Teacup Carriage with Blue Cat, Copics with Digital Blues 8" x10"
Teacup carriage with lemon slice wheels, teaspoon axle and tea tin sitting compartment. The cat is a huge Cairo Blue belonging to the owner of the carriage. Her name is Lucy and she is on guard while the owner naps within.
This illustration is entered for the topic Hitched at Illustration Friday. Unfortunately, I was unable to ask the owner to get the carriage hitched up before he went in for his nap, so this will have to do. In any case Diego, the red mule who normally pulls the carriage, is on the far side of the property and in a foul mood this morning.
In other news, I finally got a slideshow widget! It’s called Portfolio Slideshow (for WordPress), from madefromraygun.com. You can hit play or just click through the images. (Would love to know what you think of it-)
[portfolio_slideshow size=large]
Thanks to the very brilliant Richard Ewing at Visual Cogitations, I was recently reminded about the importance of sketching. I started out thinking I would do a carriage-type vehicle in the style of my Cat Ship and Llama Genie Airship, which led to the first sketch, a guinea pig carriage. That didn’t work out but did lead to a teacup-shaped carriage. The third sketch is a small version and the final three sketches show the beginning of the final image.
I decided it needed an animal so perched a cat in the driver’s seat, but I was unhappy with the cat and eventually digitally changed her face and color. The final image in the slideshow shows the carriage with no cat at all because she was getting absolutely bored waiting for me to finish. I like the blue cat so that is the final version at the top of this post.
So tell me if you have a moment, was this post too long and terribly wordy? Did you like the slideshow? Thanks so much for dropping in!
I love your beautiful and detailed Teacup Carriage! I wish I could hitch a ride too.
I enjoyed the slideshow, and you must put a lot of effort into it. Good job! :)
You are so much fun to view like a trip to a candy store..or my case a pastry shop. Enjoyed the slide show with more scans it gives insight to your thought process on the sketch. And a chance to met the animals a bit more.
Great. I like the teaspoon.
Seeing your work really is like a trip to the candy shop, just like Denise said. My favorite part is the lemon slice wheels!
Lovely composition!
I really like the contrast of patterns on this one. There are a lot of subtle details that make this a pleasure to look at over and over. Also, one of my favorite color combos – pink and orange. Luscious!
This is wonderful, Cindy! Your artwork is nothing less than brilliant! All the amazing little details are so much fun! I was wondering… how big do you do these and what type of paper do you work on? Your lines are so smooth you are able to get so much detail in them.
Thanks for all the nice comments!
Well, this was 8″x10″, and I’ve been using Canson 150 lb. Comic and Manga Drawing pad. Of course I couldn’t find paper in that size so I have to cut down a 9×12 sheet almost every time! (Sometimes I cut it in half and do two 9×6 size).
I am constrained by two things: my scanner only does 8.5″ x 11″, and the markers of course run out so fast! I have about 15 different color refills but even so, much larger than this is out of the question. If I do switch to acrylics I’ll have to start using a camera for my progress posts but I am not looking forward to figuring out the logistics. Maybe a simple light box. Not sure yet! :)
Thanks for telling me about the paper and the size, Cindy. I’d like to try some smoother paper for when I’m in “detail mode”. Your art always looks so clean and crisp. LOVE it!
That carriage is amazing! I especially love the lemon wheels and that cat looks like a queen!
Good work Cindy,some nice ideas…haha…the importance of sketching…you’ll know what I mean!
Beautiful! Love the slideshow. Thanks for posting your process. Since I write lots on my site, I’m certainly not going to tell you to write less, especially since you’ve actually got some things to say :)
The colors are beautiful as always and I loved the slideshow. I also wanted to say thank you for all of your comments and for stopping by my blog. Appreciate any constructive feedback that I can get.
I absolutely LOVE seeing your process! Your use of colors and textures is always so much FUN to see!
Slideshow=great!
Thank you and yay! I’m glad people like the slideshow. Makes it easier to feature more steps.
Nice colors and textures as usual!!
Wonderful colours! I love the carriage curtains, great work!
I really like this one, there’s a lot of imagination in it and the slide show is a great idea.
Oh, definitely, I could travel in this carriage, it would be a special experience!!
I love the slide show! I was just wishing they had something like that for the post I just did (I added several Mug pictures, and it made the layout look a little rough)…so I will have to check this widget out!
Fun illustration! Thanks for sharing. Great color choices and textures, as always! I especially like that brown and pink polka dot seat!
Oh my goodness….. This is wonderful! I love your image you crated and your color selection is great!
Hugs,
Marie
Cindy, this is awesome!!! I always wonder how those great illustrators do their atwork from the sketch. Thank you for sharing!
I hope I dream about this carriage tonight. Irresistible colors!
Thanks folks! You’re too kind. :D
So cute! Great choice of colors, texture and composition. Very clever. How does one go from Guinea Pig Carriage to Teacup Carriage with Blue Cat? Delightful!
Haha well, I had done a stack of teacups a while back for an IF challenge, and the shape of the main carriage part was looking like a teacup. :)
Wow, wow, wow!! Love this! Goodness, all of the details are fantastic…such creativity you have I say! Love the tea tin and it’s wonderful doors. Thank you for your super visits..I’m SO very delayed at visiting your wonderful posts. (slaps hand)..keep on rockin’ that creativity..these are fabulous pieces!!
What a great imagination you have! Fun colors, shapes and textures going on here. :)
Love the lemon slice wheels!
So imaginative! I especially like the spoon!!
Great illustration, and an oh-so-interesting peek at your process!
Wonderful!
So creative and cool.
I do like the slideshow, especially seeing the changes you made as you went.
Another wonderful fantasy vehicle. I love the lemon-slice wheels. Being a big tea drinker myself, I would be happy to have this parked in my garage!
Wow, great imagination! I hope those lemon slice wheels don’t roll away before I get my tea! Fun! :o)
Actually, there’s something nice about the guinea pig carriage, (the first image on the slide show)… I think here, although the carriage is not as developed as later, there is a nice visual symbiosis between animal and machine… like your earlier cat ship.
The end result is nice as well, and the colors fun as usual.
Thanks so much for mentioning me and my blog (with link); I’m honored.
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What an imagination!!Really wanna take a hitch ride here!!Enjoyed the slideshow with insight in your process! Kudos!!
I love it I think it is Great!
Bright wonderful colors
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this blog! So inspiring and great to see how an image comes together. I’ve been um-ing and ah-ing whether to buy some copic markers and afer seeing this I’m definitely going to get some! Thanks :)
Great concept and technique.