ArtSnacks - Studio Collection 2014 (Part I)

Welcome to my unboxing of the 2014 ArtSnacks Studio Collection!  They said, "Something big is coming," and they weren't kidding!  This box was so huge that I've actually decided to split my unboxing into two blog posts, one that is purely the unboxing excitement and another that focuses on first-impression testing of some of the products inside.  Ready to experience this giant art supply wonderland?

So huge!

Astoundingly big!

When I first got my box in the mail, I was blown away by the size.  I knew they said it was gonna be big, but it doesn't hit home until you actually have the box in your hands.  Normally, ArtSnacks boxes are so light and slender that I can carry them easily with a couple fingers.  This thing, however, was not just heavy, it was so dimensionally large that it required two hands to soundly grip and lift.  Of course, I'm short in stature and in finger, but I still think that says something about the physical magnitude of the Collection.

First peek.

You're welcome, ArtSnacks folks!

Let's open this thing! Also...it matches my nail polish perfectly!

OMG CANDY!

After opening the pretty silver paper that enveloped the main contents of the Studio Collection, the first thing that caught my eye was the full-size bag of Skittles.  I'm not even a Skittles fan, but just seeing that big ol' bag of sweets was like fuel on the already blazing fire of my excitement.  I actually don't crave candy that often, or at least not in such large amounts, so I'm still only about halfway through this bag, ha ha.

Fancy box, fancy sticker.

Huge box, huge menu!

I love the classy pattern on the menu back.

After squealing about the candy and admiring the fancy sticker and menu, I started looking at the real ArtSnacks.  Here's what came in my box (in order of my examining them, not as listed on the menu) with specific attributes noted in brackets:

• Krink K-32 Water-Based Paint Marker [blue]
• Copic Doodle Pack [brown]
• Sensu Buddy Stylus
• Lumi Inkodye Kit [navy, diver]
• Embossed Baron Fig Confidant Sketchbook
• PanPastel Artists' Pastels
• Kuretake ZIG Memory System Twin Tips Set [black]
• Bee Paper Aquabee Co-Mo Sketch Pad

Here I received another Krink paint marker in blue!  I had just received a different-style-but-same-color Krink marker in last month's ArtSnacks box but I was much more excited this time because the Studio Collection marker is water-based.  Watercolor is my favorite painting medium so this seems perfect for me, not just as a fun way to experiment, but as a potential new addition to my regular stock of painting supplies.  I haven't experimented with it in full yet, but Part II of this unboxing series will show you a little bit of what this marker can do.


This next item has been one of my favorites.  The Copic Doodle Pack is four Copic items in one box, all color-coordinated to allow maximum artistic awesomeness, even when used for nothing more than a sketch.  I got the brown set.  I'm sure there are different color sets available but I don't know if ArtSnacks sent out anything other than brown (let me know if you got a different color!).


This set included two Copic Ciao markers, E31 and E35; one Atyou Spica glitter pen in chocolate (warm brown); and one 0.3mm Copic Multiliner pen in brown.  I've been using these items a lot, almost every day, especially in conjunction with the Baron Fig sketchbook (which I'll talk about in a bit).  I even used them to add amazing details to my Christmas card illustration for 2014!  Of everything in the box, this doodle pack has so far proved to be the most enticing and useful.


Although I already had a little stylus for my smartphone, I found this Buddy Stylus to be a pretty neat item, especially for drawing on a touchscreen.  Its most distinguishing feature is that it fits on most standard-size pens or pencils which makes it easier--or more natural--to draw on touchscreens (but make sure to put it on the blunt end!  It doesn't explicitly state this on the product packaging--only hints at it in the usage illustrations--please don't use this on the pointed end of your pen or pencil; you could damage your screen).  The stylus I already owned is only about 4-inches tall and thinner than most pencils, so it can get uncomfortable and is fatiguing to use for long periods.  The Buddy stylus doesn't suffer those issues because the owner gets to choose which writing instrument to use it with.

