Been having a play with the video camera today and, as I’ve been asked often about my inking process I thought I’d put one or two inking demos together. This birdie was was doodled for that purpose, I’ll be putting the video up on youtube in a day or two, but here’s how he looked when I’d finished, I definately tipped my hat in Arthur Rackham’s direction for this (and make absolutely no apologies for it)… Happy weekend everyone!
I usually use a few different sized drawing pens to ink my work and aim at getting a ‘brush’ or ‘mapping nib’ look about it. Recently though, I’ve begun to play with mapping nibs and brushes to save time and save having to use three different sized tips (mostly a .005, .1 and .3 sized tip). I’ve also been playing with sepia ink, it gives a more organic look and feel to the organic nature of my drawings… I inked this one last night, very much in the Victorian book illustration vein (in case nobody’s noticed, Mr. Rackham is my hero…)….
So, at last I have a new website. I’ve spent the last few days on this and not much else, I’ve been wanting something a little more managable for quite a while and took time out of what I was doing to (finally) make sure I represented myself and my art properly. Here’s the link:
Feel free to let me know what you think….
I had a commission from the Official Corel Painter magazine a few months ago. It was a tutorial on how to produce an image in the style of the great Arthur Rackhma-digitally. I sketched the image on a piece of paper then scanned it in and inked it digitally (results here) then coloured it digitally also. I’m not sure if the finished ’dinks’ (digital inks?) look entirely natural, but it was a real challenge to try and get that look using my wacom tablet instead of my trusty inking pens. It was a great gig though, , I’d love more of this kind of work.
Before I start my day at the drawing board, I generally do something to warm up. It may be drawing something completely new, reworking something I’ve done previously that I may not be entirely happy with or inking up old sketches. Here are a couple of older images from my sketchbooks that have been inked over the past few days….
‘Granny’s Magic Slippers’- originally drawn a couple of years ago….
‘Broom Cupboard’- a reworking of an old drawing from a couple of years ago…
‘Paint Like Arthur Rackham’- Commission for The Official Corel Painter Magazine. This image was discarded in favour of a simpler image. It was drawn on paper, scanned in, then inked and painted using Corel PainterX. I’ve already posted the line art for this in an earlier post…
A very old drawing, recently redrawn for my own amusement….
A couple of recent illustrations for a children’s book about a very greedy bear…….
Also, as an extension to yesterday’s post, I’d heartily recommend the following links to some of my favourite illustrator’s work….Hope you enjoy it!
himmapaan.livejournal.com
www.david.wyatt.btinternet.co.uk
www.surlalunefairytales.com/illustrators/illustrators/rackham.html
I used to post a lot over at Deviantart:
Whilst I was there, I received a lot of questions about my inking techniques. These questions ranged from the usual “Where do you get your inspiration’ to ‘How do you do (such and such…). Here are a few things I’ve learnt along the pen and ink path…..
1) I’ve learnt so very much about the medium from looking at work by my favourite artists using pen and ink, among my favourites are: David Wyatt (illustrator-genius), Franklin Booth, Arthur Rackham, Chris Riddell, Charles Vess, Alan Lee and Mike Kaluta. Each has something uniquely different to say.
2) Trying out different techniques. Pen and ink is a beautiful medium and has a wide range of rendering techniques to offer. From cross hatching, to dotting techniques, every little nuance is worth exploring and many different effects can be achieved within a single image providing you’ve added them to your arsenal of expression.
3) A very popular question is “How do I get my own style”… There really is no short cut… ‘Repetition’, Just doing it over and over is the answer. A ‘style’, or ’Look’ comes with time. I don’t believe you can set out with a particulr style in mind. Whether you’re learning from the same source, copying diligently, you’ll develop your own ‘look’ after a certain amount of time… Even using different techniques, you’ll find that the eventual flavour will be uniquely your own. One thing I can definately say I’ve done consciously though, is that I’ve spent a long time trying to ‘clean up’ my lines over the years. This can be achieved by concentrating on ‘economy of lines’ and a good under-drawing. Sketchy, indefinate drawings produce sketchy indefinate line art.
4) When’s enough ‘enough’? This comes with practise. Heavy blacks and hatching can be overdone. Paying attention to negative areas as well as rendered areas is also very important. When learnig techniques from other artists, also bear in mind the ares they leave free. It’s about allowing ‘breathing space’ within an image.
5) What pens do I use? Another question I’m frequently asked. I’ve used really expensive Rotring pens with VERY fine tips, I’ve used dip pens and indian ink. For the last few years though, I’ve been using generic art store/ newsagent drawing pens. My favourite sized tips are: .1 .2 .3 and .5 for a wide variety of line width.
