Category Archives: Copic Markers

Strange Birds. Copic Marker Art Cards

Peach-Crested Hawk and the Harmony Finch

Peach-Crested Hawk and the Harmony Finch
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copic markers,Microns pens, Signo Uniball gel pen

Ok, not that strange. But I don’t believe hawks or finches actually come in these colors. Also, they came out so much better than I expected they would!

I did start out with a photo of a finch for the basic shape and pose for the right one, and I think it was also a small bird for the left one, but then I found a photo of a hawk for the head (though it changed some). I am in awe of people who have the skills to illustrate realistic birds and I really thought I’d be rubbish at it (though I’ve done some decent birds in the past).

The feathers, which took a lot of figuring out, are not bad! I wouldn’t call this realistic exactly, but kinda neat regardless.

So, I’ve got loads of un-posted cards and I’m trying to decide which ones to post, and how many per post. I find when I visit people, if they have too many images in one post, I can’t appreciate them all that way.

I’m also trying to figure out whether shorter posts are better, and how many emails to subscribers is too many. Maybe I could post more often but only email every other one (with 2 in the email)? (All opinions on these matters are welcome! Comment below or feel free to drop a line to cindy@theslumberingherd.com.)

One more thing!  A BIG thank you to my blog friend Efi Maryeli who featured my work on her blog.

Thanks for stopping in! Progress pics below!

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Manatee Princess and an Eel Maiden

Sulky Sea Cow Princess
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

[EDIT: I am submitting this to Illustration Friday for the topic “Children”. She may be a sulky sea cow princess, but she is also a child, just waiting impatiently to grow up so she can do whatever she wants!]

As first in line for the Lavender Throne, Lula the manatee is forbidden from doing many fun things, so she has long days to sulk and worry about her future responsibilities. Some days, her friend Mork the seahorse can’t even stir up interest in a game of Bug Stones.

I must admit I think she and her friend are very cute. Here is my manatee reference photo.

An Eel Maiden
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

An eel maiden. Admittedly she does not look a lot like an eel, but she’s got that sinuous neck and I prefer eel maiden to snake maiden. Both of these were created for a “People of the Sea” swap at illustratedatcs.com. I am not running that swap, but it was inspired by my People of the Forest one. (Lots of People of the Forest art cards in previous posts!)

I am also thrilled to report that my blog friend Koosje Koene has featured my work on her blog! If you get a moment, go see! You can also find Koosje on her website and she’s got some great mini drawing tutorials on her Youtube page. Thanks so much, Koosje!

Thanks to everyone for stopping in! Lots of progress pic below!

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A Bear and a Beetle – Copic ATCs for IF

Sun Bear Art Card
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners

Ok, he may not be traditionally sweet, but I think he has a sweet face! Due to some trading requests I’ve done a bit of (pseudo) realism this week! And it’s always sweet (sometimes bittersweet!) to go outside our comfort zone. Submitted, as you may have guessed, for the topic “Sweet” at Illustration Friday.

I have been paying more attention to my process recently. I do a lot of layers with the markers, which not only helps in removing dreaded marker lines, but also results in some really nice blending. I counted the pens I used for this guy. 24! Two sizes of fine liner (0.05 and 2.0), a little bit of Uniball Signo white gel pen, and 21 Copics! Mostly browns and grays, with several orange, two blues and two greens.

Am I relying too much on different marker colors? Could I achieve the same result with fewer? Who knows! I can only do things the way I do ’em! (You will see that many of the colors disappear completely in the scans below.) I could have darkened some more shadows but have been trying to stop messing about with things before I wreck them. Here’s the reference photo.

And now, if beetles can be sweet, how about this guy?

Orange Wonder Beetle Art Card
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

This fellow was created by looking at this photo of a gray beetle. I tried to give it a name that suited its beetley charm. A beetle against the sky – he could be huge! Or tiny.

Thanks so much for visiting! I should have captured some more progress on the beetle but did a pretty fair job for the bear.

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Maiden of the Birds for Illustration Friday

Maiden of the Birds
5″ x 7″, Copic markers, Micron pens, Uniball Signo gel pen

Submitted for the topic “Tension” at Illustration Friday. That’s Phyllis up there, the sheep bird. And beside her, Jules (pink) and Harold. The little one on the bird feeder is Sybil. It looks calm right now, but Phyllis rules the place with an iron claw. Particularly if someone else has encroached upon what she feels is the proper amount of space for a creature of her stature. It can get a bit tense up there!