Front.

Back.

This next item, the Lumi Inkodye set, got me super excited.  I had already seen the dye/detergent combo in an unboxing video several months earlier so I already knew what it was (a way to print on fabric using sunlight).  What really pleased me was that the Studio Collection version comes with everything needed to use it.  When I first saw this product months ago, the subscriber [Ashley Picanco, I really enjoy her art videos] only received the Inkodye and Inkowash packets.  Here I not only received those two essential items, I also got a photo negative to experiment with, a pencil pouch to actually print on, and illustrated instructions explaining exactly what to do.

My negative features a diver.

I got the color "navy".

I'm extremely excited to play around with this stuff but it's one of the few items I haven't touched yet.  Since the dye requires direct sunlight, this isn't the best time of year (winter in the north) to use it.  I'll save it for late spring or summer 2015, I think.  By then I'll really need the new pencil pouch, too: for holding all the fresh ArtSnacks I'll have received!

I have to say, this Baron Fig sketchbook might be the crowning jewel of the Studio Collection.  I mean, it came plastic wrapped AND boxed, has a cloth cover and fabric tassel, required a pamphlet to describe all its features, and has the ArtSnacks logo beautifully embossed on the cover in shining silver!  How much more fancy could it get?  I actually feel a sense of pride in this book; it's beautifully made, useful, and a bit of a conversation starter (while I was waiting for a flight, I was sketching in this sketchbook using my Copic Doodle Pack and when the lady next to me complimented my work, I started a brief conversation about ArtSnacks and the cool art tools I had just received).  Because of this, I immediately decided to use it to its fullest potential and have been making lovely, full-page drawings in it every few days.

Although I've been using the Confidant a lot, I won't review it here--I'll save that for the next entry in this two-part review.  At least I will say I've been quite happy with it.

The product arrived safely bubble-wrapped~

The red here is the pastel itself.

So many neat tools!

Cancer?!  (I'm not really bothered, ha.)

This next item is a bit of a wildcard for me: PanPastel Artists' Pastels.  I'm very green when it comes to any type of pastel so I didn't have a strong immediate reaction to this product but, even with my limited experience, the 'pan' presentation of these colors is very intriguing and seems almost wholly unique.  Not only are the pastels themselves formed into large cakes (similar to pan watercolors but much bigger than any I've seen), the cakes come in stackable dishes, with a variety of application tools stored in a larger container on the bottom (more photos of these features in Part II).  Even as a pastel novice, I can tell this is an awesome product. 

Interestingly, I have seen this type of stackable dish before, but not for an art product.  I have several eye shadow colors from Hollywood Color Company (it seems they may now be called Shany; in any case it's the only brand I can find now that has the same type of storage system) that came in tiny, twist-on, stackable containers, exactly like the PanPastel dishes except for the size.  I always admired the stacking system of those eye shadows, so I already feel enthusiastic about this product for that similarity alone.
 

Next we have a really cool item with a wide variety of applications.  The ZIG Memory System Twin Tips set has already proven itself very useful to me, and very fun to experiment with!  This pack of four dual-tipped markers seems intended for scrapbookers, calligraphers, and anyone else doing hand-written text, but it's been great for me as an illustrator to add unique outlines and details to drawings and paintings.  I don't want to go too much into a product review here (I almost did!) so I'll just say that my first impression of this item was very good, mostly since I'm a pen lover in general.  With the dual tips, it's like getting eight different pens in one slim box.  So exciting!

Close-up of the micro-perforation.

