Category Archives: Copic Markers

Illustration Friday “Capable” Copic Markers

Cape a Bull With Copic Markers at The Slumbering Herd

“Capable” for Illustration Friday this week, where 104 entries have already been posted.

Yes, this entry is quite silly. I saw some other folks had gone with the cape concept, so I had to crank it up a notch! I think (again) this one is overly busy. Arggh! What I’ve been aiming for is ‘neat and intricate’, but where I have been landing is ‘overworked and confused’. But I’ll keep trying.

Here’s how it happened:

Cape a Bull Sketch

Cape a Bull Liquid Frisket, Ink 1

Cape a Bull Ink 2

Cape a Bull Ink 3

Cape a Bull With Copic Markers

A decent effort but definitely overworked. And I don’t love this color combination quite as much as I’d hoped. Next time I’d go with browns instead of blues. I’m often worried that browns are too subdued but 1. sometimes subdued is good, and 2. I really do have a lot of different browns and I generally like it when I go that way. And so ends today’s ramble!

The font is Ugly Qua. Thank you for your visit!

Blue Llama with Frisket and Copic Markers

Nell the Blue Llama, Copics

This is Nell, and she has come up in the world quite nicely, benefiting from her predecessors, I think:

The Slumbering Herd Copic Llama Retrospective

The trouble is, I have been doing a lot of dogs lately. And dog noses are not llama noses. It seems I forgot this when crafting Nell’s curious nose. So, she has a doggish, rabbity sort of nose. She seems to like it though.

This was Liquid Frisket Experiment Number 4,which started here:

Blue Frisket Llama Sketch

Blue Frisket Llama, Frisket Phase

So I decided to fill the background before adding the frisket. I knew I would go over the outline of the llama and I didn’t know if it would affect the texture of the background even when peeled off. I filled up the middle with frisket swirls then went over them with several blues.  Started a little shading but not much. Lost my pencil line in a couple spots, but no disasters.

Blue Frisket Llama Ink

Blue Frisket Llama Ink 2

Blue Frisket Llama

She looks pretty happy, which is nice. I can vouch for the fact that she is, generally, a happy llama. I may have to branch out into (gasp) profiles or (double gasp) a whole llama body. It could happen.

Thanks as ever for dropping in!

A Mountain of Mugs in Copics for IF’s “Fluid”

Josephine's Mountain of Soup Mugs, Copic Markers w/ Digital Frame & Text

So I recently launched an art challenge with the prompt “Catastrope” at the Etsy group Doodlers Doing Doodles. [I did not start this group (too wordy for one thing!) but as the only leader I became de facto Captain when the real one took off for destinations unknown some six months ago. If you want to join, just drop me a line!] Anyway, my idea was either a stack of dishes or a stack of monsters… or possibly a stack of dishes AND monsters. So I started a stack of coffee mugs and tea cups, and then the Illustration Friday topic “Fluid” was announced.

I believe I am stretching this topic further than I’ve personally stretched an Illustration Friday topic, to include what turned into a mountain of soup mugs. (Originally tea cups and coffee mugs but really, Josephine could hardly drink tea out of these monsters.) (Hey! It turns out I did do a stack of dishes and monsters.)

This will be my third outing with liquid frisket (the results of which are those white swirls in the wallpaper). The paper I’ve been using is Bee Paper Company’s Artist Marker Pad, recommended for use with Copic markers. It is insanely smooth and very nice for markers, but it’s only 110 lb. so the frisket buckles it a bit. That is part of the reason these particular swirls are much larger than my normal. Here’s how it all began:

Mugs and Rabbit wip 1, 2

I figured some sort of creature imminently at risk of toppling the stack was necessary for a looming sense of “catastrophe”. I also used color before black multiliner to cut down on smudging.

Mugs and Rabbit wip 3, 4

I thought about leaving it here, with just the outline of the rabbit beast. Many Illustration Friday folks employ two different techniques in one drawing or painting and it is usually a pretty neat effect. Perhaps I should have done a background but left the bunny as she is here. Actually, if I did it over again that’s what I would do.

