idlelizard

art maker and creature enjoyer he/him ▹prints!◃

[idlelizard]

🦎@idlelizard🦎: My art! Mostly creatures

🐍@wavywyrm🐍: Occasional reblogs Ceramics will be available for purchase end of July! Stay tuned :)

FAQ▼

Do you sell prints/stickers/ceramics/originals?

🦎Prints are available through inprnt and as stated above ceramics will be available late July! Might also have some original drawings/paintings available too.

Can I remake your work for a personal project? (studies/embroidery/paint it on a jacket/shape into a biscuit & feed it to my dog etc.)

🦎Go for it! If you post it then putting a credit is good :)

Are you on any other social media?

🦎Technically I made a bluesky and an instagram. Right now I'll just be uploading the backlog I've already posted on tumblr, but if you want to follow me there just to be nice then thank you!

Can I get a tattoo of your art?

🦎Long as it's not a commission! I don't have tattoo tickets right now, so consider supporting my work by getting a print instead; inprnt runs sales semi-often.

What art supplies do you use?

🦎Many... most of my pieces are mixed media. Colored pencils, gouache, acrylic gouache, acrylics, watercolor, crayons, chalk pastels, miscellaneous pens, and probably more. I generally tag whatever I use under each piece. I can type out specific brands/opinions if people are curious, some are listed here.

[idlelizard]

pencil puppy

[idlelizard]

Hiii how did you get into ceramics?? I like to do multimedia art and have been dying to get started but I am! Scared!

Hi! Well technically I first started ceramics when I a kid in youth classes at a local recreation center, long enough to learn the bare bones and gain an appreciation for the medium.

Dug up 3 of my earliest pieces and favorite animals as a kid: dog, ambiguous lump giraffe, and sea lion.

In between then and now I poked at more accessible sculpting mediums like polymer or air dry clay, which are fun and have their merits, but aren't meant for long-lasting functional ware like what I wanted to make. I also considered woodwork, metalwork, or glass, but ultimately ceramics drew me back in! (I would still love to do those other mediums if I can find a place to learn them.) I find ceramics is very forgiving if you just follow the basic rules you'll learn in any beginner class. There's also plenty of educational videos on youtube. I would recommend looking at a variety of sources to find techniques that work for you, especially for wheel throwing; trying a different hand position or changing how you're situated at the wheel can make a big difference. Even if you mess up you can always re-use the clay to try again! Aside from learning the craft itself, I also really enjoy learning about ceramic art history through free online lectures or books, it always motivates me to make new stuff :) The biggest barrier of entry for ceramics is that it's expensive, and when you're a beginner failing more than you succeed then this can be extra frustrating. To make the most of my limited in-studio time, I do all of my sculpting at home. Then while I'm at the studio I focus on things I can only do there, like wheel throwing and glazing (the only rough thing is transporting the fragile unfired pieces back and forth). Try something, fail quickly, and troubleshoot! If you're already a multimedia artist then you've presumably already built the "try new things!" muscle, so just start!

[idlelizard]

coffee creature cup

[idlelizard]

My mom is also a ceramicist and I've been waiting for months to get her one of your creatures! Actually late July is perfect for me cause I can get her one of them for her birthday. Can't wait!

Ahh that's so nice, thank you for your patience! I hope you find a creature that she'll enjoy!

[idlelizard]

Omg will there be multiple shapely sugar bowls? I really really want him

Assuming that the ones I have in the kiln right now turn out then there'll be a few more! They're all different shapes/colors, so not exact copies of the the existing guy, but follow the same "toothy creature with spoon tongue" design principle :)

[idlelizard]

hiii hope this is ok to ask, do you know what the price points of your ceramics will end up being? really hoping i can grab one at the end of July! thanks 🩷

Hi, thank you! Smaller/simpler pieces will mostly be 25-40 USD with bigger/complicated pieces being 45-65. Shapely sugar bowl will probably be the only outlier at around 100 because spoon tongue guys are fiddly. I'll try to have things available for preview in advance if you're curious about something specific! Some pieces will be marked down as seconds due to minor defects, so that'll be a chance to get some things lower than they otherwise would be. (These prices do not include shipping, which will be calculated at checkout!) :)

[idlelizard]

variegated vessel

[idlelizard]

new friend i thought you would like

I appreciate their soulful gaze

[idlelizard]

Any chance you’re planning to sell the fish paint palette? Because oh my goodness I would kill for that baby

No killing necessary, I'll have a few fish palettes available for regular money! The existing fish palette was a test version, but I'm making more to have available 🐟🐟🐟

[idlelizard]

I am obsessed with your pottery creatures!! How do you get the teeth to line up?

Thanks! I sculpt the teeth onto the body first and then press the tips into the lid slab to see where I need it to line up, from there it's eyeballing. I've also tried using a mini triangle cookie cutter for consistent size but could go either way on that. Don't let the body get too dry before making the lid, and slow dry them together under plastic since your biggest concern after this point is warping and uneven shrinkage.

[idlelizard]

I love your little creations!! My wife collects little monsters and I'm dying to snap up one of your ceramics. Are you still planning on making them availble for purchase in July?

Thank you, yes! I'm in the middle of sorting all the details- I'll make an announcement post at least a week beforehand, it'll be towards end of the month. Hope you find something your wife will like :)

[idlelizard]

How do you make the glaze look like eroded metal? Its so cool and pretty!

Thank you! Hm well it depends what specific piece you're wondering about so I'll try and cover it more generally.

First up: shino glazes! All three of these dogs have been reduction fired with red shino as the base layer. Dogs 1 and 2 layer it with tenmoku. Dogs 2 and 3 use the clay body speckled brown trout, which has additional iron and manganese specks! Fun extra texture.

"But Adrian! I don't have access to a gas kiln!" That's ok! these pieces are electric fired.

All three of these are on very dark clay bodies, I like how dark clay looks when peeking through to show a toasty texture. I'm choosing glazes or layer combos that already have a patina effect, but you can also try dappling together different glazes with a paintbrush. First two dogs and giraffe have extra brushed on spots for more varied texture. Just favor opaque and/or satiny textures (it'd be difficult to get a metallic effect from glassy translucent glaze.)

They're all mixed by the studio I work from. Shino and tenmoku are easy enough to find (recipes or commercially), and you can find recipes similar to the dragon jar and giraffe if you search "Randy's Red" and "Copper Patina" respectively. I haven't tried any commercial glazes yet, but a lot of the textures by Coyote entice me.

[idlelizard]

Hm why do my paints smell fishy

[idlelizard]

teeny tiny doggy duo

[idlelizard]

I adore all of your artwork!!! Both on paper and ceramics!!! Such whimsical creatures!!! Delightful!!!

Thank you!! Always makes me happy when people enjoy the broader range of stuff I do since I’m interested in a lot of mediums :) 💛

[idlelizard]

I’m out of town this week but will answer all ceramics-related asks when I get back! (And will also post the exact date/time for ceramics shop opening! Will be mid-late July🦎)