Chibi Bilbo Baggins

Today I'd like to share a chibi I drew for myself, as a response to an art challenge posted by my friend on my message board back in April 2017.  The challenge was to draw something from one's first anime.  When I thought very hard about it, I realized that, technically, my first anime was The Hobbit!  Although it is a Rankin/Bass film, the animation was done by what would eventually become Studio Ghibli.  So, to complete the challenge, I drew the cutest Bilbo Baggins I could!

"Chibi Bilbo"
ink and Manga Studio, 4x5"
Completed 9 February 2018

I've always loved the incredibly unique art style of the animated The Hobbit adaptation (as well as that of its sequel, The Return of the King).  It was very fun to take that amazing style and process it through my own chibi style to come up with this super cute Bilbo!  I started by finding a good reference image from the movie and then began sketching.

Completed sketch.

I used my Plumchester sketchbook to draw this piece and the sketch was done with a simple mechanical pencil.  Interestingly, I didn't move directly onto inking.  For whatever reason, I forgot about the project entirely until my friend posted his completed challenge drawing a week later XD

Erasing pencil.

Completed inking.

I used my Sakura Micron pens to ink.  I may have used a small brush pen of a different brand as well, but I honestly can't remember anymore, lol.  I cleaned it up and got it scanned in and digitized for coloring on my PC but, again, for whatever reason, I totally forgot about the project and didn't start coloring it until nine months later!!

My digital working environment with reference and color swatches.

What got me to finally pick this project back up was my need for digital work to do during the months when I was in-between homes earlier this year.  I was extremely fortunate to be in a place where I could stream art on Twitch despite my awkward situation, but digital was MUCH easier to do since I had a rather small workspace.  That's how I dug this file back up and finished it off!  You can watch the whole thing happen in the video below!

The coloring of Chibi Bilbo in real time.

So there we have it!  Took nearly a year but I finally completed my friend's art challenge XD  I'm really happy with this chibi, it reminds me just how much I truly love that awesome, unique art style from Rankin/Bass's version of The Hobbit~

Copic Colors - February 2018

Last month, I heard of a cool new monthly art challenge that is right up my alley: #CopicColors!  Obviously, it involves Copic art markers but in particular, it challenges people to create/color a drawing using nothing but the three featured colors of that month.  The colors are posted on Copic's website and they sell a three-pack of those colors for a limited time each month.  I LOVE my Copic markers, so there was no way I wasn't participating once I learned of this!  I even added it to my livestreaming schedule; I now do my monthly Copic Colors drawing every third Monday of the month :D

Pencil sketch and marker test.

Since this was my first time doing the challenge, I had to decide on my personal completion rules.  Turns out, there aren't any official rules at all, just the announcement of the three colors each month.  A lot of people approach the challenge in different ways--some use NOTHING but the markers, some allow the addition of the colorless blender, some only use a couple colors, and I've even seen some people add a contrast color for effect.  Here's what I decided to use as my personal rules:

• Black and white ink are allowed, as well as graphite and eraser for underdrawing.
• All three colors must be used.
• No other colors may be used.
• Colorless blender is allowed.

And finally, most important for me:

• Colors can be substituted as necessary.

You see, for my very first Copic Colors challenge, one of the featured colors isn't available in the Classic line of markers, which is the set I own!  There's no way I'm buying markers from a different set just to do this challenge, so I decided that I can choose the next best color from my set when a color isn't available.  (Of course, if the color is available in a Classic marker but I just don't own it, I will happily expand my collection!)

Lineart, on marker paper, made using a brush pen.

Since the colors for February were pink and brown, I decided to draw chocolate-covered strawberries :3 I even found reference images that had pink-tinted white chocolate along with the dark chocolate, so it was too perfect.  I decided to use marker paper, and that was for two reasons: 1) c'mon, marker challenge, marker paper! and 2) the paper is translucent which allows me to trace my sketch.  I used a black brush pen for the main lines.  Even though I was also allowing myself to use white ink, the sheen on the chocolate areas wasn't very strong, so I only used it on the white heart sprinkles.  I tried to use my colorless blender marker, most especially to get a nice variation of tone from the single brown marker, but it totally died midway through the project!  You can see the difference in the final piece: the left-most berry is so much more smooth and blended than the center and right.