The final item in my Studio Collection box is yet another product I had never seen before.  I was already familiar with the Bee Paper brand through their Aquabee marker paper (which I use fairly often) but this sketchbook is totally different from that.  It's a somewhat scanty paper pad--larger format than the Confidant sketchbook (8x10") but with a significantly smaller page count (30 sheets)--but one feature that elevates this sketchpad is the perforation.  This is a must for every sketchbook I buy; while most pages end up filled with scribbles, thumbnail sketches, and even written lists, I sometimes come up with a piece I like so much that I want to scan it and share it online.  Being able to remove pages cleanly is a huge help in this process (otherwise, the binding keeps the page from lying flat on the scanner's glass, creating a shadow in the final scanned image) so I was quite keen on this Co-Mo Sketch Pad from the start.
 

Finally, all is revealed and it is glorious!

That's it for Part I of my Studio Collection unboxing.  Be sure to check out Part II to see most of these items in action during some preliminary testing and experimentation!  For now I'll say that this was the most exciting unboxing I've ever had for any art supply subscription.  It may have cost several times more than the usual monthly box, but the quality, variety, and usefulness of the items inside pushed the value of this box well beyond the actual purchase price.  If the ArtSnacks folks do this again in 2015, I'm in, no question.  Until then, I'll keep practicing, experimenting, and creating with all of these wonderful, exciting art supplies! 

If you got the 2014 Studio Collection, was your box different from mine?  How did you feel about what you received?  Have you created anything with your new tools?  For those who didn't get the Studio Collection, does it seem like something you'd be interested in now that you've seen it?

New Art - Beary Christmas

It's been a long-standing tradition of mine to design my own Christmas cards once the holidays roll around.  This year I already dedicated Halloween to Kiba and Thanksgiving to Kiki (one year-end holiday per cat!) so Christmas fell to Bear--appropriate considering how big, fluffy, and winter-ready he looks!  I decided to feature him in a simple (but pretty!) watercolor illustration so that I could finish the art in time to produce, fill out, and mail the cards to my friends and family by Christmas.  The following shows and describes my progress on this year's Christmas card from initial sketches to final product.  Please enjoy!

Beary Christmas by AnimeGirlMika on DeviantArt 

 
I started with a composition already in mind, a very simple idea of Bear and a winter night's sky.  I can't remember for sure, but I think Santa came into it when I described the idea to my beau.  He said Bear should be watching Santa and I agreed.  It didn't complicate the illustration too much and it added a Christmas element where there wasn't one before. 
 

I feel a bit clever because, when it came to the moon, I looked up which phase it would be in on Christmas Eve night this year.  The waxing sickle I depicted in the final illustration is accurate to Christmas Eve/Christmas Day 2014!  I even flipped it from my initial sketch so that it would match my (and Bear's) location here in the Northern Hemisphere.  I also arranged Santa and his reindeer so that they evoke the image of a bow and arrow.  I didn't mean to imply anything in particular with this imagery, but I found it more satisfying to draw them with that in mind than to randomly throw them on the page. 
 

A big thing that changed once I went to draw the final pencil lines is that Bear stopped being a chibi.  I originally envisioned him chibified the same way I drew Kiba and Kiki for their cards but it changed right at the very end of the research and planning stage.  I think it changed when I drew the reference sketch to map out what Bear looks like from behind while looking up.  That took so much effort (I had to get him to look up out the window without turning around to beg for pets, which was hard because I used my hand to take his attention to the window but then he would follow my hand back, hoping it would then pet him) that my mind got stuck imagining a more realistic Bear.  I didn't even realize that the change had taken place until I was done drawing him and about to start coloring. 
 

You may remember that I was really excited to receive a watercolor marker in one of my previous ArtSnacks boxes.  I was so pleased with it that I eventually bought two sets of six markers and my first time using them was on this piece.  I didn't color the entire work with them (and I only used four of the twelve colors I had) but they were an excellent way to lay down large areas of bold color and they blended perfectly with my favorite Sakura Koi watercolor paints (which I used to color the rest of the image).  These markers may become a staple to my watercolor process.  At the very least, they'll always remain on-hand in case I need them. 
 

