Miya Drawing Revisited

One of my favorite drawings of our Yorki-poo, Miya, has been nagging at me that something just wasn't right about it.  Today I decided to revisit and make a few changes hoping to capture her likeness better.

Original Drawing and evaluation:

Although this has been the closest I could get with likeness, I was bothered by the shape of her face and eyes.  They were off making this look like another dog.   Face appears too wide and eyes not large enough.  If I look at Miya, her eyes are closer to the size of her nose.  I also felt this lacked shading on one side of her face...making it look kind of flat.

Today's Changes and feelings with results: 

I think with the changes, I have come much closer to her likeness and I like the shading a little better.  I wasn't crazy about all the white in and around the eye that I left in the original drawing and definitely made her eyes too small.  With the changes, I felt I should leave the eyes a little smaller than the nose, keeping in mind the foreshortening with her snout/nose being closer.   

I might re-evaluate this again at a later time but for now I am pleased with the changes.  This definitely looks more like our Miya.

Sketching with WC Pencil versus Graphite

 A few people I know use a watercolor pencil to work their preliminary sketch before inking and adding color.  One I know normally uses a blue-gray and another uses a light brown.  My friend who uses the light brown chooses that color because she prefers to ink using brown ink.  

Out of curiosity I thought I would try using a brown watercolor pencil since I was planning to use brown ink.  I chose a Bt Sienna so I could actually see what I put down on paper.  A lighter brown would have been way too challenging for me to see.  

My goal was to compare using a WC pencil versus using graphite with regards to erasing the lines later, smearing as I worked, and how well the ink flowed over the pencil lines.  

What I found was the WC pencil did not smear like graphite would while working.  The side of my hand or finger did not pick it up like it would working with graphite.  I worked my little experiment on Fabriano Hotpress and found the WC pencil erased easily with a kneaded eraser.  The nib and ink covered over the WC pencil lines with ease whereas it doesn't always over graphite.  

I was encouraged by my findings thinking I might start using the WC pencil more often when working my light pencil sketches UNTIL I used the same pencil on Stonehenge Aqua.  My findings on a different paper surface showed just the opposite.

Looking closely at pencil lines using WC pencil, you can see they did not erase cleanly.  I not only used a kneaded eraser, I also went over with a plastic eraser.  With the remaining pigment embedded in the paper fibers, the WC pencil bled when going in with wet brush and color.

This was a great learning experience for me.  I have learned to just embrace my graphite pencil, smears and all.  At least that can be easily remedied either by using a tissue or paper towel while working or erasing later.

Illustrated Adjectives Project

 As mentioned in previous posts, I've been playing a game Animal Crossing New Horizons since it came out back in March.  What I'm finding while playing are ideas that come to mind for sketching.  

While the game is definitely fun and relaxing, it can also spur a few other feelings as well, which gave me the idea of coming up with adjectives and illustrating what I associate them with most.

At first I considered this a monthly project between friends but I already have an idea for September and my next month is November.  I couldn't wait so decided to make it a personal project instead.

What I did was choose a minimum of six adjectives that fit with characters and/or objects within the game.  My chosen adjectives are:  Annoying, Cool, Irritating (for me a step up from annoying), Sweet and Adorable, Disgusting, Rude and Arrogant, and Favorite Things.

First I worked the illustrations in my journal and then a write-up within a simple word document, inserting the page scans, explaining each (as numbered on the journal pages).  Taking it further, I wanted to see how it might look worked as a brochure using three columns and inserting the illustrations individually within the description.

What I enjoy about doing these pages from the game is a recording in my journal of what I enjoy, which in this case is playing the game.  This one is particularly is special because of the other family members also playing and the fact we can interact with one another in the game by visiting each other's island.

Worked in journal with Stonehenge Aqua watercolor paper and using the Pilot Kakuno fountain pen with Noodler's #41 Brown ink.

Journal Pages:

**One additional illustration not included above is a Butter Churn.  I worked that by itself on it's own page as an exercise which will be in the next post.  It is, however, included in the brochure shown below on the last page.

Brochure Style with comments/explanations:

On the last page, I have "Added Notes" which I still plan to illustrate and then add to the document.  I could fill several pages with favorite things.  I might also do a few illustrations with Favorite Tasks I enjoy most in the game which #1 is fishing.  UPDATE:  "Added Notes" has been replaced with actual illustrations and explanation.

