A 365 day art project… one drawing a day
A quickly done sketch. Sorry for the late post, I didn’t get it in before midnight. I’ll do a more detailed one tonight. Busy busy busy right now with work, and it’s getting harder to make myself keep up!
Just playing around with an idea Katie gave me.
This is my second attempt at my neighbor’s dog… she made me the beautiful pencil holder, remember? And I’m painting her dog in exchange. It is much better than my first attempt, but still looks very little like her, and certainly captures none of her personality. I AM learning things each time, though, so while it frustrates me not to be able to paint what I feel and see, I do see progress with each attempt, and at this point that is more important anyway.
I think it is a decent dog. But a sad Reilly.
I purchased a big sheet of quality 300 pound paper to try for this project, and am using Daniel Smith and Qor paints. And two sable brushes (So my supplies ARE NOT the problem, not even a little) In spite of my disappointment in this attempt, and the exhaustion I feel now, the tools are all a pleasure to work with! And they make me want to try again. Plus, attempt two is so much improved over attempt one, maybe tomorrow I’ll love my result!
My eyeballs are blurring inside my brain, I feel like one may have come lose is swimming around in there, so I’ll come back to this. 🙂
Just a little playing around tonight to see some of the Qor colors. I love them. So vivid. Such interesting flow and movement on the paper. Nothing beats the lightfast ratings of the Daniel Smiths, of course, or the quality of the pigments. But the Qor are good, and fun to play with.
Here is a link to the Qor High Chroma Set on Amazon, currently $21.36
So… I’m on the search for alcohol markers, remember? Thinking… “oh, Copic is way too expensive, so let’s see what’s out there.” CRAP. That’s what’s out there. I tried “Dual Tip Artist’s Markers.” I didn’t expect a lot from these markers, heck they didn’t even give them a real name, but I’d read pretty decent reviews about them. I paid $28 for this $40 set… DON’T DO IT. $28… seemed like a deal. That’s equal to about 3 Copic markers. Unless I could be patient enough to purchase them one at a time when Michaels has 50% off coupons, right? Then it’s 6 or 7. SIX OR SEVEN. 24 seemed like a better deal, but it isn’t.
(Regarding the 6 or 7 Copics I COULD have purchased… One of my problems is I can’t figure out which of the 358 colors I really need most. THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT. Seriously?? How can there be 358 colors? Decisions are not my forte. I have like, what… six different paint palettes?? Probably 8 different watercolor sets. I’m reading three different books. I can’t even handle a restaurant that serves both seafood AND burgers, it’s too many choices. So 358 colors is out of my realm of decision making. I want a pre-decided set.)
They do look rather fetching. Don’t be taken in, though. Having first used better ones, maybe I’ve spoiled myself for anything less?
This set has 24 colors but there is no rhyme or reason to them. Â They don’t make a cohesive set at all. The brush tip feels pretty nice… some of the bullet tips feel better than others, but all are too broad. The color selection is pathetic even by my standards, and two are already dried up (I did watch a video last night, though, that told me how to correct that!) And… the colors don’t inspire me at all. Even the blender marker seems useless, but I am unfamiliar with blender markers. It doesn’t seem to blend… as much as just remove the top layer.
I wouldn’t even recommend these for coloring. They don’t layer well, don’t have a narrow enough tip on either end for small areas, and don’t have nice colors. They DO feel nice in your hand, and they have a nice box. If you can’t afford better… get Crayola. I know for a fact they are better markers, though they aren’t alcohol markers. Or be patient and buy one Copic at a time. If you CAN afford better, but not copic-better, try the spectrum noir illustrator sets Michaels sells. With the 50% off coupon they are a decent deal. (I think maybe I paid $12 for a set of five or six? a while back?) They aren’t perfect, but the ink and the tips are both nice.
My lesson? No more cheap brands. (Until the next time, anyway. Do as I say and not as I do.) By the way, if you did the math, for the price of this complete crap set, I could have gotten two more Illustrator sets from Michaels, with coupons.
I wouldn’t have known how much I prefer them, though, so maybe it’s worth it.
Woo-hoo!! Stuff. Lots of little stuff. No art created today, but lots of time spent watching painty how-to videos, and organizing my palette (adding my new Qor high chromos set in) Â I get a monthly subscription box from ArtSnacks, and they had some of the past month’s boxes half price, and free shipping. I ordered three, giving me a paint brush and some watercolor pencils I was interested in trying, and a full sized Qor paint tube, all less than retail price, plus all the other items basically free.
