the page just to be safe.

No scent, permanent and waterproof.

Tips are very similar to the Sakura Micron Pens.

I bought them (well my mother did Haha!) for $10.99 on sale; On Amazon they are $15.99.

I also use a Prismacolor marker (an actual coloring marker) on the “fine” edge (about 1.0 mm) for the super fat outlines for paintings like Potted Grace.

Note: Sandford Products Owns Both Prismacolor and Sharpie Brands.

Ball-Point Pens:

Image From "http://mojosavings.com"

In general I'd say they're okay, not good and not terrible, but if you use markers the black will bleed in to your colors because ball-point pens aren't generally permanent, if you use colored pencils its better, but if you want to do a design like a wood design over colored pencil it'll be nearly impossibly because the pencil is too waxy for the ball-point pen to glide smoothly. If you buy a pen from a good company like Pilot then it'll be smooth but if you touch it it'll most likely smudge.

There are people like Zkos who draws with a ball-point but he doesn't color his drawings, other people do and it's on the computer, if you want to color your drawings on the computer with a program like GIMP, or MyPaint then ball-point pens leave you no real issues. If you want to not color anything in but make different colored outlines then ball point pens are fine just leave them to completely dry before you erase pencil if you use pencil first or else they will smudge.

If you want to try them out you can get packs of 15 or more in a dollar store for a $1.00 (tax not included), but it's normally just black or a mix of black, blue, and red. Mixed colors aren't as common but still out there, a higher quality brand like Pilot is better if you want good ball point pens.

I hope this has helped somebody!

May God Bless You, Your Family, Friends, Along With The Health Of Yourself, Family, And All That Know You. ~ Amen

~ Firefly 

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