Tag Archives: Copic Markers

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

Goofy Yet Serious ACEO Dogs with Copics

Goofy Yet Serious ACEO Dogs in Copics

Clockwise from top left: Ernie, Emma, Annabelle, Rufus

Goofy? Check. Serious? Check. Rufus looks a bit like a lioness? Check.

I’m not sure what it is about groups of things like this, but I like them. And I particularly like staying in the same few color families, repeating specific colors while still achieving variety. I had some trouble deciding on the arrangment. I thought the mainly yellow backgrounds should be opposite. But then I thought the two with more pinks should be opposite. Anyway, I’ve done another version:

Goofy Yet Serious ACEO Dogs in Copics, Second

Do you have a preference? I actually left off the black framing lines in the second as well (which is the same style as my first 4-ACEO print, mentioned a couple posts ago at the beginning of the ACEO dog craze in which I currently find myself. And not unpleasantly, I might add).

I may update this post shortly with the further adventures of Bear and Millie, suspiciously absent from this group. On the one hand, a quartet is only four. On the other hand, Bear found out that Millie plays a mean game of cribbage, and Bear had been looking for a Cribbage partner for AGES. So you can probably imagine why they are the last to arrive.

UPDATE: Millie has arrived. The Cribbage marathon is ongoing, as Millie and Bear have each won six games.

ACEO Dog Millie with Copic Multiliners and Markers

Thank you so much for visiting us!

Further Dog Adventures, ACEO Style

ACEO Dog Emma, Copics

I was going to do something much more twirl-related for this week’s Illustration Friday, since that is the topic. But I am currently in the midst of rather severe ACEO dog fever and I didn’t want to stall the momentum. It all started two posts back because I decided, after several days without much inspiration, to draw a sad ACEO dog. One dog led to a four-pack of hound dogs which then led us here. (The current pack has standing ears. They may be hounds but more likely awesome mixed-breed rescue types with mysterious ancestry.)

In any case, I have completed Emma (above) in my recently typical fashion, with lots of swirls. Though this is not technically the same thing as “twirls”, I hope I won’t be judged too harshly for stretching the topic somewhat, from twirl to swirl.

Emma in progress:

ACEO Dog Emma: Sketch, Ink, Copic Pen/Marker

The other members of the new pack, as yet inked only:

ACEO Dog Rufus, In Progress

ACEO Dog Bear, In Progress

ACEO Dog Ernie, In Progress

ACEO Dog Annabelle, In Progress

ACEO Dog Millie, in Progress

All six goofy and and generally charming ACEO dogs drawn by hand in pencil. Then, Copic multiliners, mainly size 0.1 and 0.3, though Emma got filled out with a 0.8 and that was probably a tad too wide for 2.5″ x 3.5″. I’ve been using pre-cut, ACEO-sized smooth illustration board, which comes in handy 5-packs by Strathmore (about $2/pack at Dick Blick’s). I hope to post the colored-up versions soon.  Thanks for visiting! Dogs rule!

ACEO Dog Quartet in Copics, Part II

Hound Dog Quartet, ACEOs with Copics

Clockwise from top left: Oliver, Edgar, Miles and Martin

Hooray!  Finished the 4-dog quartet. Went with similar dog for final image (see previous post for dilemma!) I’m calling it “Hound Dog Quartet” but it started as “Spaniel Dog Quartet” (and could revert at any time!). The inspiration photo (for all four) is a beagle. I think they resemble a beagle slightly more than Snoopy from Peanuts. But it’s still a stretch. (Which is fine with me.)

Oliver, the final member, in progress:

ACEO Dog Oliver Sketch

ACEO Dog Oliver Color 1

ACEO Dog Oliver

I believe a second 4-dog ACEO quartet is in the works, this time with standing ears (also known as prick ears or erect ears, but oh, such words!) Aside from that particular vocabulary conundrum, I can’t decide what to name the next set. I don’t want to go with Doberman Dog quartet or any other dog who has unnaturally erect ears – because I don’t believe in cropped ears (I won’t go on a rant or anything but cropping ears is an outdated and unnecessary procedure which causes a lot of pain in young dogs and also compromises protection for the ear canal. And doesn’t always work anyway!) So while I like Dobermans, I believe in “regular” ears for Dobermans, Great Danes and every other breed that up until recently had cropped ears as a matter of course.  But that whole discussion is probably best not held on an art blog.  :)

Many breeds have naturally standing ears.  A few that come to mind are smaller dogs like terriers (though not Schnauzers), Basenjis, Chihuahuas. Here is the initial sketch for one member of the Standing Ear ACEO dog quartet (a charming and discerning bunch, I am sure it will turn out to be):

ACEO Standing Ear Dog 1

I think this one definitely looks more like a Basenji than a Chihuahua, so I may use a Chihuahua photo as inspiration for the next one or two.  As always, thanks for visiting!