Drawn Birthday Card

Two weeks ago I was asked to do a birthday card for an 8-year-old girl.

After figuring out that movie Frozen is a big thing for her, I got drawn to the idea to draw the card myself.

Why to see all that trouble? Well, I felt a bit nostalgic I guess...

Around 10-year-old I enjoyed Disney movies like the Little Mermaid and Lady and the Tramp.

In those days I drew the original characters and "designed" my own characters -basically learned to how make Disney-styled girls and dogs. ;) Most of those pictures are long gone.

This time I actually took more photos during the work, so you can see what happened:

Aquarelle pens were great for this thing. :) I enjoyed the coloring very much!

Finally I added a turquose background paper and sprayed blue & green glitter spray around the edges.

In the pic the wet paper is still slightly bent, but luckily it dried well.

This took about 6 hours of work. I didn't even notice time passing - got on a flow state. ;)

As much as I liked doing the character of Disney, Elsa, I also enjoyed drawing the text. The font that is used in movie poster was an inspiration, of course. I wanted same kind of icy feeling, but lighter and more decorational style. Figuring out the details was very rewarding for me! :)

Doodled Cover Decoration

I happened to find a nice, quick project - a sketchbook with blank covers!
The finished, doodled look is quite Spring-spirited. :)

I collected some process photos just to see how this evolves.

The first sketch:

Adding some spray-colours:

 And finally some white gel pen:

Some of the medium used:

Cover material was gesso primed canvas. The watersoluble ink dried a bit lighter than I imagined, but some extra layers amplified colours.

This technique was quite fast & easy.

Animal Features with Oil Pastels

Oil pastels are kind of fun medium because colours pop up so nicely. I think a coloured paper is the best bacground for them. I tend to use these mostly for quick sketches or combined with another technique.

Öljypastelliliidut ovat tavallaan mukavia, koska niillä saa helposti värikylläistä jälkeä. Itse tykkään tehdä niillä mieluummin värilliselle kuin valkoiselle taustalle. Kukin tavallaan, toki. Tuppaan käyttämään öljypastelleja nopeisiin luonnoksiin ja muiden tekniikiden tukena, mutta kyllä niillä kuulemma saa komeampiakin töitä aikaan. Alla uusimmat eläimelliset kasvot...

A pair of animal faces:

Ink Drawings

Almost recovered from the cold today :) To prove it, here are two more faces for AyalaArt's 29 Faces challenge. These would be number 18 and 19.

Vilustumisoireet ovat tänään hellittäneet, ja todisteena tässä kaksi kasvoa lisää 29 kasvon haasteeseen. :)

These are drawn with black ink. During my graphic art studies I learned briefly how to draw with a dip pen. That is the medium used in these drawings. It is sometimes annoying technique because you need hold the pen just right in your hand to get the ink flow nicely. When tired and not focused my drawings just look awful! And I throw them quickly out of my sight... ;) The ones above escaped that fate.

Nämä piirrokset tein musteella ja mustepiirtimellä. Tekniikan olen alun perin oppinut graafisen suunnittelun koulutukseni ohella. Pidän kovasti siitä, millaista jälkeä näin saa parhaimmillaan aikaan, mutta se vaatii keskittymistä. Terän asento ja kulma paperiin nähden on oltava kohdillaan, jotta viiva syntyy tasaisesti paperille. Kun joskus yritän piirtää väsyneenä, on piirros vähintäänkin vinksallaan minuutin sisällä! :D Ja sen myötä roskakorissa... Yllä olevat työt eivät päätyneet roskikseen. ;)

Fantasy Faces

I guess I'm late with the 29 faces challenge.... Been busy with finding new job this week. I'm hopeful about that, but we shall see what happens.

I also found my fantasy inspiration and drew by hand this unlikely couple:

Olen nyt hieman jäljessä kasvohaasteissa, koska tällä viikolla olen keskittynyt työnhakuun. Olen toiveikas, että jotain löytyy. :)

Yllä oleva lyijykynäpiirros syntyi toissailtana inspiraation puuskassa. Fantasia-aiheet ovat lähellä sydäntäni, mutta olen aika itsekriittinen faunihahmojeni suhteen. Osittain kyse taitaa olla siitä, etten piirrä tarpeeksi usein mieshenkilöitä. Oma hankaluutensa lienee eläinpiirteiden yhdistämisessä... Tämän nyt kehtasin kuitenkin julkaista. :)

Native Features, face #5

I have been waiting for a chance to practise drawing real models on coloured paper! This work took some time but I enjoyed the process.

The model is from a photograph of Edward S. Curtis taken around 1900.
I found the photograph from a collection of the Library of Congress, that kindly offers digitalized historical collections for public access.

Mielessäni on ollut monesti ajatus tehdä kasvot mallista värilliselle paperille. Tähän piti varata aikaa, mutta mihinpä mukavaan tekemiseen ei pitäisi... :)

Valokuva, jota käytin mallina, oli amerikkalaisesta historiallisesta kokoelmasta, jota ylläpitää verkossa Library of Congress. Yleisölle avoimet sivut tarjoavat monenlaisia dokumentteja vaikkapa Amerikan alkuperäiskansoista.

