Mandela Mania

I think it’s good for me to keep up with my markers.  When I do, I am better at color selection… that’s for sure.



Needing “something to do with my hands”, I grabbed the ‘ole compass and circled up the page.



I’ve misplaced a few of my stencils so I had to ad-lib a bunch here.



Every now and then, I get into a drawing….I choose a color… then I go “Ugh, why did I think that would look good?”  That’s how I felt when I looked at the pink dollie-forms to the right.



Win some…lose some….moved on.



My favorite shot in this series….Right here.  You can see a bit of the detail starting to be developed.



Just a fun, colorful piece.   As you can see….I colored over that yucky pink with olive.  Can’t ever give up on a piece…cuz a little color change here or there can redeem itself.

Hand Jeans….six

Six posts about the same drawing….I guess I have a lot to learn.



It was time to do more with that hand.



There is definitely something very wrong with that third knuckle.  It’s huge!  It looks a bit battered and bruised.  Ouch!



I see things so much better after…. I…walk… away.  This is so close to completion it’s not funny….but if I hurry thru the next few steps, I won’t be happy with the final product.  Best to just chip away….chip away.

My Moo Cards are in!!

I ordered these last week and they arrived already…only a week earlier than anticipated….works for me 




These are mini-business-cards from www.moo.com.  The cool thing about this site is…



100 cards are the minimum order AND you can have a different image on each and every card.  I was a little overwhelmed to upload 100 separate files…so I just picked my top 19.



Most of the files I used were my recent drawings.



They will also print in color on the reverse side.  Of course…it’s just a one image show here.



These are just so cute!!



Here’s the size of the moo.card next to a standard business card….oh and my pet fish GUS.



And because I don’t know who to give this card to…..I thought I’d share the 15% off code here if you want to order some of your own.

Hand Jeans….five

I could not wait to get into my new box of prismacolors!  They look so nice and neat this way….trust me….it won’t last!



Needed to balance out the jeans. I knew it needed to be dark so I went straight in with the orange (opposite of blue on the colorwheel).  On top of the orange I used blue.  This will darken the area….neutralize it.



I was getting frustrated with my attempts at darkening my shadows. It just wasn’t going anywhere.



Apparently….I forgot a step….I was in such a hurry to use those pretty pencils that I forgot to use my w/c pencils!!  It’s the watercolor pencils that really helped me darken the darks.  Where was my head?

Still much more to do….getting to be a rather long blog-post series! Sorry

Hand Jeans….four

This little spot was bugging me, nobody knew why it was white here.  It was a good time to see how the colored pencils would work over the existing watercolors.  I even tried out my marker for the black outline on the floral pattern.  This entire floral print has a black outline to it.  FUN…I cannot wait to finish this because I will get to do my favorite thing at the end!  Mindless outlining! 



This is where I was at the beginning of class the other night.  I have to admit I was glad I was there…I needed to know my watercolor limit….I had about reached it here.  It was time to bring in the colored pencils for the rest.



This is a good shot to show you just how big this is.  It’s pretty big!



Not done….not even close. Must continue on with:

• the arm
• the hand
• the jeans
• the belt loops
• most of the top

At least I have a plan….always good to have a plan!! Haha

Hand Jeans….three

Continued with the hand a bit more.  Used colored pencils to get that thumb bend.  Reinforced some of the shadows in the 2 right fingers with watercolor.



It was time to work the top.  If I can get this top right, I will love it….but that’s a big IF.



Had to mix a brown to best match the picture.  Just lightly applied the first coat of brown watercolor paint.



Then I had to outline the rest of the floral image.  This required focus….so I had to be patient and clear headed.  Couldn’t doodle it in my “zoned-out” way.



Now, I have lots of color opportunities to turn to when things aren’t working as expected in a part of this drawing/painting.

Hand Jeans….two

I’m learning the plusses of each medium.  Watercolor helps create lots of contour if I can let it puddle in certain ways.  The way the pigment settles cannot be duplicated as easily with the colored pencils. 



Worked a bit on the belt buckle. A welcome break from all the creases with all the those blues in the pants.  I was getting overwhelmed.



Mulled it over…..Do I color pencil the hand or watercolor the hand…..I compromised and did both.  Here’s the watercolor base.



I only got to the 2 left fingers with colored pencils.  The big plus to colored pencils is the detail it helps me to mimic.  Of course….I can get bogged down in the details.  When that happens I force myself to work on a different portion….preferably in a different color. 

Marker Review…..2nd Edition

I did my first Marker Review in July of 2010.  Wow!  Over two years ago.  People are very curious about the markers I use.  Here’s the current run down.

1. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen: many different colors, permanent, different nibs.  I always buy the B (brush) nib.
2. Bic Mark-It Ultra-fine point: inexpensive, good variety of colors, permanent.
3. Sharpie Ultra-fine point: inexpensive, good color variety, permanent.
4. Sharpie Poster Paints: I only use the water soluble.  Different sizes.  Limited color selection
5. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen:  Black comes in XS, S, F, M ,B nibs, permanent. 
6. ProMarker & Copic multi-liner .05 grey: I’ll use the grey for outlining graphite sketches.
7. Sakura Pigma Micron: many colors, many nibs, permanent.
8. Gelly Rolls: Lots of color, permanent….long dry time.
9. Sharpie Fine Point: inexpensive, broad nib 
10. Marvy LePlume: variety of colors, each end is a pen (brush or fine point) water soluble.
11. Bic Mark-Its Fine Point: inexpensive, broad nib

#1- love these….but sometimes they don’t apply as evenly as my ultra-fine sharpies. It’s always a trade-off 




My top 3 marker types.  The funny thing is ya gotta use all of them….cuz if I’m doing a gradient green series, each green from each label will vary a bit in color.  The variety comes in handy.



99.9% of my outlining is done with these. The Faber-Castell blacks many nibs. I use the XS most. 



These are absolutely perfect for color application on top of the markers.  I use my white one the most.



These three are much neglected and ignored.  I rarely grab any of these.  I don’t like the thicker nib and the LePlume’s are water soluble….they run.



Make sure you grab the “ultra-fine”.  Can’t beat the price.  Places like Staples will sell these individually.



I rarely use these gelly rolls.  They take awhile to dry and when I’m working on the go, I can’t let them air dry as long as I’d like.  I also have a tendency to rub my writing hand into the already applied ink.  Not pretty.



If…I’m needing skin-tone I really like these.  Less expensive than the Copic series and they apply very even.
Well, I hope this helps and it’s not too confusing,  You’ve got to experiment and see what works for you and your project.  We are such creatures of habit.  But it’s so nice to learn about and get new stuff.  Happy doodling !

Hand Jeans….one

After all the wrapping and unwrapping and the going…going….going.   I needed to re-group with colored pencils.  I’m a bit bummed that I’m stuck on water interpretation so I’ve had to put my Fly color-sketch on hold until someone smarter than me can help.



I’ve been wanting to sketch BIG.  Like on a Big….Piece….Of …..Paper.  The dimensions here are 22x30, a definite challenge.



I like doing a watercolor base to my color-sketches.  It saves time.



Back to the hand!  What is it about hands?  I either love ‘em or hate ‘em.  There is no in between.  Possibly there is so much going on with them, that I either get it or I don’t.  We’ll see.