Community Sketchbook--post your sketches

[aiki]

this is beautiful, aiki! Is this done with colored pencils?

Yes, colored pencils. My first attempt at doing any color work, actually. I prefer graphite. Didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped but still, not too bad.

 

[aiki]

New to the visual arts forum! Love everyone's artwork! I am getting more into digital art. The vase is finished, and the flowers are a work in progress - it will probably take me awhile to finish.

The contrast on the vase and the horizontal marks expressing its contours make for a very striking image.

 

[tall73]

View attachment 261723

That is good blending. What brand of color pencils do you use? Are you using any type of blending medium such as blender pencils, or patroleum, etc.?

I struggle with colored pencils, but my wife and kids love to use them.

Do you find you have to plan out color pencil drawings, almost like a watercolor to preserve your lights?

 

[tall73]

New to the visual arts forum! Love everyone's artwork! I am getting more into digital art. The vase is finished, and the flowers are a work in progress - it will probably take me awhile to finish.

Welcome to the forum. Those are both good still life examples. And the vase especially has a good 3d effect with the strong values. Looking forward to the final version of the flowers.

What programs or hardware are you using for digital?

 

[tall73]

beautiful! I love the lighting you captured in this! what medium are you using? is this digital?

I have mostly been doing digital art lately. I do some pencil, some pen, watercolor, etc. but have enjoyed digital for years.

For that piece, and most of my pieces the last six months or so, I painted it with a Nintendo 2ds XL, with the program Colors3d. If you already have a 2ds or 3ds you can get the program for about 8 bucks or less. (My son bought me the Nintendo to play games with him).

It is more limited than some of my other programs, only having three brushes (a round bristle brush, a round flat brush, and a round soft brush), undo, eraser, and that is about it! Also, it is a small screen. However, I really enjoy using it because the buttons all work easily and intuitively together. It all fits in a small package and is easy to hold for long periods of time. I can paint with it almost like I would with a portable watercolor pallet. Also, I enjoy that you can upload it to their gallery and people can watch the painting process. This is good for learning techniques because you can watch some talented painters there. Here is the video for that one:

Colors! Live - beach by tall73

Because you cannot crop with Colors3d I find that I tend to do better at making full scenes, rather than just painting something that catches my interest and cropping it to size.

I will sometimes use other programs to adjust the levels and such. And Colors 3d, since it uses the small Nintendo screen, has a fairly low export size. It is vector based, but works like a raster program. So you can export it at larger size than just what you see on the screen. But it maxes out around 1500x1000, which is not great for prints.

Some of my other digital paintings I used a Wacom intuos pen tablet with Corel Photopaint or Corel Painter. I also enjoy vector with Coreldraw. Those programs have more power, but I enjoy just picking up the Nintendo and painting quickly.

 

[tall73]

I got it! LOVE it!!!

Keep on keepin' on!!!

God bless you.

That is great to hear!

 

[brinny]

That is great to hear!

It's a delightful reminder to me to slow my pace to one of grace.

....and to breeeeeeeathe.

 

[tall73]

It's a delightful reminder to me to slow my pace to one of grace.

....and to breeeeeeeathe.

I think for me that took major health problems to figure out!

 

[brinny]

I think for me that took major health problems to figure out!

Me too!!!!!

 

[tall73]

Yes, colored pencils. My first attempt at doing any color work, actually. I prefer graphite. Didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped but still, not too bad.

Your graphite works are great. I posted the larger reaction in the other thread. But just encouraging folks to check it out.

 

[Chris V++]

Hi these are some semi abstract seascapes done plein air over the past few weeks. The second to last was done yesterday and the last was done today. We are getting some killer surf. They vary from 11x14 to 12x16 Watercolor on yupo except the top two have acrylic in the waves.

 

[aiki]

Hi these are some semi abstract seascapes done plein air over the past few weeks. The second to last was done yesterday and the last was done today. We are getting some killer surf. They vary from 11x14 to 12x16 Watercolor on yupo except the top two have acrylic in the waves.
View attachment 261751
View attachment 261752
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View attachment 261755

Really like these! Great sense of movement. Lovely palette!

 

[tall73]

Hi these are some semi abstract seascapes done plein air over the past few weeks. The second to last was done yesterday and the last was done today. We are getting some killer surf. They vary from 11x14 to 12x16 Watercolor on yupo except the top two have acrylic in the waves.
View attachment 261751
View attachment 261752
View attachment 261753
View attachment 261754
View attachment 261755

Note to self, I need to live near an ocean sometime! I like the second in particular. I remember you showing your set up before on the beach sessions. But for some reason it didn't strike me how relatively large the paper was. I think I need to try Yupo in larger sizes, as I was working with smaller stuff, and given its attributes, you need room to let it do its thing.

That giant amount of yupo you acquired really paid off! Glad you are getting the time to go out and paint.

Did you mean that you did mixed media with watercolor and acrylic on the yupo in the top two?

Do they work well together?