I used metallic pencils on medium brown drawing paper. That added some challenge! Some pencils were not visible on this paper so I used only two colours. Dark red was good for shadows. For highlights I used yellow, that actually reflects light on a right angle. The result is interesting as the picture looks different depending on where I stand.

Kokeilunhaluisena tein tämän metallivärikynillä ruskealle paperille. Osa väreistä ei erottunut taustaväristä, mikä rajasi vaihtoehtoja. Varjoihin käytin punaista kynää, huippuvaloihin taas keltaista. Jälkimmäinen heijastaa valoa etenkin tietyssä kulmassa, joten lopputulos on aika jännä.

Ja tietysti kasvot ovat mukana myös Teemakuussa. :)

A Face for Two Challenges

Here is the second face for the 29 faces challenge as well the first one for Teemakuu-challenge.

Tässä toiset kasvot 29 faces -haasteeseen. Samalla otan tällä työllä osaa Teemakuun 9 kasvot -haasteeseen. Jälkimmäinen haaste olikin minulle uusi tuttavuus. Jäin miettimään yhtä kysymystä: Voiko Teemakuuhun osallistua myös itse tehdyllä digipiirroksella vai tulisiko työt tehdä perinteisesti käsin?

Teemakuu 1/9: Our Moment / Hetki yhdessä
Kuvan kasvot saivat alkunsa, kun katselin teemukiani, ja ajattelin piirtää siinä olevan muumihahmon ihmismäisemmäksi. Alun perin Runoilijana tunnettu hahmo muuttui luonnosten välissä maalariksi, ja seurakin vaihtui Niiskuneidistä hiljaisen erämökin kissaneidiksi.

During Breaks - Digital Drawings

Busy week at work went actually quite nicely. Thanks to yoga classes (twice, yay!) and going early to bed I had more energy than usually. I feel anxious to find a new apartment nearby -  but inexpensive small apartments are rare, sigh...

Here are outcomes of my art moments, during short breaks at Saturdays...

Viikon varrella on työtunteja kertynyt, mutta yllättävän hyvin olen jaksanut. Päätin suosiolla jättää iltatekemiset ja satsata yöuniin, hyvä päätös. Loppuviikkoon ehdin sovittaa kaksi joogatuntiakin, jotka nollasivat ylikierroksilla pyörineet ajatukset.

Uutta asuntoa itselleni tulee jatkuvasti etsittyä, mutta budjettiin sopivia ei ole juurikaan näkynyt. Säästölinjalla elo jatkuu, siis.

Three ATCs

While the sun has been hiding behind clouds, I have made the best out of indoor life by crafting some ATCs.
/ Synkän pilvinen ilma on tänään jo vaihtunut auringonpaisteeseen, mutta viime päivinä en ole halunnut viettää aikaa ulkosalla. Yllätin itsenikin tekemällä kolme ATC-korttia. :)

Tällä kortilla haluaisin osallistua Tämä Joutaa Korttiin -haasteeseen.
Tässä on käytetty kuvina mainosleikkeitä. :) Jopa teepussin narun päässä ollut mietelause on mukana.
/This one is for the challenge Tämä Joutaa Korttiin. I made use of advertisements and even a tea bag aphorism.

Tässä toinen kortti haasteeseen. Hyödynsin taustaksi vesivärein värittämääni hukkapaperia. Olisi varmaan mennyt roskiin, ellen olisi ajankulukseni alkanut koristella metalligeelikynällä vihreitä osioita. Pidän paljon lopputuloksesta! Kasvitieteellisen puutarhan tekstit antoivat aiheeksi uhanalaisten kasvien suojelun.
/ The second card for the same challenge. Sometimes a cut off part of a painting needs just some decoration to turn into a card itself. A brochure of Finnish botanical garden gave a theme: Protecting endangered plants in scientific facilities.

This one I have started a long time, maybe a year ago. First it was just some ink drawing on a yellow copy paper, and little by little I worked it forward. Yesterday I coloured the edging with black, added the texts and some gold gel here and there. Finished!

Well, time to find more projects to work with! :)

Art Journal Going Forward

Somehow my art journal inspiration leapt forward last month. :) Here are some new pages - first one still a work in progress.
/ Selasin hetki sitten art journaliani ja tajusin projektin edenneen yllättävää vauhtia - jostain oli tullut kolme sivua lisää! Ensimmäinen näistä on toki vielä vaiheessa...

The second page is made with aquarelle pens. The first drawing I made with black ink.
/Omasta päästä piirrettyä, akvarellikynin tussipiirroksen päälle.

This oil pastel page I made during a Spring storm...
/Tapailin kevätmyrskyn tunnelmia öljypastelleilla...