You can watch the entire creation of this piece on YouTube!  As I mentioned earlier, I added it to my livestreaming schedule, so my Twitch stream recorded it all in real time :D

Copic Colors Challenge, February 2018, ink & marker

I think, for my very first try and considering that I had to substitute one of the three colors, my February Copic Colors drawing came out nice!  If my colorless blender had survived the project, I would be more happy with the brown application, but I made do with what I had.  It was just an extra challenging challenge, this time!

(P.S. I bought a refill and brought my blender back to life right away, lol.  Should be good to go for a long while, now!)

Lucky Dip III

Although I haven't yet shared my second lucky dip drawing, I'm going to go ahead with sharing my third one.  This is because the second drawing is currently packed away!  When I packed up my art studio to move, I figured I wouldn't need that piece before I got all unpacked.  Clearly, I was wrong XD  I don't want to get behind on posting my art, so that's why I'm sharing my third Lucky Dip today.  I'll catch up on number two once I'm unpacked and set up in my new studio.

These are the art supplies I had to use this time.

As with all my lucky dips, I use a spreadsheet that lists all my art subscription box supplies and RANDOM.ORG to decide which items I'll use.  I always pull five different numbers, no more or less, though a single item on my spreadsheet might actually contain more than one thing.  That's what happened this time when I drew number 48, the PanPastel set.  This set alone contains five different pastel colors and four different smudging tools, all in one compact unit.  I consider it one item, which is why, even if I had drawn its number first rather than last, I still would have chosen four more numbers.

For reference, here are the other rules I set myself for these challenges:

• A pencil for underdrawing is allowed, but all marks must eventually be covered/erased.
• Extra tools such as paintbrushes, blenders, and erasers are allowed.
• Substrate can be selected freely, based on appropriate use of the Lucky Dip items.
• Final piece must clearly show use of all Lucky Dip items.

My tools and selected paper.

Since the pastel set had so many different colors to use (and my rules require me to use them all) I decided to go with pastel paper as my surface.  Pastel paper isn't great for markers, but it works fine with all the other tools I needed to use.  It turned out that the marker would have done poorly regardless of what it was used on...but more on that later.  I have various colors of pastel paper I could have used, but since I had so much color to work with anyway, I chose a white sheet.

Lucky dip plans! This was a good idea; donno why I didn't do it sooner XD

This lucky dip is kind of unique in that I pulled the numbers and sketched out my ideas a year or two before I actually started creating the piece.  This is another one of my many projects where I felt overwhelmed by all the little things I needed to do in order to follow through properly.  I was already two blogs behind, I didn't really enjoy creating my second lucky dip piece, and even though I sought to make things easier on myself by planning ahead instead of deciding on-the-fly how to use each of the materials, I just sort of dropped it after the sketching stage.

Lucky for the project (the lucky Lucky Dip project XD) I decided to try livestreaming my art on Twitch this year.  I'd never livestreamed anything before, or even posted videos of my art, but I knew I wanted to go in with a schedule and a plan.  I had first learned of lucky dips thanks to YouTube videos, so it quickly came to mind and I actually ended up scheduling it as my very first livestream.  You can watch it on YouTube now, to see the entire creation of Lucky Dip III from start to finish:

All done! This dragon looks glorious! Table's a wreck XD

It felt really good to do this lucky dip.  I had enjoyed my time working on the first one, but the second one felt like I was fighting with it the entire time, so I was a little worried about that happening again this time, especially since it was going to be broadcast live.  I did some deep breathing before I hit the start button on my streaming software XD  Once I got started though, none of my worries came to pass.  Everything went smoothly and the final piece turned out even better than I imagined!  This piece restored my confidence in the Lucky Dip project.

RIP Touch Twin Marker in Marigold

The one real hitch in this lucky dip was the Touch Twin Marker.  It was an item I received in my second ArtSnacks box, back in April 2014, nearly four years ago.  I only used it a few times before this lucky dip, but despite being properly capped and stored, it was almost completely dry when I used it here.  It had enough left to do what I originally intended--give the dragon its undertone--but I knew I would have to retire it after this.  I took one last photo before tossing it XD

Ink, marker, pastel, and white charcoal, 9x12", completed January 2018

I'm really glad I came back to this project, even though it took me so long.  The lucky dip idea--randomly drawing a limited selection of tools and then using them all together in one piece--is a great way to force myself to think outside the box, to use tools that I've spent money on but generally don't consider, and to liven up my video channels and blog with interesting content that you all can come to expect from me on a regular basis.  I hope you enjoyed this lucky dip and that you'll continue to look forward to them in the future!