Mugs and Rabbit wip 5,6

I think the background is too busy. Or I just don’t know how to make the foreground pop out. I suppose I could put an otherworldy glow around the objects but will have to look into additional methods. (Do you have one? Please let me know. Yet another item I would have learned in art school. Alas!) Oh! And one more fyi, because it seems like good info: the font in the final at the top is Cambria Math.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Copics and Liquid Frisket, Revisited

Blue Dog with Cat, 8.5" x 11" Copic Pens & Markers

More dog and cat beasts! You may recognize the hound/spaniel face from a recent series of ACEOs. This one reminded me why going to the edge of the paper on all sides is sub-optimal (it’s a pain! And the pen runs off, and making swirls along the edges is also a pain). I have a lot of practice ahead of me if I’m going to perfect a cat. However, this cat is a MUCH better cat than the one I started with:

Blue Dog Cat Sketch 1

The face gave me no end of trouble. In fact, my intention was going to be for the cat to be rubbing his head under Blue’s chin, but things got out of hand.  Sometimes that happens.

Blue Dog Cat Sketch 2

That’s better. Fixed the short stubby legs and went with a bent neck. I created several ounces of eraser detritus to get to this point.

Blue Dog Cat Initial Ink

This cat will do! (Need to practice paws. And apparently cat butts. This cat butt is just not right.)

Blue Dog Cat - Frisket, Color 1

Swirls in liquid frisket on the ears. It was supposed to go all the way down but I tried to remove some thickly dropped frisket and it pulled up more bits and then more so I just cleared it off the bottom of the second ear, too. The colors always look pretty rotten at the beginning and there is no exception in this case (mostly because it looks so much like markers).

Blue Dog Cat Color 2

Blue Dog Cat Color 3

Blue Dog with Cat, Copic Pens & Markers

In all, a decent exercise. Learned some things. I suppose my goal is to get to the point where my drawing tells a story, like Mardi Speth or Bella Sinclair.  Or any other of the thousands of awesome illustrators out there (yeesh). I don’t want my stuff to look like their stuff, just tell a (cool, interesting, possibly weird) story like their stuff does.

Enough rambling!  Thank you so much for coming by!

 

That’s One Popular Sheep Cart

The Most Popular Sheep Cart, Copic Markers with Digital Sky

This week’s Illustration Friday topic: “Popularity”. I really had no idea what to draw, for a while, and then I decided that two competing little kiosks might be nice, with competing salespeople. And maybe the popularity of one had to do with the pretty girl running it, and for the other, the quality of the product. But sheesh, that’s a lot to get into a single frame. At least for me who hasn’t done a lot of narrative drawings.

I started to draw the kiosks, but that was more complicated than necessary and I switched to little sales carts.

Toy Carts Initial Sketch

Rather than plain little carts, of course I figured they should in the shape of animals. Goats or sheep, perhaps. As I drew them I decided they would be very different kinds of carts, and one would be more popular than the other.  I picked toys because a little anime style cat could be seriously cute and I was thinking zombies for the other cart but went with misfit monsters.

Toy Carts Inked

I wanted to add more things, but I was worried about clutter. So, no little sales tags, no “50% Discount Sale” sign for the monster cart and no salespeople. Not even any customers! So I tried to figure out a slogan or saying that would tell the story I was trying to tell.

Toy Carts Color 1

Toy Carts Color 2

Sheep Carts Original Drawing 8.5" x 11"

The Most Popular Sheep Cart, Copics w/ Digital Sky

Thank you as always for coming by and thanks to everyone for the kind and excellent comments.

Which reminds me!  A very kind and hilarious person at Moonsword’s Chamber has done a little write-up about my shop. He showcases a lot of different artists and I found some really cool ones there, so take a gander if you have a moment!

 

Copics and Liquid Frisket, Experiment No. 1

Kit Cat and Elliot Hound in Copic Markers

OMG. Seriously. My internet connection was down for three days. A terribly sad state of affairs, I’ll have you know. Yes, I read a book. And finished several drawings, among them the charismatic pair above. (Actually, I don’t know if “finished” is accurate, but close enough.)

An adventure with liquid frisket, is what it was! Many progress pics – scans in fact, with my CanoScan LiDE 700F, if you were wondering – shall illustrate the tale:

Dog Cat Sketch

I have been enjoying a recent enthusiasm for goofy, cartoony dogs. And I have also been trying to add more cats, because people like cats. I like cats, just not as much as dogs. She looks a little sad in this sketch. Perhaps you’ve noticed my clever placement wherein I was not forced to wrestle with drawing paws or legs. But I rather think she looks cute perched up there.

