The Peace Flower, Inspired by the East

The Peace Flower
5″ x 7″, Copics, Microns, gel pen on Bristol Board

This Peace Flower is a peaceful protest design which offers a large flower in place of the warrior who would normally be riding this elephant, perhaps across an Indian countryside. The background was inspired by mehndi design (henna design), most traditionally used to decorate the hands and feet of Hindu brides, or for other festive occasions.

Submitted for the topic “Protest” at Illustration Friday. [Actually made for a friend who may or may not see this post before the item arrives at her house. But it was too good for the topic to pass up! Ok, really I kind of shoe-horned it into the topic. But still!] I’m not sure if the entire background should have been red. Didn’t want to risk it.

Thank you for your visit!

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Two Bright Birds, One Goldfish, Marker and Ink

Maureen in the Jungle
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Two more colorful birds created for a Birds swap (first two posted previously). Maureen is a little bit Hornbill and a little bit Heron, with a possible side of Flamingo. She is one of a small flock of magical, long-lived creatures who live in villages atop clouds. This may be my favorite background!

Lionel Shoebill
2.5″ x 3.5′ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Lionel comes from a long line of strangely-colored shoebills. The color always passes down to the male members of the family (much to the chagrin of his sisters). Family legend suggests that a great-great-great uncle was a Toucan, but really, how would that be possible? (Answer: Nature finds a way!)

Hannah the Goldfish
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

And finally, Hannah the goldfish. It’s quite different than previous goldfish, but thankfully the client was happy. Her mom said Hannah got loads of positive comments on Fishbook and was thrilled and also quite touched, especially because she got teased a lot for her spots when she was little.

Thanks for visiting! Progress pics below.

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Robot Aliens, or Alien Robots?

Darla Two
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

On the cold side of Centauri Sixteen, forty years after landfall, an elderly astronomer called Garth discovered a creature much like this one, seemingly lost in the Stalagmite Forest. It seemed shy and kept a distance between them, but followed him home. The sad face reminded him of his daughter Darla, now a deep space navigator, so he called her Darla Two. She became a sort of pet, one who liked to eat fig beetles and look through his daughter’s old picture book replicas. At least this is the story he told. No one else ever saw her.

Winnie the Wonk
2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC, Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Leah was the daughter of a Meteor Retrieval engineer and a planetside nurse, with few playmates her own age. When she was about five, her father heard about an interplanetary astronomer called Garth who befriended a mechano-alien with wonky eyes and wonky hair. The story inspired him to build his daughter a mechanical friend with similar features. As a testament to the success of this friendship, Leah grew up to become a robotic specialist and built the first Robotic Ambassador. She named it Winnie.

Keen Art Resource 02

How to Refill Copic Markers, by BayleeCreations. I believe you can find quite a few videos on this topic, but this one is very thorough and talks about various related issues. I spilled a lot of ink before I watched this, but now I don’t. Hooray!

Thanks for stopping in! Lots of progress pics below. (I keep thinking about doing videos instead of slideshows, but it feels like it would be too  time-consuming so I’m not sure yet. Do you watch many art-related videos?)

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An Alien ATC and Some Keen Resources!

Melba T
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, Microns, white gel pen

A persistent rumor in scientific circles is that a small creature with one large eye appeared on the Saturn space station one day. If it had a small craft of its own, they never found it. It didn’t speak, but displayed an uncanny affection for Melba Toast, an old earth delicacy which the lead climate engineer had been hoarding. They named the creature Melba T and studied it for three days. When the Melba Toast ran out, the creature disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived, with no witness.

Melba T was created for a “People of Planet X” swap, as mentioned in the last post. I think the curve of the white highlights is one of the keys to an effective eye. I use a Signo Uniball white gel pen. The tip clogs frequently but it is the best opaque white I’ve found for this purpose (some might prefer white paint with a brush).

And one more thing. I am going to try to add a new art resource to all of my blog posts, something I’ve actually used and found helpful. After I’ve done a few I’ll create a page and put them all in one place.

Helpful Art Resource 01

While reading up on noses recently I came across a very charming and effective online art instructor called Stan Prokopenko and his channel, ProkoTV. These two videos helped me with noses more than any other video or written instruction:

Proko: How to Draw a Nose: Anatomy and Structure

ProkoTV: How to Draw a Nose: Step by Step

(Let me know if you watch them!)

Thanks so much for visiting! A few Melba T progress pics below.

