Transformation - Part 2

After the TN dried and after getting what I needed to continue, I finally got started. I made a vector drawing of what I wanted to do on Inkscape and when I was done there, I worked on it further with Gimp in order to get the right size for printing.

This is when I realised that my printer wouldn't work... I wanted to print a stencil but it just wouldn't let me.

So because my design is mainly concentric circles, I decided to go old school and unearthed my very basic and limited geometry drawing skills and drew the sketch directly on the cover. Of course, the pencil I was using didn't mark the leather all that well and I had to tweak some of my tools... I got out a Frixion pen, did a test to make sure I could delete the marks afterwards (I could) and got started.

Once I was done with the initial sketch, I took out my alcohol-based markers. I know this is not the traditional tool to use when applying colour on leather, but I had some great results on the bookmark I did with a Deadpool design so I thought I would give it another go on a bigger project.

I started colouring the main sketch (concentric circles) and it looked good. Then I coloured the background completely with a blue Edding marker. And this didn't look good at all... I was really disappointed although I did expect it might do something like that. I had colouring marks everywhere... This is definitely one of my pet peeves when using markers, despite the fact that I love working with them...

I waited a while for the original colouring to dry and I went through it again with my marker and to my surprise, the marks were less pronounced the second time around!

I have to say though that the marker I used for the design is different from the marker I used for the background. For the design, I used a red marker from the brand Graph'It.

I already have 2 shades of grey of the same brand and I love them. Unfortunately, I cannot find them in shops in Germany so whenever I go to France, I make sure to get a few markers before leaving! They are really good and almost half the price of the Copic pens. I don't know how they compare with Copic pens in terms of quality but I really like the Graph'It ones.

The marker I used for the background is a blue Edding pen that is available pretty much everywhere and it feels maybe a bit less 'juicy' than the Graph'It pen but it is still very good.

This morning, I went over the cover a third time and the marks are still there, although less pronounced than after the second go.

One thing I noticed, which should be obvious, is that the cover feels more rigid or at least drier than it did before I started this project. But this is hardly surprising since the alcohol contained in the pens will have contributed to the drying of the leather.

And here is the finished (for now!) product:

I will wait a little while before moving ahead. I'm still not sure whether it needs one more layer of markers or whether I can just leave it as it is and add some product to soften the leather. I could also give it a vintage feel as well and it would take the emphasis away from the marks. Decisions, decisions...

Catching up on the #29faces challenge!

I am way behind on updating the blog and I am missing days 20 to 22, so here they are:

Day 20:

Day 21:

Day 22:

Days 18 and 19: #29faces challenge

Here are my offerings for days 18 and 19 of the #29faces challenge:

Spontaneous fountain pen drawing

Gimp and Inkscape collaboration

Lucha Libre

I recently went through a period of stress, anxiety, anger and frustration and a friend of mine found a way to inspire me and make me see things in a more positive way. I need to take my life in my hands and be as fearless as a fighter in the legendary Lucha Libre... So I present to you... La Pequeña Muerte!!!!

Of course, every seasoned fighter needs a manager and La Pequeña Muerte is no different than the others. I present you, this time, her manager extraordinaire... Jaime Guapo!!!!

Time to get in the ring and exert my revenge...

Photograph borrowed from the Huffington Post and doctored by me.

Electronic Art

While I was looking for the best way to colour my drawings and failing miserably to find the right markers, I spoke with a fellow artist (Facebook page and shop) who does a lot of electronic art using Adobe Photoshop. After looking at his wonderful designs and getting a few tips, I opened my Photoshop wannabes (Gimp and Inkscape) and watched a few tutorials online and got started. It's worth noting that both Gimp and Inkscape combined are a very good replacement for Photoshop. It's not Photoshop, but it's still very close and you can still do some really good designs with it.

At the time, I was obsessed with (recapturing my youth) the imagery of My Little Pony (or MLP for the Bronies out there) and I started designing a few ponies of my own.

Pagan Pony

Hippy Pony

Punk Pony

With time, I managed to get the hang of it although I still, for the life of me, can't manage to do some decent shading work so for now, it's going to be bold two-dimensional designs.

I have phases when I'm all about electronic art and other times when I go back to being 'old-school' and feel contented with just using pen and paper.

Here are a few non-MLP electronic drawings:

I love skulls and crochet, so why not both?

Done as a way to motivate my daughter to eat more veggies!

My ever present raven