Once I finished painting with water and brush (and sponge), I went over the piece once more time with the watercolor markers to redefine and detail certain areas, such as the silhouettes of Santa and his reindeer.  Which reminds me...I had a bit of trouble drawing the reindeer in silhouette.  I think I got confused about which leg I meant to have doing what, so some of the poor things look a bit odd.  There was no way to fix them without starting over from scratch so, even though I recognized the flaws, I left them as they were. 
 

After all the watercolor was laid down, it was time for my favorite part of my painting process: detailing!  I used a lot of ArtSnacks for this stage, including two warm grey Copic multiliners, the brown multiliner and Spica pens from my Copic sketch set (from the 2014 Studio Collection!), and the black paint marker I received in the December box (unboxing/review of the December box forthcoming!).  These things all worked fantastically well to start tying up the painting.  The only downside to any of these tools is that the Spica pen--which is a brilliantly sparkly ink--only really shines in the original painting.  There's no way to replicate the glittery effect in digital or printed copies. 
 

The final steps I took to complete this piece involved detailing with white ink and white gouache (the latter came from my 11th Edition Pigment + Palette box).  For the ink I used a Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen and Deleter White 1.  When I first used this Deleter White ink months ago, it was, disappointingly, too thick to use with a dip pen.  Happily, the dip pen worked this time because I added a bit of water.  It wasn't so much as to make the ink look thin or transparent but it was enough to allow it to flow perfectly off the nib.  I suppose it's quite lucky that the ink looked a little dried out or else I wouldn't have thought to add water!  As for the gouache, I simply wanted to tie the painting together with a wintry texture.  Not anything specific, but something between snow and stars, I suppose.
 

All done!

Although this piece only took me a single day's work from thumbnails to signature, I still think it looks quite lovely!  I meant it to be really simple, but the organic painting process gave it a great level of detail and wholeness anyway.  There are some areas I'd do differently if I had to remake it, but there's nothing about this piece that doesn't look like another successful Christmas card illustration~
 

Final step: painting printed on greeting cards and postcards.

It was a good thing that I decided to spend only a day creating my Christmas cards this year.  Digitizing the piece, putting it into card layouts (greeting cards and postcards), printing, shopping for more blank cards when I ran out, gathering addresses (I've come to expect friends to move sometime during the year without telling me), writing (I don't just scribble "Merry Christmas", I write a proper message!), stamping (including going out for a few international postcard stamps), and posting my 31 Christmas cards took almost two weeks!  All that effort seems to have been worth it since I've been getting very nice feedback from my friends and family.  Bringing happiness to people through my art is one of my overarching goals so it's extremely pleasing to hear that I've managed it with this piece~

I have one more blog post this week before Christmas, but I'm still going to use this space to wish all of my readers a very merry Beary Christmas (even if you don't celebrate; have a happy December the 25th❤) and a wonderful new year~!

New Art - Thanksgiving Kiki

You may remember from my Halloween post that this year I've been working on three holiday illustrations to match my household's three cats.  It's a little bit late, but this is my Thanksgiving entry!  It features Kiki, the youngest of our brood (and the only female in our home aside from myself and, perhaps, our single goldfish) which makes her the most playful and naughty of the bunch!  A lot of thought and effort went into this piece's creation; it may very well be my most intricate illustration to date.  I hope you'll enjoy seeing how it all came together~

Thanksgiving Kiki by AnimeGirlMika on deviantART

I started this piece with a handful of thumbnail sketches to work out ideas.  I tried several different compositions and poses, but the idea of Kiki with a cornucopia kept coming to the fore.  The iconic cornucopia is inseparable from Thanksgiving in the US, making it apt for the theme.  Plus, "Kiki" (or even just "cat") and "cornucopia" have a nice bit of alliteration!  Once I decided on the thumbnail, I sketched it out at half size so I could work out the finer details.

The grid was drawn in warm grey ink so it would remain even after erasing.