I'm slowly working away my inspiration block which is nice.
/ Ehkä tämä tästä. Inspiraatioblokki on ollut välillä painostava, mutta hetkittäin jotain syntyy.

29 Faces 2014 #23, 24, 25, 26 & 27

Hi!

The last week was the end of 29 Faces challenge.
I managed to get the 22nd face done. I decided to complete all the 29 in my own pace. I have tried to rest more since my health has not been in best shape lately.

Quicker sketches are a thing for me at the moment.

The watercolour pencils are gladly versatile!

The colourful 23rd face:

The 24th & 25th mono-colour faces:

The 26th pencil sketch:

And the 27th, a red pencil drawing that I completed with water and black ink.

So two more to go... I'm sure that'll be no problem! ;)

29 Faces 2014 #16, 17, 18 and 19

This evening I was somewhat tired and decided to amuse myself with some doodled faces.

I used black ink with very thin brush for drawing the characters and coloured them with watercolours.

Feeling little better - animal drawings can be fun! :) Also one gentleman included - he's probably amazed by why he's there - it's because of the moustache, of course!

#16: A friendly lop-eared bunny

#17: A cat named Safir

#18: An English gentleman

#19: A sleeping mermaid

It is soon bedtime for me - I'll try to dream about being mermaid. ;)
Thank for looking!

29 Faces 2014 #14 and #15

Here are two more faces... I'm keeping a steady pace. :) Today I have also felt better, maybe I'll be in better shape soon, yay!

Number 14 looks little like a person I photographed few months ago. The hair is more festive though! It's interesting to surprise yourself by finding familiar features from a random drawing.

Number 15 is my try-out of a face of an older person. Very inspiring thing to go for! I'm pretty satisfied with the result.

Thanks for visiting! I try to return the visits more now that the flu thing is giving up.

29 Faces 2014 #12 and #13

Continuing with some random new drawings...

Face #12:A dancing fairy. Aimed for ATC-size (2.5 x 3.5 inches) but result is about (6 x 8 inches).

Face #13: an ATC-card that didn't turn out as I had hoped, although it looks better on screen. :-)

29 Faces 2014 #10 and #11

Hello! I hope your Valentine's day is better than mine. I'm behind the schedule because got some kind of infection this week - My doctor gave some antibiotics but feeling weak anyway. Hopefully the doctor soon finds out what this infection is and whether I have the right medicine.

Well, I'm taking easy, and keeping things simple. Today I tried to continue the challenge by re-drawing two old pencil drawings of mine. Used colour pens on black paper.

Now back to bed - I hope I can catch up everyone soon! x

29 Faces 2014 #6 #7 #8 #9

Today I have a quartet of faces for 29 Faces challenge.

After all those colourful drawings I found myself picking up a white gel pen and some black drawing paper.

The results, #6 and #7:

I thought this technique was harder than I had imagined. The upper one is pulled from my imagination. The lower face I made by using an old photograph of a woman as my model.

#8 and #9:

These two I made yesterday and they certainly look different than the former try-outs! Tried to fill the black space more evenly and managed to overdo that a bit! I had to fix some small spots with black ink. I'm glad they look as good as they do. :-) They have something in common with the seventh face that I made last year.


Hope to catch some time to visit you soon! :-)

29 Faces 2014 #5

My fifth face for 29 Faces challenge this year describes somehow my mind wanders at the moment... Slept very little and made a long day at work to finish in schedule. All went well so now I'm just taking easy :)

I enjoyed drawing the fifth face!

Used watercolour pencils - Olive Green and Prussian Blue. Applied some water also - not very much, but enough to spread colours more evenly.

Plan to catch up the challenge on weekend, see you then! x

29 Faces 2014 #4

I have somewhat busy week at work so I decided to stick to my previous idea of choosing a colour and making a face to match it.

Today it's Olive Green. My scanner insisted not noticing that the light tints are olive green too. Tried to switch to manual settings etc but had to give up the fight for now. Maybe this weekend I'll give it another try, and see who's the boss, lol ;)

Mixed Technique Drawing - Metallic Details

I think I finally did something worth framing - this is almost finished so it's safe say it out loud. ;)

As a part of home decoration project I have gone through my drawings and paintings. Most of the finished pieces are soon 10 years old! I'm sad to admit but they don't inspire me as they used to. And I find more mistakes from them... Maybe you know the feeling?

Well it was obviously time to get something new and fresh done! I'm really interested of mixed techniques right now, but have only little experience of it. With this work I wanted to push myself to that direction.

As a subject I chose Tribal Fusion Belly Dance as it also inspires my imagination right now.

Oh and I'm taking part to Paint Party Friday with this piece. :)

I found out that the stamping inks go well together with watercolour pens. And the water based inks are a lot of fun with wet paper!

Some textures in the picture are made with stamps as well as some details (such as keys and dragonfly). I think I really got a better hold of metallic gel pens I have.

Here are some details:

Going to take a small break from this before I frame it. Maybe that will help to find anything worth fixing.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you have a very inspiring New Year!