Chibi Sean - Black Bear

A lot of, "Wow, finally!" with this drawing!  For one, this was the first piece I completed this year, in the very first week of January, and yet I'm only posting it now, in the last week of February XD  For two, and much more impressive, this is the second in a series of chibis that I started way the heck back in 2008!  It's been practically a decade between my first entry and my second entry (⊙_⊙)  Hopefully, I'll be able to complete more before another ten years goes by!

I sketched the rough lines on paper, drawing the bear, staff, and Sean separately.
I then combined the sketches in Photoshop.

I'm actually quite sure I will have more to add to this series before the end of 2018.  I've decided to follow up the "birthday person's favorite animal ACEO" theme that I did in December 2017 with a new theme for the entire year: fantasy chibi birthday person!  The most basic idea for this series of chibis was thought up by my friend Trent ("draw your friends as chibis") and I decided back then to draw everyone as a sort of fantasy RPG-type character riding on the chibi animal that I felt fit them.  So the first chibi I did, way back in 2008, featured Trent riding a black horse.  I truly intended to make more, even thought of a couple more friends' outfits and animal mounts, but at the time, the first chibi had been one of the hardest projects I'd ever done (and I think that's why the drawing still holds up quite well today).  I think I burned myself out and that's why it took me so long to come back to this project.

Final lines completed in Photoshop. It was my first use of Lazy Nezumi Pro.
I left the areas under the visors intentionally light or blank.

So here we have my husband, Sean, whose birthday is the first one of the year on my list.  He really likes tabletop gaming and one of his favorites is Shadowrun, a sort of cyberpunk magical world based in Seattle, WA (or at least, that's how his explanations make it seem to me).  Using that as the basis for what kind of fantasy character he should be, I designed all the armor and the background to match.  I decided on a black bear as his mount because Sean is like a big, cuddly bear in real life.  I considered other bears--brown bear, polar bear--but the black bear's general reputation (or really, its lack thereof--grizzlies are known as ferocious, polar bears make people think of the environment) fit Sean the best.

Photoshop and Lazy Nezumi Pro, 6x8", Completed January 2018
Available for purchase as a print or art merchandise here!

I really surprised myself with how quickly I was able to complete this piece.  I didn't time myself when I created the first chibi in the series but I'm sure I didn't get it done as quickly as this one.  I finished with enough time to print, dry, trim, and frame it before Sean's birthday!  It's probably for the best that it took me so long to try making more fantasy chibis; there's no way I'll burn out now with my current level of skill and experience (^^)  Here's hoping the rest of the chibis I intend to draw for birthday people this year are just as quick and easy so that busy birthday months aren't tough to manage!

Christmas Kenshi

Ink and marker on marker paper, with Photoshop, approximately 7x8", completed December 2017

In the midst of creating over a dozen ACEO cats for Christmas gifts in December 2017, I also wanted to get back into designing my own Christmas cards. I had been far too busy in 2016, which meant I skipped Christmas cards entirely that year (I didn't make my own cards in 2015 either, though at least I sent some premade ones). I didn't want that to become the norm--I love making and sending my own cards every year--so despite the heavy workload I already set myself, I took a break in the middle and spent a couple days drawing this. It's a picture of my dog, Kenshi, who passed on in February 2017. He was with me almost my entire adult life, save for the first year I moved out on my own (he stayed behind at my dad's house until I could find a place that allowed pets), so I decided to celebrate his memory with a peaceful depiction of him taking a nap 💙 I didn't want to be too sappy or bring down the mood around Christmastime, so that's why this is just a simple portrait. I wanted no one to know it had sad connotations unless they already knew Kenshi. Christmas is about joy and I want my memories of Kenshi to be the same.

Inked lines.

I was actually really surprised at myself when I began drawing this.  I used a photo of Kenshi napping on the couch as a reference and it was unusually easy for me to draw.  I had the pencil sketch and ink lines done in one single hour.  Maybe it's because I was so warmed up from drawing half a dozen kitties in the past couple weeks.  Whatever the reason, it felt good to get everything "right" without difficulty.

At the art meeting.

Final physical media.

On the second day, I started by coloring the piece with markers.  I used stencils to get a fun background without taking too much time (remember, this was meant to be made into Christmas cards and it was already mid-December, so I had to get it done quick!).  I had an art meeting with my sister that day, so I took the piece with me to get her opinion on it and she agreed with my thought that the background stood out too much and took attention away from Kenshi.  She helped me realize that I could use Photoshop to adjust that without risking the original drawing.