 
I did a lot of research at this stage.  I started by looking up the origin of the cornucopia, which ended up being a good idea.  I usually visualize a wickerwork horn but I discovered that those woven icons are actually meant to represent a mythical goat horn that produces endless fruit, vegetables, and flowers.  I knew about the food (that's why the horn of plenty is associated with Thanksgiving, after all) but never realized flowers were also included.  When I learned this, I did further research to find produce and flowers that arrive in autumn (I didn't want to include anything that would be out-of-season since I wanted the illustration to be as autumny as possible!) and also to see what goat horns look like in real life so my depiction would be more authentic.

Using the grid was extremely helpful in maintaining the composition.

Once I was happy with the sketch, I started redrawing it full size.  This is where I started to lose steam and got very behind schedule.  There is so much detail in all the fruit and flowers; it was taxing not only physically (drawing tiny details takes a lot of muscular stamina, believe it or not!) but also mentally.  It felt really tedious to draw all those things again and larger!  The tedium was exacerbated later when I made myself redraw several details because they weren't looking recognizable (i.e. they were too generic).

I only included fruits and veggies that I think are yummy!

 
I did eventually complete the final pencil drawing after several weeks working on and off.  I thought it would be easier from this point on but I was disappointed to find inking just as difficult to stay motivated for.  I finished inking faster than penciling, but I think that was probably because Thanksgiving was fast approaching and I intended to get the illustration done in time to print and mail as greeting cards. 

The flowers I included were roses, dahlias, and salvias.

 
Unfortunately, the pressure of my self-set deadline wasn't enough for me to finish on time.  I kept pushing every day, but I was already so far behind that I not only missed getting cards made and mailed, I couldn't even finish by Thanksgiving itself.  At least I finished before November was over.  Better late than never!

The salvias really were the worst part to draw...

...but I persevered and completed them all!  Worth it, I think!

 
Finally I finished inking and was able to move onto coloring.  Again I thought, "It's all downhill from here," and again I was disappointed.  All those details just kept looming at me like an insurmountable wall.  It was during coloring that I decided to give up on deadlines and just work a decent amount every day until it was done (I lost a lot of sleep on the last day, but I managed to finish before my Thanksgiving vacation was over!).

This part was really fun!

 
The technique I used to start coloring is one I sometimes forget but which is really helpful when I remember.  With a light purple marker, I roughly added shadows to everything in the drawing.  Not only does this help me maintain my light source (which is easy to forget when working a larger and heavily detailed piece) the marker's color is great for adding coolness and unity to shaded areas. 
 

Here I stopped using references, drawing upon imagination and memory.

 
It took me longer than I expected--again because I just couldn't find my enthusiasm--but I did eventually get the flat colors laid down throughout the drawing.  I tried to choose muted, realistic tones since I was going for an autumny feel, but my love for vibrant color still came through pretty strong.  Not that I'm disappointed!  I'm pleased with every single color choice here~

I tried to give every color a different hue, especially oranges and greens.

 
Once the flat color was done, I finally, finally began to get that awesome feeling of excitement which I can only describe as akin to running down a hill after a long, arduous climb to the top.  THIS is the fun part of creating art!  The closer to the finishing touches, the more everything starts visually coming together, the happier I get.  It was still a time-consuming and intricate bit of work, but seeing the illustration nearing its final look gave me the patience and energy to push hard until the end.

I didn't plan on using my paint stick but I'm glad I gave it a shot!

 
For the sky, I had a stroke of brilliance, if I do say so myself.  A bundle of ArtSnacks was on my worktable and I thought to use the Krink paint stick (which you may remember from this earlier post) to add variety to the sky.  As I was applying the paint, I wondered what would happen if I tried to blend it using my colorless blending marker.  (I remembered that some people use this marker to blend colored pencil and I recently saw a similar colorless marker specifically marketed as a colored pencil blender.)  I had a good feeling about it so, even though experimenting on an almost-finished piece might prove disastrous both for the artwork and the blending tool, I gave it a shot.  I'm still not sure about the state of my blending marker but the way this experimental technique panned out for the illustration was perfect!  I might even use my paint stick in this way from now on, even if I have to buy a bunch of replacement nibs for my blender, ha ha ha.