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Sir Valance Surveillance for Illustration Friday

Sir Valance Surveillance
5″ x 7″, Copic Markers, Micron & Prismacolor fine liners

Made for the Illustration Friday topic “Surveillance”. So I was just going to do a dapper fellow called Sir Valance who liked valances. But Bert thought I should make him standing behind the valance, and then I thought it should be an ad for his detective agency. I thought the idea was too complicated and I didn’t think I’d be able to illustrate it.  But then I did. Which is very satisfying. (And the result of  a lot of practice. Tons. If you wondered.) ;)

Murmak Cogwrench ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, Microns, gel pen

And this is an art card for a “People of Planet X” swap, which is third in a series after People of the Forest and People of the Sea (see previous posts)! I tried to get some vital statistics so I could introduce this fellow, but the universal communicator reverted to ones and zeroes and I wasn’t able to fix it in time for this post.

Thanks for visiting! Progress pics below. Questions and comments always welcome!

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Patterned Skulls in Ink for Illustration Friday

Arturos and the Witch’s Eye ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, gel pen

There was once a mute witch who lived in a cave outside of town with her cat called Arturos. She sold love potions and healing balms to any villagers brave enough to visit. As legend tells, she plucked out her own right eye, and the right eye of Arturos, and switched them. It is said her new eye allowed her to see into the twilight world of cats. What Arturos saw, he never told.

Submitted to “Worn” for Illustration Friday. Both the eye and the skull are quite worn! They were displayed for a short time at the Oddity Museum of Ulster, but were reportedly removed when an elderly couple insisted the eye was moving in its (borrowed) socket. At least that’s what the placard beside the plaster replica says! I do not know if any of this story is true, but it does bring a touch of magic and a few curiosity seekers to the village.

Red Yellow Skull, and Red Skull with Lizard
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, Microns, gel pen on Bristol Board

Two more skulls! I quite like the red one with the lizard. This is not subject matter I usually cover! All three were created for a “Bones” swap. I’ve been thinking lately I want more cards for my shop, and fewer for trading – simply because there is only so much time in the day! On the other hand, the swaps provide lots of inspiration in the form of other artists (just like Illustration Friday!) and also require subjects I am not as familiar with, which is excellent practice. Balance is the thing I must find.

Reference photo for the red skull (it’s a bit spooky). Thanks for stopping in!

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Stippled Ammonite Lizard

The Ammonite Lizard, 5″ x 7″
Copic markers with 1.0 Micron pen

Created as a Secret Solstice gift for a very cool dollmaker artist called Ruth Morris. Here is her website! And here is the Sumner & Dene Gallery with more of her totally fun and brilliant and odd dolls! I happen to also be the lucky guardian of a Lion Shaman doll and a Fairy doll.

All of the ink is done in stippling. Something I had not done in one, possibly two decades!  But I think it went pretty well. I did go back with my trusty Signo Uniball white gel pen for some highlights. Tons of progress pics below, as well as some close-ups.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback about posting frequency and blog things from my last post. I am aiming for twice a week. Thanks so much for stopping in – comments and questions are very welcome!

Ammonite reference photo.

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People of the Sea, Mermaid Varieties

This post includes the eel maiden from two posts ago, but they look pretty neat all together! I included her progress pics a second time as well for those just joining us. (She does have a story now – see below.)

Felicia, Coral and Shev. Three from the Sea
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Felicia, the purple one, is a cave mermaid. Not many pods of this variety exist, and those that do live deep underground. One member of each generation swims to the surface to exchange news with the other clans – otherwise we might not know what they look like!

Coral is a coral mermaid. Yes, she has several friends named Coral! At least, that’s what it seems like to us. The mermaid language includes a variety of clicking sounds that are practically inaudible to humans.

The last is an artist’s representation of Shev, an eel maiden. Closely related to mermaids, the eel people are the only members of their scientific class.  According to legend, Shev befriended a tiny village of humans on a tiny island off Scotland, and is said to be the inspiration for many mermaid folktales. Shortly after the entire village was  wiped out by a plague, Shev called upon a Kraken to sink the island so she wouldn’t be reminded of them.

These were made for a “People of the Sea” swap at illustratedatcs.com. They are also the final three maidens for my 100 Maidens project, started in July, 2012. Wow! I may start another big project soon. The maiden one was very satisfying (and instructive).

Thanks for dropping in; comments and questions welcome!

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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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