No time to do more than organize my palette, though (and swatch the paints out)… I’m inordinately slow at that. I removed the piece that holds the paint pans and put magnets on the bottom of the pans, fitting 39 pans instead of 24. All the Daniel Smiths and all the Qor paints (which I’m really looking forward to trying out!) I’m not sure I really like the palette box without its insert. But I do like having all the paints in it and also like being able to remove a few to use on a project. I have my eye on a big ceramic palette pan that stays out on the table. (How many palettes do I need to try??)
Some nice tools here I’m interested in using!
I want a set of alcohol markers, but they are so expensive that I thought I’d try a few different inexpensive types before I invest a lot of money. (or… instead of investing a lot of money?) I already have a few copics which I love but are way too expensive for the amount I’ll be using them, I think. Two days ago I posted a picture using the Spectrum Noir Illustrator markers… those are pretty nice. I don’t like the shape of the pen itself but everything else I liked. (It has hard edges) Plus you can get six pack sets at 40% to 50% off at Michaels with a coupon.
Yesterday I got a little set of “#coloring” markers by “art alternatives” from ebay… Â the 5 piece set was $7. I almost ordered another set as well, and now am glad I didn’t. The listing said New… either these are used, or they are crap. Or… both. Frankly if the nibs disintegrate like this while there’s still ink in them, new or used I can’t recommend them.
I liked a lot about them, but the brush tip texture is a deal breaker. The ink is nice, and the markers are a great size and shape for holding. They are dual tipped with a bullet end and a brush end (I really prefer a brush tip on my markers, as opposed to a chisel tip) They are round, and slim for an alcohol marker, but even round they won’t roll off a surface because of a little raised bit extending from the lids. They feel nice to hold.
I had planned to try a picture using only the markers, but I ended up adding some tombow water based marker again, and watercolor pencil as well. (just because of a lack of colors) The black is a copic marker.
Because I like the ink anyway, and the colors, I think I will use them, but I definitely won’t add to the set. The brush end just separates almost immediately to a thick broad smooshy mess, leaving it impossible to do any crisp lettering, so you can have a thick line or thin but nothing in between.
I’m proud of this one, even if Angela Fehr had to show me the techniques. She was exploring Qor watercolors (pronounce it “core”, made by Golden) and demonstrating some of their more interesting properties. When the Qor paints touch water on the paper, the unique binder they use causes the paint to quickly feather out into the water, little tendrils of color spreading out like tiny rivers on a map. It’s very cool to experience, and even Daniel Smiths don’t react exactly that way. I received a free set of three small Qor tubes recently and had one of the colors she was using. I found adding a Qor paint to a Daniel Smith, I still get that reaction. So of course I ordered the Qor High Chroma set of paints she was demonstrating. (try the link!!) I mean, really… I kind of had to once I saw how interesting their response was.
You may be able to see some of the texture added on the foliage area by using plastic wrap on the first layer as it dried!
Very happy with this one.
Playing around with alcohol markers, watercolor markers (Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers), a Japanese brush pen, and a few Caran d’Ache museum aquarelle watercolor pencils. (I’ve decided these pencils should be in every artist’s toolbox!!!) I really enjoyed mixing all these different tools.
The mermaid markers act like a water brush, but filled with dye-based, water-reactive color. They are very different from a marker, bright and vivid, but require a little practice in handling. Still not sure how I feel about them. Prices are all over the place… I linked the best price I could scrounge on Amazon. Look around before you settle on a price. Once they are empty, I can use them as a water brush or refill with ink, I think.
I have only three Copic markers, and used one, and several less expensive “Illustrator by Spectrum Noir” markers. The crisp edges of the spectrum noir markers themselves, which keep them conveniently from rolling off the table and make them stack nicely, bothered my fingers after a few minutes of coloring, but I liked the way the ink and tip felt. The colors got a bit muddied but they all blended well even without a blending marker and I like the result. I think for my playing around purposes, inexpensive markers may be as good as copics, which I’ve been holding out for, so I think I’ll invest a few dollars in a cheap set. (I found a no-name set of 24 which cost nearly the same as the 3 Copics cost me) The ink of the spectrum noir did feather a bit after laying it down, but it didn’t bother me. In fact, I kind of like it. I think it is a result of more alcohol and less pigment in the cheaper markers. I’d pay extra, maybe, for excellent lightfast ratings, but from what I’ve read, markers are really very lightfast anyway, so that takes that worry off the table.
I added a few details with the museum aquarelles and really liked the way the pencils layered over the inks. You can barely see a little star shape here and there in the sky, but each time I go to make it brighter, I stop myself. They look better in person.
I can’t read the name of the japanese brush pen (It’s written in japanese!) and can’t even remember where I got it 😦 but it is a recent addition, and I really like it.
An artist in Virginia Beach does something similar, although his is a more interesting pattern. Looks like this newfie has been in the Color Run!
I think I may try some more newfie patterns.
ThreeSixFiveArt 