Festive and Naughty Reindeer

Here are some of the reindeer cards I mentioned in my previous post. I have relied on Posca Paint Pens for these illustrations but I also utilized metallic markers in Prismacolor Premier seventy five set. I wanted to give the impression that the deer enjoyed the festivities themselves, perhaps even taking it a bit too far. I wanted the look to be happy and goofy. I had seen other illustrations of deer with decorations in there antlers and thought that was a fun look so I started there.

This eventually lead to the idea of reindeer being naughty with their fun like a cat or dog knocking over the Christmas tree. I was inspired by a meme of a cat owner who had tied down their tree to cement blocks…

I am currently working remotely, so I created a digital image in Adobe Fresco, which I upload to Green Envelope to digitally send to my coworkers. The illustration is my first try at creating something in Fresco. The live brushes are quite a neat experience and help create images that look shockingly like traditional media. However, it did take me a while to figure out the controls.

I like Green Envelope. You can use their designs or your own, customize the envelope, even upload some music to the opening animation! It worked great and for sending something to my sons’ teachers as their school went full remote for the remainder of the year. I was even able to attach a Starbuck gift card!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Justine

A Very Belated Inktober Roundup

Unfortunately due to the move I was not able to finish Inktober this year. That is okay sometimes we fall short of our goals. What is important is to keep trying. Here is a round-up of what I did complete. I followed the official prompts for each day. I go into more detail on what the Inktober challenge is all about in my previous post.

Day Eight – Star – The Missing Pleiade.

The Missing Pleiade. Many cultures have the myth about the Pleiades star group that involves a lost star. So it is possible that additional star was once visible to the naked eye in ancient times. This is my personification of the missing star.

Day 9 – Precious – Little Lou and his Wagon

My son at the age of three in late October.

Day 10 – Flowing – Waterfall

A quick lunch break doodle of a waterfall.

Day 11 – Cruel – Death

A female personification of death. I wanted to represent her as both supernatural and part of the natural order of life. Thus the forest background. There is no life without death.

Day 12 – Whale – Sky Whale

A fun little white ink sketch on black paper.

Day 13 – Guarded – Mamma

A squirrel mom protects her brood.

Day 14 – Clock- White Rabbit

One more quicky I did from the hotel we stayed at while apartment shopping.

Day 15 – Weak- Death Head Hawk Moth.

We often think of insects as frail or weak but they have more strength than we give them credit for.

Well, that is far as I got. How did your Inktober go?

Hello Inktober! Week One

There are now dozens of monthly art challenges out there in social media land but Inktober is likely the most popular with over a million posts within the first four days on Instagram alone. Inktober was started by artist Jake Parker to help him develop better daily drawing habits. I am a big fan of this challenge because I love Jake Parker’s art but also it is a timely challenge for me. Fall is my busiest time of year at work. I tend to let my daily practice fall to the side during the month of September. Inktober is a great opportunity to re-engage with my favorite hobby.

1 MILLION INKTOBER 2018 INSTAGRAM POSTS!
In 4 days!
You artists are amazing! Thanks for taking on the challenge this year!#inktober #inktober2018 pic.twitter.com/QyTBCMc2hk

— Inktober (@inktober) October 4, 2018

The rules are rather simple: make a drawing in ink, post it with the #inktober, and repeat. Jake Parker creates an optional prompt list every year as well.

To be quite honest I am not likely to complete 31 drawings this year. My family and I will be relocating to a new city at the end of the month. But, I am certainly going to give it a try.

Here is my first week:

Day One: Poisonous

-Poison Ivy on an Old Oak- Nib pen and fine liners.

Day Two: Tranquil

-A Lonely Tree on the Maine Shoreline – Nib pen, Copic neutral gray set, and gel pen

Day Three: Roasted

-Camp Fire – Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

Day Four: Spell

-The Red Witch- India Ink w/ dip pen, Sumi Ink w/ brush, Marker, and Watercolor

Day Five: Chicken

-I Love Mama!- Nib pen and Sharpie

Day Six: Drooling

-The Witch’s Cat Dreams- of Gold Fish- Nib pen and Markers

Day Seven: Exhausted

-The Night Rider- Fineliner and Marker

How is your Inktober going?

Happy Art Journey,

Justine

December ArtSnacks Review

I received the December ArtSnacks box last week. ArtSnacks is a subscription service that sends you a surprise box of art supplies each month. The cost for a monthly subscription is $24. However, there is a discount for signing up for six and twelve-month subscriptions. I continue to enjoy everything I get from this subscription service. It is a nice little surprise in my mail box each month. Kind of like a mini adult Christmas for art supply lovers. I think this would make a lovely gift for a teen artist, a novice, or hobby artist that want to try new media.

December ArtSnacks Contents

Grumbacher Mixmedia Paper Sample

This month came with a super thin and long Grumbacher multimedia paper sample so I took advantage of that to make a few Holiday bookmarks for friends. The paper is excellent for ink and color pencil. I would not expose it to much wetness it will buckle with anything other than a very light wash.

Bruynzeel Expression Colored Pencils Set

These are soft and very pigmented color pencils. I do like having an extra little pack of something to swap in and out of my mobile art kit. However, I am not going to run out and buy more of these. They don’t mesh well with my preferred color pencil style which is to blend via burnishing. Burnishing involves adding multiple layers of pencil until the tooth of the paper is no longer visible. I prefer Faber-Castell for this. Bruynzeel have the same issue as Prismacolor pencils as it does not take much burnishing before that icky wax bloom starts to appear. But, I am not really a color pencil person so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I find the art form to be very time-consuming. I am always impressed with color pencil work because a single piece can be days of work.

KRINK K-32 Acrylic Paint Marker

I use piant markers for my zodiac art often and I wish I would have tried KRINK sooner. They are great. The paint is water based acrylic so it lacks the smell you get with oil-based markers. The paint lays down smoothly, is very opaque, has instense color, and covers well.

Caran d’Ache Metallic Gold Fibralo Marker and Pentel Slicci Gel Pen

Caran d’Ache Metallic Gold Fibralo Marker is an awesome metallic marker with a natural gold hue to it. Sometimes gold can be overly yellow but this is fine. I think this would make a lovely marker for filling out gift tags as it is a fine tip. The Pentel Slicci Gel Pen is an ultra fine gel pen. I am not big into gel pens so I don’t have much of an opinion on it. But, it would also be a nice addition to gift tag and cards.

Happy Art Journey,

Justine