Highlights are always the most fun part of creating anime-inspired art.

 
Although I was getting very tired by this point, I was still enthusiastic enough to finish everything up.  I added a lot of details in highlighting, shading, and general definition with colored pencil first.  Once I was satisfied there, I moved on to adding white highlights.  I ended up using three different opaque white tools: an artists pen, a paint marker, and a gel pen.  They were all useful and worked together well to create the final look on paper.

That wasn't the end of my work, though.  After finishing everything in traditional media, I digitized the image and set to fine tuning in Photoshop.  I fixed a few stray marks, added a couple overlays to unify the colors, and drew in Kiki's whiskers.  This is a true multimedia work!  You can click on the image at the top of this post to see a larger version of the completed piece on deviantART.  Please let me know what you think of my process, my struggles, and my final result~

Happy Holidays for the Children (December 2014)

Folks who know me may find it odd that I would advocate for children's causes.  I'm not super fond of kids as company and generally try to steer clear of them.  That doesn't mean I don't remember what it was like to be a kid, though.  When Christmastime comes around, it brings up the best memories of my childhood.  That's why I would love to help kids have the best holiday season possible by advocating for some great children's charities this December!

My local Christmas Tree lighting. The hosting venue supports Toys for Tots.

 

Save the Children

This highly-rated, international children's charity supports virtually every facet of a happy, healthy childhood.  From education to emergency response, supporting health and fighting hunger, they pretty much do it all, not only in the US, but in 120 countries across the globe.  You can support their efforts any time by making a monetary donation.  Just go to their website, www.savethechildren.org, and hover over the "Make a Donation" button at the top.  If you're interested in making your donation count towards a specific cause (or get some neat branded goodies), check out their gift catalogue: gift.savethechildren.org/

For the holiday season, Save the Children is promoting their Make the World Better with a Sweater campaign. Basically, it's an Ugly Christmas Sweater party with a purpose (though you can participate all by your onesies, too!).  Check out the link to learn more about this fun holiday fundraising event!  You can also check out the Studio Mikarts fundraising page to make a donation towards our $50 goal for this campaign!

Toys for Tots

If you want to get really holiday oriented in your support of children's happiness, consider donating to Toys for Tots.  This foundation is actually run by the US Marine Corps and has received many accolades over the years for being a quality nonprofit.  This annual toy drive is supported by a wide range of corporations and individuals, which speaks to the cause's value.  Personally, I've heard some people nay-say Toys for Tots because 'toys aren't important' but I couldn't disagree more.  Children need the basics, yes, but they also need stimulation and entertainment.  They need to feel special and they need to play!  There's no better way to provide those essential elements of childhood to disadvantaged kids than to donate a toy or game at a local Toys for Tots drop-off station (unwrapped and brand new toys only) or by making a donation at their website: http://www.toysfortots.org/donate

Local Drives and Charities

There are many options to help children in your local community.  Here where I am, there are annual coat drives, food drives, charity marathons and baseball games, all kinds of small events hosted by local individuals, businesses, and teams.  It can be difficult to pin down all of the events that are going on, especially in the general hustle-bustle of the holiday season, but here are some places you can check to discover local charity events to support the health and happiness of children near you:

• Local TV or Radio Station Websites
• Your City's Website and/or Community Calendar
• Flyers at Your Favorite Shops and Restaurants
• Local Newspapers and Classifieds

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Whether you choose to support Studio Mikarts' fundraising campaign for Save the Children, donate a cool toy at a Toys for Tots location, or participate in a local children's charity event this holiday season, you can feel good knowing you're part of the larger effort to bring health and happiness to little ones around the world.  What a great way to ring out 2014!