Dog Cat Ink

Dog Cat Color 1

Dog Cat Color 2

Dog Cat Color 3

Starting to show some life with a .5 Copic multiliner outline. The eyes are a tad vacant, which is something I need to work on.

Dog Cat Frisket 1

Ok, the frisket! It is a latex masking medium. So you paint it on, and then paint (or in my case, Copic marker) over it. In the first frisket shot above, I applied a curlique background of frisket, let it dry, then lightly covered the area in one color (Begonia, I believe). I should also note that the frisket dried to virtual invisibility but I could just gauge the shine of it. I decided not to fill the entire background (partly because that’s a LOT of background left).

Dog Cat Frisket 2

While the frisket was still on, I figured I should take advantage of some Copic color blending just around the bodies.

Dog Cat Frisket 3

And then, ta-da! Peeled it off. Note: The best pick up to use is a natural rubber pick-up. The clerk at Dick Blick’s was kind enough to let me know when he saw my frisket purchase. And it did work great, and was kind of cool. It comes right up, and can even be peeled. I didn’t scan it right after I peeled it off, but it was white as untouched paper below.  I decided to go over the whole background area with some very light peach and pink.

Kit Cat and Elliot Hound in Copic Markers

The final needed heavier lines, so I used my Copic black marker with the pen tip (as opposed to a multiliner), mainly just for the outside outline for both. Added a few more bits and bobs, not sure if it’s done, but there you have it!  Thank you for visiting! Let me know if you have any questions about these things.  Oh, and a special shout out to art blogger Leslie White whose lovely paintings employing liquid frisket inspired me to try it. Hooray!

 

Illustration Friday “Suspense” – A Copic Sheep

Suspense Sheep Poster, Copic Markers with Digital Text

This week at Illustration Friday: Suspense.

I was intent on using a sheep in a suspenseful setting. But what? First, I drew the sheep. I added one curled lip with a fang underneath! Vampire sheep! No, no, the vampire thing is so 2000’s. Then I thought, wall of flames! But no, flame colors would be too close to the sheep’s color. Then I thought, black hole! And I sort of went with black hole, but I decided on blue and the resulting effect was much more reminiscent of a temporal anomaly than a black hole. Which works for me. (Is “temporal anomaly any kind of thing outside of Star Trek? … Didn’t think so.)

Suspense Sheep Sketch

Suspense Sheep Color 1

I did something different here. Instead of an initial ink, I just left the pencil and blocked in some colors. One of my recurring problems is smearing the black ink, so I was trying to avoid that. It looks rather dreadful in this state, however. Scrap it? No way!

Suspense Sheep Ink 1

A basic outline in 0.1 Copic multiliner helps a great deal.

Suspense Sheep Color 2

The temporal anomaly. I kind of like the way the center of the anomaly is looking in this one, I probably shouldn’t have messed with it. Also, the dark blue/purple at the far right is rather a disaster and I left it looking far too markery but I left it for now. At this point I knew what the title would be.

Suspense Sheep 6" x 9" Poster, Copic Markers with Digital Text

I figured I still needed to work in the “Suspense” thing a bit more, decided to include the title on the drawing, and went with another poster type product like I did with my stalking cat in the “Forward” challenge. (UglyQua is the font again.) Adding the text element is fun and I predict this won’t be the last!

9:00 Saturday evening in Chicagoland, and 141 entries already posted. Thank you so much for dropping by mine!

 

 

Goofy Dogs in Copic Marker; Tons of Progress Pics

Three Dogs Awaiting Snacks, Copic Markers

It’s probably obvious these three dogs are awaiting snacks, but just in case some non-dog folk pop in, I thought I would go ahead and spell it out. Rarely does the canine specimen sit so still and with such intensity as when it is watching and/or hoping you are getting snacks from one of those bags or boxes of snacks from the snack table or snack cabinet or snack bin.

From left to right: Laurel, Rowan, Ash. (Well don’t look at me. I believe their owner is a botanist. Or an arborist.) Any peanut butter snacks are mighty fine with all, though Laurel shows a slight preference for apple slices.

I lost a bit of the character from the original sketch – Laurel was less serious, less  fluffy, and more puppyish. Rowan had a much shorter forehead and crazily wondrous eyes. However, since I predict many more dogs to come, whether soon or a bit further down the road, I’ve a feeling those two will be back after some adventure or another.