The Night City Maiden (2 versions)
5″ x 7″ Copic markers, Micron pens

I intended for this one to have a black background, but I am not sure about the best way to accomplish that. The dark version above has a simple a black background added digitally. Looking at these side by side, it definitely looks better dark, especially with the stars. I suppose a brush would do the best coverage, and I may even have one, and some ink. I hate to think of coloring the background with marker. But brushed ink is likely to warp the paper.  Eeek! If you have any tips, please share!

No progress pics because I did both of these while out of town! (It also explains the color palette, which was limited by what I brought with me!) These are maidens 95 and 96 (but might not be loaded over there yet). Thanks for stopping in!

 

Exercises in Unknown Styles: Clarke, Bilal, Gauguin

After Harry Clarke ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Micron Pens

I was recently involved in an art card swap with the theme “favorite artists”. The other members of the group pick their favorite, and the others make a card in that style. (I chose Daniela Volpari, who is a contemporary artist I happened to find on Etsy. I haven’t gotten my cards back from the other folks or I’d show ya how they turned out!)

The card above is based on a part of this Harry Clarke illustration. I took some liberties with some of the patterns but for the most part I copied the original. Usually I am no fan of copying! In fact, when I was in high school I refused to copy another artist, famous or otherwise, for any assignment. But I can definitely see the value in this type of exercise where you are forced to go outside your comfort zone.

Style of Enki Bilal ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, Microns, Signo Uniball gel pen

The next card was based on this Enki Bilal illustration. Tragically, mine looks quite a bit more like markers than I’d like – despite it’s actually being markers. Didn’t quite get there, but I did get closer than expected. ;)

Style of Paul Gauguin
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns

I must say I was most pleased with this one, though I would not call Paul Gauguin one of my favorite artists. Again it was my intention to copy his painting, but it does not really look like the original, shown here. But I really appreciate how painterly it is, and how different than my normal style. In fact, I had to convince someone close that I’d actually made it!

Steampunk Geisha
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, Microns, gel pen

And finally, here is a crazy mash-up maiden, a steampunk geisha. She is Maiden Number 94, and was made for a trade.

Thanks for stopping in! I didn’t do progress scans for all of these, but I did for a couple!

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Yet Another Forest Creatures Art Cards Post

People of the Forest Art Cards, Group 3
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, Staedtlers and Signo Uniball gel pen

Perhaps it has become clear that I am not done with The People of the Forest. If you’re just joining us, the last two posts were also filled with ATC size humanoids and small details of their forest surroundings, the theme of a swap I recently started. Top row: Lavender Rabbit and Friend, and A Juvenile Forest Imp (his nose came out great I think!). Second row: Earnest Ernest, an antlered Pixie Troll, and Katje, a Forest Cat.

This makes a total of fourteen People of the Forest swap cards, as seen below all together. (This doesn’t even include a few landscape-oriented cards, a few that didn’t quite turn out as intended, and two foxes who have moved to the suburbs which I will post later!)

People of the Forest Art Cards 1-14
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, gel pen, by Cindy Dauer

People of the Forest is a super fun theme I most heartily recommend, particularly if things and people and politics in the real world are not contributing to your well-being in a positive fashion.

Next I hope to do an entry for “Liquid” this week at Illustration Friday. <cross fingers> Thanks for stopping in!

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People of the Forest Redux, Copic Art Cards

People of the Forest Art Cards, Group 2
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, Staedtlers and Signo Uniball gel pen

Top row: Silver Pixie Princess, and Bear the Wise

2nd Row: A Flower Fairy, and a Fae Tracker

You may recall I was on a bit of a tear with Dog Art Cards for a while (and to which I will yet return!) At the moment, if you hadn’t guessed, it’s this fantasy/woodland theme, People of the Forest. And as I suspect there will be many more in the foreseeable future, I am submitting this post to “Future” at Illustration Friday!