Adjustments and additions in Photoshop.

I toned down the background colors just enough to keep Kenshi the main focus of the piece and also used Photoshop to add some white highlights here and there.  As always, the white really made the image come to life.

Happy Kenshidays!

Finally, I used Photoshop to add text and crop the drawing to fit within the dimensions of a card.  I decided to write "Happy Kenshidays" to pull the whole thing together, thematically :3 I printed 30 cards on my professional inkjet printer and had them all filled out and mailed within the week.  Hopefully everyone who received one had their day brightened~!

You can purchase this piece here in a variety of formats, including greeting cards!

Lucky Dip I

A few years ago, I was really inspired by Ashley Picanco's Lucky Dip Videos on YouTube.  The idea of taking all my subscription box art supplies, putting them together, and randomly choosing just a few with which to make an art piece was super exciting!  When I started this blog, I realized I could do the same thing in my own way.  So in 2015, I set up my system and created my first Lucky Dip!

My first set of randomly selected supplies.

For my version of Lucky Dip, to make sure I chose as randomly as possible, I made a spreadsheet listing all of my subscription box supplies (at the time, I was subscribed to both ArtSnacks and the now defunct Pigment + Palette) and used RANDOM.ORG to generate five random numbers.  Those numbers pointed out which items from the spreadsheet I would use for my Lucky Dip.

My selected paper and random tools.

Test of each tool on the paper.

I wanted to give my Lucky Dip series a sense of structure, so I actually wrote down my own rules to follow, like a game.  If you want to start your own Lucky Dip journey, I do recommend making rules (or feel free to use mine!) because it makes the challenge that much more fun.  Working within the confines of your randomly selected tools and your predefined rules is actually one of the most exciting creative things you can do, in my opinion.  Creativity flourishes under restriction.

Here are my rules consolidated and typed out for future reference (and easy copying!)

• A pencil for underdrawing is allowed, but all marks must eventually be covered/erased.
• Extra tools such as paintbrushes, blenders, and erasers are allowed.
• Substrate can be selected freely, based on appropriate use of the Lucky Dip items.
• Final piece must clearly show use of all Lucky Dip items.

My ultimate goal when doing a Lucky Dip piece is to somehow get art supplies that I may otherwise never have thought to use together, to look as if they were chosen on purpose.

Underdrawing

Based on the colors I had to work with, I decided to draw a blue version of my favorite raptor: the peregrine falcon.  I found a reference image online and sketched it out with my usual pencil.

Copic Sketch Marker, BG57 Jasper

After sketching, I started with the lighter blue Copic marker.  I can't remember for sure, but this may have been my first time using marker-specific paper.  I do enjoy it and I've used it again for a different marker drawing.  It definitely gets to show its strengths more when you have access to a full range of markers, instead of just a few, though.

ZIG Fudebiyori Metallic Marker, Silver

Next I moved onto using the metallic ZIG marker.  It comes across more like a typical grey pigment unless you're in really good lighting and even then, the color seems more like it has a reflective sheen rather than being full-blown metallic.  It's a subtle marker :3

Kurecolor Fine & Brush for MANGA by ZIG, Navy

In the third stage, I started using the dark blue Kurecolor marker as well as the previous two markers to add dark areas and details all over the drawing.  The falcon really started coming to life.

Copic Multiliner, Black, 0.05

With the addition of ink details using the Copic Multiliner pen, the falcon itself was complete.  I may have called such a drawing done if I didn't have one more tool left to use.  I already knew what I wanted to do from the very beginning, which is why I saved it for last.

Sharpie Peel-Off China Marker, Red

I used the china marker at the end to add a wash of color in the background and to bring that color onto the body of the falcon, as if it were in the midst of a sunset.  This not only helped fill the page and give depth to the image, I think the blue and silver palette looked incomplete on its own.  I'm glad I had one warm color to balance it out with!

So there we have my very first attempt at a Lucky Dip art piece!  I was extremely pleased with the result and I had a ton of fun figuring out how to utilize all the randomly selected items together in a cohesive way.  I've already completed a second Lucky Dip piece and have two more sets of supplies selected for future entries!  I hope you'll look forward to those pieces and maybe even give Lucky Dip a try yourself.

