Water You Waiting For?

I’ve made a vow. A difficult vow.

A vow I’ll likely break the next time I step into an art supply store.

Dammit.

I vowed to only use the art supplies I already have…and RESIST *cries* giving in to temptation should I step into a Michael’s..or Flax…or peruse on the Blick’s site…

Which leads me to the set of watercolors I’ve, sometimes, put aside in favor of my markers. For the past few weeks I’ve come back to them and even bought a new watercolor pad.

Used a coupon at Michael’s. A justified purchase.

OK that didn’t count – I NEEDED that pad to use my watercolors!

Also – during the past two weeks, a pal and I gave ourselves themes to work on for our future art table adventures. So it was killing two birds with one stone for me.

A few weeks ago – we made ourselves draw Pokemon. Easy enough? Eh…a bit of a challenge when it’s something I don’t normally draw. But it was good practice all the same!

The cute route is a family-friendly route, right?

Week after – a Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki week – because…face it, those characters are forever.

When in doubt…TOTORO.

Chibi Totoro: NOPE

I want to say I’m improving, and I think I am. All I can say, it’s just fun. I like to think of this set of watercolors as having an unlimited palette of water-based markers.

Of course – my only gripe is the bit of waiting in between laying down color to dry. Otherwise – I love the blending and layering.

Next: Ren Eboshi

The Good: I’m putting mileage on this watercolor set. I’m seeing some improvements – aka – I’m a bit more patient between color applications.

The Bad: It’s got me looking at watercolor supplies which I…don’t…don’t…need! But WANT!

Is there a watercolor set or brand you favor?

Follow along my watercoloring adventures on my Twitter and Instagram!

 

Doing it Digitally Pt 2

You might have remembered a few months back that I got a new laptop (or laplet, or tabtop, whichever the Surface Pro is categorized) AND I also got Manga Studio.

You may also remember how willy nilly I went trying to figure out how to draw with the software.

E for EFFORT! Or E for Eww.

But Manga Studio and I are slowly becoming chums. We’ll probably texting each other wacky gifs sometime soon if it goes any further.

The tips and tutorials have been super helpful. And, as with any activity – the more I drew with it, the better I saw my drawings improve. And did I mention VECTOR LAYERS ARE WONDROUS?! They’re quite a gift to a messy scribbler like me.

Behold!

No one must know about the flask of booze hidden in this book

Not too bad a job, methinks. But then there’s the shading part – which , in some tutorials seems to work perfectly for more manga styles. I’ve tried them a few times but I wasn’t feeling it.

So – more toying around it was.

He’s smiling until he’s forced into a life of crammed living conditions and non-stop battles.

Ah yes, not perfect, but it’s much better for this style.

Though – admittedly, my biggest weakness in drawing and coloring in Manga/Clip Studio is creating something on the fly. That is – if you follow my Instagram or Tumblr – you’ll notice these images I’ve drawn before with traditional media. It really does help me to have a guide to draw over.

So, like many other artists – my creative process using this software will always involve using good ol’ pencil and paper.

Speaking of re-drawing my doodles..

New Fallout 4 mod, didn’t you hear?

Not only did I re-draw this guy, but I even tried to mimic the Vault Boy image where he’s in that circle. And more shading!

Patting myself on the back, but still, I need much more practice.  Not too bad an effort, yeah?

Do you prefer drawing with art software or traditional media? Or both?

Want to see more of my digital and traditional doodles? Come chat with me on Twitter or Instagram!