Trying Out New Pen - Pilot Kakuno

 Just for kicks and giggles, I decided to purchase this inexpensive fountain pen that is marketable for children and those new to the world of fountain pens.  Through Jetpens, I purchased mine at $13.50.  In addition to the pen, I also purchased a few converters.  I now have three different styles that work in several of my pens and wanted to do a comparison.

The pen I purchased is the Pilot Kakuno with a FINE nib.  It has a cap with three air holes...a safety feature with regards to children and choking.  The nib has an actual smiley face engraved or stamped on it.  Shape of barrel is hexagon which helps keep it from rolling and the cap has a little raised point (notch.....whatever one might call that) to help keep it and the pen from rolling.  It does not have a clip.  Size of pen capped is approximately 5 inches and approximately 6.25 inches with cap posted.  Cap is a snap on type rather than screw-on type.  Nibs are interchangeable with a few other Pilot pens to include the Metropolitan and the Pilot Prera.

Note:  With the cap having three air holes, I question how quickly the pen might dry out with ink loaded.  I guess time will tell.  I've considered finding a way to close those holes but for now will leave things as is.

Another thing I question is if the packaging was marked incorrectly having a FINE nib rather than an EXTRA FINE nib.  I may have to purchase another just to compare even though I know nibs are not created equal.......they can vary within the same manufacturer and size.

I loaded the Kakuno and my Metropolitan with Noodler's #41 Brown ink as I wanted to compare the nibs and how they fed ink.  The Kakuno I received with the Fine nib feels and flows like an Extra Fine rather than a Fine...scratchy (similar to the Lamy Safari Extra Fine) and dry ink flow.  The results with the #41 Brown is lighter with the Kakuno than the Metropolitan with Fine nib as seen in the illustration below.

The converters I am comparing are the Con-40 Piston, Con-B Squeeze, and Con-70 Push Button.  I do 

Con-40 Piston:

I do not care for the Con-40.  Not only does it hold very little ink, I find I have to twist the end of the converter to push the ink towards the feed in order for it to write or sketch with.  That is a hassle while working on something!  I would much rather just use an old cartridge and fill it with ink using a syringe.

Con-B Squeeze:

Not bad although only holds the same amount of ink as the Con-40.  I have not found myself having to open the barrel to squeeze the ink towards the feed while working.  

Con-70 Push Button:

My favorite of the three!  Holds more ink and I haven't had to do anything as I work to get the ink flowing to the feed and nib.  Just wish it was compatible with my other Pilot Pens....especially the Metropolitan.

After playing a bit with the Kakuno, I decided to try a little trick suggestion to help with the dry ink flow.  It entails GENTLY pressing the tip/tines down on a thumbnail or other surface to help spread the tines just a hair.  One has to be really careful and work slow so not to ruin the nib.  After doing so, I repeated the flower illustration I worked the day before and it appears to have helped.  Ink flow is a little wetter resulting in a darker line mark.  It also felt less scratchy as the nib moved across the paper surface.

Overall feeling with this little inexpensive pen - Not bad :-)

August Challenge Between Friends

My friend and I took a break from the challenges for a couple of months but started back up last month.  July was mine to come up with a topic, which was the Notan Art concept.  This month my friend came up with the challenge to illustrate EACH letter of our FULL name.  Each letter had to be part of the illustration.  Her incentive came from a card she received where the front of the card was the full alphabet with each letter illustrated.

Me being one to jump on board with the challenges early in the month, I finished mine within two days.  The first day was working on each letter from the time I got up until I went to bed and then finished the last several letters the next day and made changes to others I wasn't crazy about.

I worked each letter individually using Procreate on the Ipad and with the Inking / Studio Pen brush tool.  By working digital, if I wanted to make changes, I could without a lot of hassle or having to redo a letter completely (especially considering how many I had to work to complete the challenge).  Once done, I uploaded all the individual letter illustrations and then grouped together in one file using Photoshop Elements.  I could arrange the letters in various ways but chose to keep it simple.

With the colors I used in the letters, I didn't want any repeat of a color, which was fun in itself as I made decisions in what color to use for each letter in relations to one another.

As for how I worked the illustrations with each letter,  I ended up with two illustrations sitting behind the letter.  I was still trying to work out how to do things in my mind with my first name.  Notice with the middle and last name that I found ways to weave the illustrations in and around each letter, which I really like.  Easier to do with some subjects than others.

This was involved but I have to say it was a lot of fun.  Even with that said, by the time I finished all the letters to my liking, I was ready to call this done.........ha ha.