 

[tall73]

Tried painting outside for the first time with my Nintendo 2ds. It worked great! I used the super-scientific method of putting a beach towel over my head to shade the screen. Then I peaked out to see the scene, and then back under to paint. Great fun. This took 34 minutes.

Here is the video.

Colors! Live - outside by tall73

Here is a re-touched version that was a little closer to the lighting, but without the warm feel.

 

[Chris V++]

View attachment 261762

Tried painting outside for the first time with my Nintendo 2ds. It worked great! I used the super-scientific method of putting a beach towel over my head to shade the screen. Then I peaked out to see the scene, and then back under to paint. Great fun. This took 34 minutes.

Here is the video.

Colors! Live - outside by tall73

Here is a re-touched version that was a little closer to the lighting, but without the warm feel.

View attachment 261766

This is outstanding. Great technique of using the towel as a dark room. lol Wonder if the neighbors think you insane.

Yupo in larger sizes, as I was working with smaller stuff, and given its attributes, you need room to let it do its thing.

That's exactly right. You have to get out of its way. It feels a little like terra forming. For the sand, for example, you put down all the desired colors haphazardly in their approximate locations, then spritz the sand so the pigments are suspended in a puddle, then you tilt the paper around so the wet virtual 'sand' you created starts to move around on the yupo. You can tilt it in whatever direction you want it to run, respritz, blow on it through a straw, add texture with a dry sponge, add more pigment. When the fluid settles in an acceptable way you hold the paper flat till the water evaporates. The little grainy pigments stick to where they were left. This is a lot like how the planet gets reshaped - rain, flooding , wind, rapid sedimentation, drought. The paint pigment granules are just like the sand sediments on the beach. It's a pretty cool process.

 

[tall73]

That's exactly right. You have to get out of its way. It feels a little like terra forming. For the sand, for example, you put down all the desired colors haphazardly in their approximate locations, then spritz the sand so the pigments are suspended in a puddle, then you tilt the paper around so the wet virtual 'sand' you created starts to move around on the yupo. You can tilt it in whatever direction you want it to run, respritz, blow on it through a straw, add texture with a dry sponge, add more pigment. When the fluid settles in an acceptable way you hold the paper flat till the water evaporates. The little grainy pigments stick to where they were left. This is a lot like how the planet gets reshaped - rain, flooding , wind, rapid sedimentation, drought. The paint pigment granules are just like the sand sediments on the beach. It's a pretty cool process.

Yeah, I am definitely doing it wrong!

 

[tall73]

lol Wonder if the neighbors think you insane.

One was walking the dog, but had already passed by the time I stuck my head out, so couldn't get a good feel for the reaction!

 

[starryshadows]

Yes, colored pencils. My first attempt at doing any color work, actually. I prefer graphite. Didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped but still, not too bad.

I think it looks stunning! I love the effect you have of the flower popping off the page. I've never worked with colored pencils before myself; it seems like it would be hard to blend colors?

 

[starryshadows]

I have mostly been doing digital art lately. I do some pencil, some pen, watercolor, etc. but have enjoyed digital for years.

For that piece, and most of my pieces the last six months or so, I painted it with a Nintendo 2ds XL, with the program Colors3d. If you already have a 2ds or 3ds you can get the program for about 8 bucks or less. (My son bought me the Nintendo to play games with him).

It is more limited than some of my other programs, only having three brushes (a round bristle brush, a round flat brush, and a round soft brush), undo, eraser, and that is about it! Also, it is a small screen. However, I really enjoy using it because the buttons all work easily and intuitively together. It all fits in a small package and is easy to hold for long periods of time. I can paint with it almost like I would with a portable watercolor pallet. Also, I enjoy that you can upload it to their gallery and people can watch the painting process. This is good for learning techniques because you can watch some talented painters there. Here is the video for that one:

Colors! Live - beach by tall73

Because you cannot crop with Colors3d I find that I tend to do better at making full scenes, rather than just painting something that catches my interest and cropping it to size.

I will sometimes use other programs to adjust the levels and such. And Colors 3d, since it uses the small Nintendo screen, has a fairly low export size. It is vector based, but works like a raster program. So you can export it at larger size than just what you see on the screen. But it maxes out around 1500x1000, which is not great for prints.

Some of my other digital paintings I used a Wacom intuos pen tablet with Corel Photopaint or Corel Painter. I also enjoy vector with Coreldraw. Those programs have more power, but I enjoy just picking up the Nintendo and painting quickly.

Wow; I love that you have the function to record your process with that program! I love watching other artists' painting process. It must be hard painting on a smaller screen like that! Which only makes the art more impressive. It sounds like a really cool digital way of carrying around your art tools with you! I love that; I generally have to paint from photo references, so it's cool that it allows you to carry it outdoors to paint!

 

[starryshadows]

Welcome to the forum. Those are both good still life examples. And the vase especially has a good 3d effect with the strong values. Looking forward to the final version of the flowers.

What programs or hardware are you using for digital?

Thank you! I use a free program called Krita; I enjoy its variety of brushes and find it to be very intuitive to use. I paint on my laptop using Krita and a tablet & tablet pen.