Tomodachi Fest Commission - Chibi Gryphon

Ink and marker on index paper, 4x6", Completed December 2017

This piece was an original character commissioned by a client during Tomodachi Fest 2017 (the convention's last year and ironically my most successful artist alley there). I was asked to choose the two animals to make up the gryphon so I chose a harpy eagle and a black jaguar. The dark plumage and fur matched the gruesome appearance of the character (being blood soaked was a requirement) so that's why I chose those animals. I also designed the dress and am really pleased with the result! Note the repetitions of four throughout the character design--that was my addition, an homage to the Japanese superstition around the number four, because it is pronounced the same as "death".

Available for purchase in my deviantART Shop.

Here are my progress photos!

Basic inking complete.

Kiki loves to get all up in my work XD

Detailed inking complete.

Coloring complete.

Final details complete.

Inktober 2016/2017 - Day 10: JUMP

If my household hadn't been running late this evening, I wouldn't have had time to finish today's Inktober drawing.  It's nice to have a good excuse to put other stuff off (cooking dinner) and keep drawing!

The prompt for today was JUMP.  I went with my first instinct (as usual--one of the biggest things I've learned doing this challenge is that I can't spend time thinking up a unique or clever response, I just have to get started ASAP or there won't be time to finish in a single day) which was a human figure blissfully jumping.  This ended up being another instance where I impressed myself with how easily I was able to put on paper what I imagined in my mind.  The only area that gave me trouble was the face but even that was hardly anything compared to past attempts at drawing such an unusual and difficult angle.

Once again I simply based the figure on myself.  Another way to save time; if I try to draw someone original from imagination, it just takes me too long.  I didn't end up filling the page this time.  I would like to keep aiming for that goal, but it wasn't within reach today.  I couldn't think of anything to add and it took me too long to get this much done anyway.  I had a lot of fun drawing this, though.  Adding the final ink really made everything pop!

I hope I can keep this up throughout the month.  This exercise--drawing a fully-inked picture every day--has been teaching me so much about myself.  I feel like I'm slowly chipping away at something buried inside me, something like a key to unlock the doors to the next level of working as a full-time career artist.  I've been an artist my entire adult life, but this year, the first year I've spent working full-time as an artist, has in ways been like starting over from scratch.  Inktober is helping me learn better ways to accomplish my career goals...

Inktober 2016/2017 - Day 8: ROCK

This post is a day late but I was super lucky because today's drawing is the most unique of any I have done or will do for my Inktober 2016/2017 challenge!  This prompt response was already mostly done from last year.  I had gotten tired of it, took a break, and ended up never finishing it until now.  It felt like a huge chore to keep working on it back then, but having a year-long break made finishing this piece super fun and easy!

The lines that I finished in 2016 were all done with the Copic Multiliner from my ArtSnacks Inktober Collection.  I did all the background hatching last year, too.  What I added today was the super dark shading and textural detailing.  It was all done with the brush and ink from the Collection.  I tell you, it was SO fun to ink everything like that!  I really love using a brush to ink!  I didn't have to think hard about the shading, either.  I was just able to go along almost mindlessly.  Perhaps because I was already thinking of what I wanted to do when I worked on this picture last year; I had a whole year to mull it over (subconsciously).

In case you couldn't tell, the prompt was ROCK.  There are so many ways someone could interpret that word but, as is common for me, I just went with the first and most literal idea.  I think it turned out really great!  Reminds me of a manga background :D

If I hadn't already had this drawing mostly done already, I might have had to skip it entirely.  Getting any art done on the weekends is super tough for me!  How are you all holding out?  If you're having trouble keeping up, are you more of a skip-it-and-move-on type or a I-will-catch-up-somehow type?

Inktober 2016/2017 - Day 7: LOST

My goodness, am I in a hurry tonight.  I was honestly contemplating skipping today but when I saw the task on my list in Habitica, I just picked up my tools and got to work!

The Inktober 2016 prompt for the 7th was LOST so I drew a girl (very heavily based on yours truly; it's so much faster to just draw myself than to think up something new) in a panic over which way to go.  While I was drawing, I had the idea to include a compass that was spinning to add some story to the image (i.e. she has a compass but it's out of control so she has no idea where to go now).  It was a good way to add depth to my response without having do much extra work.

Of all my Inktober responses so far, this is the least detailed due to how little time I left myself to get it done.  But I'm extremely proud of myself for hunkering down and drawing SOMETHING, rather than giving up so soon.  My weekend drawings may have to be simple like this through the entire challenge, since I don't normally have time to draw on those days.

The first week of Inktober is almost done.  How is everyone doing so far?  Feel free to share your thoughts or drawings in the comments!