Three Dogs Sketch One

Three Dogs Sketch Two

Three Dogs Color One

Yeah, this is usually where I think I might scrap it. Why did I pick these colors? These are not the colors I was intending.  Arrrgh! Perhaps more color planning/practice is in order. Or just more art – that is usually the answer. Just keep doing. I suppose I decided to continue with these guys to see if I could rescue them.

Three Dogs Color Two

Three Dogs Outline over Color, One

Three Dogs Outline over Color, Two

Three Dogs, Details

Three Dogs Awaiting Snacks, Copic Markers

Copic Multiliners, Micron Pens and Copic Markers, 8″ x 10″ on Canson heavy illustration board with a smooth finish.

I have been overdoing the details lately so stopped before my normal stopping point to let it sit. Thanks for stopping in!

 

Art Blog Interview and Colorful Copic Cats

I would like to take a moment to thank a lovely person named Alex Colombo at Tales for Creative Minds, who posted an interview feature about me and my herd of beasts. It is quite an honor and I can’t thank her enough. As I’m sure you know, every little bit of encouragement helps! And the presentation of the interview is really wonderful so hopefully some of you kind people will go take a peek.

You may have seen my herd of ACEO dogs on these pages recently. I decided to take a break from the dogs and have at some cats. The first is sort of accidentally a raccoon cat (yeah, didn’t quite mean to lay on the eyeliner so thickly), and the second is a kind of circus fox cat, as follows:

Raccoon Cat 2.5" x 3.5" in Copics

Wallace the Circus Cat, in Copics

I attempted some whiskers (and eye reflection) with a white gel pen, but it seems to clog to easily and not provide a consistent line. I might have to look into a paint pen, because often the ability to make a small correction or add a white detail is very handy. If you have any tips for using a gel pen, do tell! (Oh yes, and I do have some liquid frisket but haven’t braved it yet!)

Raccoon Cat is very mysterious and refuses to 1. provide an actual name, or 2. engage in any kind of pleasant conversation whatsoever. Fortunately her brother (yes I know, they don’t look the least bit related!), is much more genial and talkative. His name is Wallace, he loves Muenster cheese wedges (both for eating and juggling) and he is not allowed to tell me his sister’s name.  Just one of those things, I suppose. He is not actually in the circus but please contact him if you happen to know of an outfit that could use a juggling cat.

The progress of Wallace, the Circus Fox Cat:

Circus Cat Sketch

Circus Cat Ink

Circus Cat Color 1

Circus Cat Color 2

 

 

 

Phil the Cat

You may remember Phil, my previous ACEO cat. He still lives with Chaz (a llama) and Dean (a goat), and he asked to be introduced to the newcomers so I thought I would let him wander into this post as well.  Thank you for visiting!

Illustration Friday “Forward” & Pink Cat Beasts

Forward Isn't Always

I posted this last night but kept thinking the black background was too severe. This morning I made version 2 (with slightly different wording):

Forward Isn't Always, v. 2

I had been meaning to do both cats and whole animal bodies for a change. I was a bit stumped by “forward” at Illustration Friday, but finally figured a stalking cat would be a good challenge. I had trouble with it! In fact, I almost scrapped it at several points.

In the end, I am sort of pleased with this poster-type slogan thing I came up with. The quote went through a lot of re-writes before I settled on this one. (Another option would be about trying to go in too many directions at once.) (Also I’m not positive about the grammar! But I don’t mind.) The font is UglyQua, which reminds me a bit of the font Edward Gorey often used. It might also be overused but I am not a font expert so I don’t know and I certainly hope it doesn’t offend any snotty super nice design people.  (click on image for a better look!)

I didn’t set out to do a double cat beast, but I was not happy with the original background so had to change my plans mid-flight (which often leads to better places). I was going to do a striped wallpaper wall and an oval rug beneath the (single) cat beast. When that didn’t work, I pulled the cat beast out of the page with Paint.NET, made a double by flipping him, and added the background and text digitally. Not 100% happy with the patterns on him but I was experimenting and that doesn’t always work out! Some progress pics:

Stalking Cat Beast Sketch 1

Stalking Cat Beast Sketch 2

Stalking Cat Beast Copic Color 1

Stalking Pink Cat Beast, Copics with Digital Background