I was working on eyes for a while, and I really need to work on noses. I am quite pleased with the Silver Sprite above, my first of the nose studies. In trying to replicate that nose, I had a lot of trouble with the Fern Fairies, below:

Two Fern Fairies, and Nose Troubles
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, etc

The one on the right came first, and I have yet to do an acceptable nose repair job on her. I started with a too dark (and imprecise!) ink line on the bridge of her nose, then kept going darker trying to fix or cover it. Aaaah! For the second attempt (on the left) I went with a lighter touch, and a much better result. Some inspiration for these two came from Lisa Ferguson’s fairies, which I love!

Thanks so much for visiting! More People of the Forest cards in my illustratedatcs gallery, if you’re interested. Some may end up in my shop. :)

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A Fairy Tale Tribute and Some People of the Forest

The Three Dogs
Each 2.5″ X 3.5″ art card, Copics, fine liners, gel pen.

Some more cards from the online Fairytale art-a-thon I mentioned last time, and submitted to the Illustration Friday topic, “Tribute”. These three dogs were inspired by a story from one of those large McCall’s Storybooks from the 60’s. In the story are the dog with eyes as big as saucers, the one with eyes as big as dinner plates, and the one with eyes as big as wagon wheels.

Then someone told me about an earlier story featuring the dogs, The Tinderbox, by Hans Christian Andersen – though instead of wagon wheels, the largest dog had eyes as big as windmills! The original story is a Scandinavian folktale.

This week I started a swap at illustratedatcs called The People of the Forest. It includes dryads, nymphs, forest pixies/elves/sprites, gnomes, fairies, antlered folk. The only requirements are 1. a humanoid of some sort and 2. vegetation of some sort. They are fun! Here’s the first four, finished in the last couple days in order to drum up interest in the swap. :)

People of the Forest Art Cards
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers, fine liners, gel pen

I’m rather fond of the Llama Girl in the bottom left. Thanks for visiting!

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Beauties and Beasts, Fairytale Inspired Art Cards

Beauties and Beasts
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art card. Copics, fine liners, gel pen on Bristol Board.

(Top) Lucy and Jake, Beauty and Beast; (bottom) Keko and Boris, Malia and Luther. These cards were inspired by a weekend Fairytale art-athon at Illustrated ATCs. You may notice this is quite a departure from my normal portrait-style art cards (just a head/face and usually facing forward). Of course, you could say these are just two portraits! But there’s a big difference. One is a simple study; the other is a relationship.

I decided to keep the first one (Lucy and Jake), traded the second at the fairytale a-thon (this weekend. LOADS OF FUN. Something about doing art with other people, and posting it up, even though you’re all in your own little space far away in the world). I really do a lot of good work and try new things, inspired by all the other great art.

The bottom two may go in my Etsy shop! (By the way, tons of other original art cards there, too. I don’t like to mention it every post. But sometimes.) :)

Two of my other favorites so far are the Alice in Wonderland cards:

Mad Hatter Louie, and The Time, Alice!
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Thanks for stopping in! Lots of progress pics! Feel free to leave a question or comment. :)

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Monochromatic Art Cards and MOOs in Pen and Ink

The Pinkerton Pet Detectives
Each 1″ x 2.75″ pen and ink, Copic markers on Bristol Board

Lots of monochromatic mini art happened recently! You may recall the purple ATCs posted previously. The above are the Pinkerton Detectives. Their motto? “No Collar Too Small”. (Thank you Bert for providing the clever catch phrase!) And below, the first two MOOs for my blue set – a Calavera maiden created as one then cut in two. She is Maiden number 78! The MOOs are for a monochromatic MOOs swap at illustratedatcs.com.

Blue MOOs Calavera
Two 1.5″ x 2.75″ pen and ink, Copic markers on Bristol Board

And finally, two yellow ATCs for the full size card swap. Of course, a full size ATC is still just 2.5″ x 3.5″.

Lilah and her Mum, and Shrunken Head Martini
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art cards, Copic markers on Bristol Board

Yellow was a bit rough, but adding brown helped. Also, I have almost zero experience with glass and transparent liquids! But it’s not too bad. I think the shrunken head saves it. (The prompts for each of the above were “mother child creature” and “Martinis with something atypical on toothpicks”.)

In addition, I still owe many cards, to people and for swaps. Possibly even to one or more of you reading this post! I haven’t forgotten! I get on a kick (say, monochromatic cards) and then end up doing a whole bunch in one fell swoop. (Did you know that phrase was one of hundreds first seen in Shakespeare? First that we know of, at any rate.)

Thanks for visiting!

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