#mousewords

[mousewords]

This has been a heavy-duty art weekend for me - I've been busily working away at commissions and the biz side of the mouse studio. Last night, after I logged off from my art work, I wanted to unwind with some drawing. (Postal worker's holiday!) I'd read an article about an artist painting on location in extreme environments, and I couldn't get the Arctic setting out of my mind.

A very dear friend of mine, @deadwoodpecker , is planning an Arctic sequel to her gorgeously written The Peverell Dilemma. All I could think yesterday was how cozy Harry and Ginny could be in a tent charmed to protect them from the elements, watching the Aurora Borealis fill the sky all around them. Magical!

This was the first time I tried my new Strathmore colored pencil paper, and I am in love with it!! The texture of the paper is soft, smooth, and toothy enough to practically absorb the color from my rich Prismacolors; yet it's not such a deep tooth that I have to burnish the pencil color (rub it flat with clear or white pencils) to get the smoothness I love. I could play with the subtle texture, and let it shine in fabrics, snow, and weather-beaten skin.

I've been experimenting with Palomino Blackwing Colors, and they are amazingly comparable to Prismas in quality. They loved the paper, too - I used the Blackwings for my preliminary sketch, the fine details, and most of their hair.

I also used Staedtler pencils for some fine touches, but those harder, waxier pencils didn't care for the paper as much, and weren't as bold as I wanted for this drawing.

I'm excited to try more new art with this paper; and excited to read Arctic Peverell someday!

[deadwoodpecker]

I’ve known a friend of mine is very talented for quite some time. She’s just casually able to produce these beautiful drawings that bring peace to those who look at them. Sorry for the flowery talk, but it’s true. I’ve known it for years, but now that I’m trying to learn how to draw myself (I’m not trying to be like her or anything, I just like having creative outlets), I have some understanding of how her talent expresses itself.

This is the “brief sketch” she did yesterday, trying to figure out what she wanted Ginny to wear in the more serious drawing she is doing. I’m going to have it framed. lol

She surprised me a few weeks ago with a half-formed sketch — but I saw the butterfly on Ginny’s hair and thought — OMG SHE’S ILLUSTRATING THE HUG FROM PEVERELL.

I’m just really impressed by how she conveys so much with such simple lines.

Here is the “almost totally complete but the glue” version she worked on for quite some time yesterday. Anyway. It’s a delight to my soul, so I thought I would share.

[deadwoodpecker]

This art is good for my soul.

[mousewords]

Doing some late-night storyboarding. I had a particularly intense scene in mind for my sci-fi epic, but words just weren't enough to work it out. So I wrote in my sketchbook, and brought out the richest, darkest Blackwing pencil I have - the Matte! It draws soft and loose, with darks comparable to charcoal. I usually like having more control, but for a scene with out-of-control emotion, the Matte was perfect.

One of my goals for 2021 is to storyboard more, so I'm getting a head start!

[chrismouse]

I'm at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TEXAS!, and I am overwhelmed with wonder!

[chrismouse]

Filter evolution... When I went to tweet a pic of today's drawing, I realized the colors looked a bit washed out. So I brightened it up in my Aviary photo editing app, and added a dark border for extra punch. That app has been supremely useful for visual development of my art ideas! I liked my new color choices so much that I went back and added extra colored pencil punch to the original. Art imitates app!

[chrismouse]

"Color is equally important to the drawing itself." ~ T. Hee Being sick with a stomach bug keeps me frustratingly immobile; I can't get much done (except post on Tumblr five times a day!!). So in an effort to find a silver lining, I've been using this day to read up on art techniques. This quote from Thomas & Johnston's "Illusion of Life" made me suddenly realize how LITTLE time I spend PLANNING the color I use in my artwork. Usually I start with a "look" in mind, and it evolves from there; but I almost never do a color sample ahead of time. Part of that is efficiency; rather than spend time and resources on a concept sketch, I choose to get right to the main drawing, followed by the next one, and the next.. But there's no arguing with the timeless excellence in early Disney animation. I think I'll experiment with color samples, and see where it takes me..

[chrismouse]

The dueling banjos of fashion..

Dad's eating lunch, I'm sipping tea. Sis brings in thigh-high nylon stockings she's going to wear to a party tonight.  "Look at that," she says, flexing the industrial-strength, rubber-grip elastic bands on the stockings. "What we women go through!"  "Yes," I say, teasing Dad, "is there anything men wear that's nearly as uncomfortable as women's fashions? And don't say neckties, because we wear scarves now, so that's a moot point."  Dad: "Athletic supporters."  Me: "..Ok, I'll give you that one."  Sis: "I'm leaving now."