If anyone has any more questions not covered here: feel free to fire away.
Here are a couple of other recent B&W drawings….
I’ve also been trying out inking on the PC… Why? For sheer speed. Sometimes I get really busy and the error factor when working traditionally can be especially high when I’m feeling rushed, working digitally reduces the mistakes as there’s always an ‘edit’ button. Here are a couple of examples:
And Lauren, If you’re reading this, thanks sooo much for the lovely words on your DA page. I appreciate it. Stay in touch…
It’s been a hard week. Still getting over the Swine Flu and getting back on my feet with work. I’m currently in the middle of a children’s picture book (amongst many other things…)which is starting to take shape. I have four more illustrations to paint then I can call it done. I started it last July and have been beavering away at it in between other things. It’s been a lot of hard work but I’m very pleased with how it’s looking. I can’t of course, post what I’ve done here yet, but will in due course.
On top of that, I have a whole heap of other things on the go, more kids books and a couple of cover illustrations. Busybusybusy, but I’ll always find the time to do a warm-up drawing before I start work for the day. Today’s image is another little silhouette of an idea I have bubbling around in the grey matter upstairs. and here’s an illustration I did for The Corel Painter magazine earlier this year. This is the line art art before I finished the illustration by colouring it. It was a fantastic job. (digital- Corel PainterX)
I’ve been thinking about these ‘Blog’ thingies for the past couple of days and wondering why I’ve decided to carry on with one when I gave up the idea a fair while ago. As I search for a reason I find myself coming up with a lot of insight into what makes me tick. here’s the conclusion I came to:
I’m a very private person. Maybe that’s why I’m an artist, so I can get my unspoken thoughts and feelings down into some kind of coherent mass. I’ve never been one to find the right words in any given situation. I somehow often find myself looking back at an event, or a conversation and wish I’d said ‘this’ or ‘that’. I don’t think very well on the spot. My astrology chart points to many of the issues with a great deal of accuracy, I have the Sun, Mercury and Saturn all in Taurus, if anyone has any idea of astrology, the Taurean native is a plodder by nature, slow to think and to react, sooo, that covers that one- can’t help it. I find pictures a darn sight easier than dealing with a muddled brain confused by the intricacies of human emotions.
My rising sign is in Scorpio, so there’s the ‘privacy’ thing. But somehow, I feel the deep seated need to share with people, my art, my music, my passions, my experiences….. In comes venus and Mars (both in Gemini)… communicative, mercurial Gemini… This comes across in my life in a variety of ways (key word-’variety’). I have a low boredom threshold. I’ve dealt with this over the years by becoming lightning fast with my art. I’m slow and lazy to start up (Taurus), but very speedy with the execution of an idea (Gemini). (interestingly, I share my birthday with Salvador Dali- who also put his ideas across on canvas very quickly) -So I can seemingly do many types of art, play instruments, and pick up most other things with very little effort, but it has come at a price…. You’ll mostly find me at the back of the party, watching the comings and goings and the carryings-on of the peole around me. I’ve never felt entirely comfortable in a crowd, yet, strap my guitar to me, put me on a stage in front of hundreds of people and I’m in my element. Wierd right? Now I’m feeling a little uncomfortable, talking about myself so much here.
What’s this got to do with Blogs? I guess I had an issue with the whole ‘Blog’ thing because of all the things I listed above. I’ve read many blogs by other peole who can (and do) just about mention everything they did on any given day, everything that was said and what they had for breakfast.. How do these people do it? We’ve moved into an age where privacy isn’t what it used to be and honestly, I still feel pretty uncomfortable with the idea.
So I’ll go on blogging, maybe with a little to say, maybe with not much to say at all. But I will make sure I post some art, created to the best of my ability.
Here’s today’s drawing before I start working on a cover, some interior art and carry on with the five more paintings I have left for a picture book I’m working on. I’ll finish the first two and scribble away at the latter until it’s completed (which may take the better part of three weeks or so- picture books are very time consuming).
Line art-digital (PhotoshopCS3)
A little fellow and his trusty steed…..Most of the drawings I’m currently doing in my spare time have some kind of fairy theme running through them. I thoroughly enjoy depicting the little people. More of this kind of thing can be found on my new website:
Recent Arthur-Rackham-esque line art drawn digitally (Corel PainterX) for my ‘Paint Like Rackham’ tutorial in the Official Corel Painter Magazine- issue 29. This one was abandoned in favour of a simpler approach. See mag for finished illustration.
