Illustrated by Annette Abolins

Reflections on society

2012-01-07T00:38:00.000+11:00

The saying that a picture says more than a thousand words feels ever so true to me... which is probably why I named my Sketchbook Project 'Every Picture tells a Story". There are forever ideas that half-form in my head (always starting as an image), but either end up on the 'I should draw that one day' pile, or simply get forgotten in the daily avalanche of new impressions. This project is giving me the opportunity to grab the ideas and put them down on paper as they pop into my head - and I'm really enjoying it :)

Worlds Apart - Famine in Sudan reaches catastrophic proportions...

while her only concern is to have to get up to reach the next packet of chips.

Natural Beauty is Priceless - $41,154 won't buy you a happy smile...

These two drawings are reflections on our society...
The first one is a take on how little bringing events of the world into peoples' lounge rooms seems to bring people closer together...

In the second one I want to hold a light to natural beauty in this age of cosmetic surgery - money can't buy love, and no amount of surgery will put a happy smile on your face unless you feel truly happy inside. When even teenagers and kids are pressured by advertisements and society to surgically change their appearance, surely something is wrong with how we view and accept ourselves?

Annette :)

Sketchbook Update

2011-12-29T19:57:00.000+11:00

Filling a new sketchbook is always a treat - especially when you have a project attached to it (with enough freedom to be creative). I recently joined the 2011 Sketchbook Project which involves receiving a sketchbook in the mail, which you then fill with drawings, sketches, collage or anything you like - and then send it back before the end of April next year. The collection of submitted sketchbooks then become part of the Arthouse Co-op Library in Brooklyn. You can also have your sketchbook digitised and included in the limited edition print version - enough carrots to have any avid sketcher sign up on the spot I know...
My book arrived just before Christmas, and although it's a tad smaller than I had expected, I've warmed to it and am busy drawing along the theme: Every Picture tells a Story. There were a bunch of pre-set themes to choose from & I think the one I chose was called "The Science of Story" - but I've changed it a little to feel more inspiring and less 'scientific' :) Below are scans of the pages I've done so far:

First page.... Sketchbook Project

The Queen of Chess wields her power - pen & ink

Count Dracula & his Castle - pen & ink

I did this drawing while listening to my son read Bram Stoker's Drakula...

Do you see what I see...? - pencil, pen & coloured pencil

And - while not completely done, I have finished the last 2 drawings in the major arcana of the Tarot Card project. I still have to paint them, but here are the inked versions of Judgement and The World:

Tarot - Judgement - pen & ink

Tarot - The World - pen & ink

Thank you for visiting and take care
Annette :)

Tarot - The Sun - and some drawings

2011-11-14T16:27:00.000+11:00

My latest card in the tarot series is The Sun; traditionally this card often has the sun clearly depicted in the centre of the card, with other elements in the foreground (faces, people, or a young boy riding a pony/horse) - I have deviated from this ever so slightly (having the sun represented by the girl), though the symbolic meaning is still the same: Positive creative energy, completion, joy, warmth and peace... all round a pretty happy card:

The Sun - coloured version

I also finished colouring/painting a few pen & ink illustrations from my sketchbook - I posted the drawing of my sun playing on the computer a while back, hoping to finish the coloured version sooner - I have included the drawing for reference to save going back through posts :) Even though the angle isn't the most interesting (drawing someone from behind), Ben sat still long enough for me to draw him, and I quite enjoyed both drawing and painting this one. The other one is more of a doodle - a guitar, some dangling feet and a quick sketch from a photo of Jimi Hendrix. I added colour just for fun, I don't think this one is overly great, it is just a doodle... :)

Original drawings scanned from sketchbook

Ben at the computer

Coloured sketchbook doodle

Thanks for visiting and take care
Annette :)

Design and Cartoon update

2011-11-02T15:24:00.000+11:00

This first illustration is part of a cartoon I did for a friend. I did have a lot of fun drawing it - especially as it is based on an (almost) real event, which had me in stitches. When funny things happen they conjure up images in my head begging to be drawn, and it is quite a delight to find the time to put pen to paper...

These next 2 are designs I submitted for the new underpass being built in the area. They are supposed to reflect different aspects of the community, and also provide some colour to brighten up the wall... :)

Annette :)

Tarot - The Star and The Moon

2011-10-24T14:21:00.001+11:00

In this post I'm back with 2 more Tarot cards, nearing the end of illustrating the 22 cards in the Major Arcana. I'm seriously thinking about doing the 56 cards in the minor arcana as well. This would make it a full deck of cards (and with such an inspiring project, I cannot help wanting to continue). Sometimes I do a drawing and find myself wanting to go in a different direction half-way through, a new idea pops into my head and I feel the drawing won't be finished unless I explore what's in my head... This happened with The Moon, which I'd almost finished and then along came this different idea; so I've ended up doing 2 versions. Personally, I'm happier with version 2 but you may think otherwise. The Star on the other hand, was 'easier' in that the idea was clear in my head from the start.

The Star

The Moon - version 1

The Moon - version 2

Annette :)

Pens and Drawing materials

2011-09-03T14:40:00.002+10:00

On the subject of pens and drawing materials I thought it might be fun to show some of my favourite items and talk a little about their uses. Each artist has their favourite pens and materials, and their personal way of storing, using and combining them (a friend of mine recently said that she sees pens for artists as extensions of their hands - I really like that analogy).

The Materials
Below you'll find a selection of the pens and drawing tools I use - happily laid out on a large white piece of paper before being snapped, I've added a number next to each group & explain how I use the materials below. The quality of this image doesn't live up to the highly professional product shots I borrowed and included in my last post..., but hopefully it helps give some idea. If you are just getting into drawing then you may find something of use here... if you are an avid drawer you may favour completely different materials (which is great as we're all different).

1. Pencils
I prefer to work with soft grade pencils - 2B is the 'hardest' grade I use - up to 9B for the darkest lines. Pencils are great on their own, to create a finished drawing - or to use as a sketch foundation for a drawing which I then finish off with pen & ink. Some of these pencils can be brushed with water to create a wash effect (a bit like watercolour or light ink wash).

2. Fixpencils, lead holders, lead, knife & soft rubber
I have put all these in one group as I tend to use them together. Lead holders are different from pencils in that they are refillable pencils - the holder, which is designed with comfort and use in mind, will generally last you a life-time (or slightly less depending on how tough you are on tools). Although referred to as lead holders, lead, and lead pencils; the word lead is misleading as NO pencils or sticks contain lead - they are made from pure graphite with a clay binding. I use an Xacto knife to sharpen both pencils and lead sticks, it is sharp and accurate and perfect for all shapes and sizes (as long as you're careful...). The soft kneaded rubber (also known as knetgummi) is my favourite eraser, it doesn't crumb, tear the paper or create a mess, instead it simply lifts or smudges the graphite (or charcoal) and can be used to both erase and shade parts of a drawing.

A pencil drawing of my hand...

3. Graphite
I use graphite in the same way as pencils, with the larger fatter sticks being more suited to larger drawings; one great aspect of graphite sticks is that you can lay them on their side to create wide strokes. Like pencils, graphite sticks come in different grades though they tend to be on the softer side of the scale (2B - 9B).

4. Conté and stomps
Conté sticks are a mixture of compressed charcoal, graphite and wax. The ones in peel-away paper casings are also suitable for drawing on lithography stone (the fatter the crayon or stick is, the darker the end result on the print will be). I use conté in a similar way to charcoal - it produces nice dark tones and tends to hold together a little better than pure charcoal, which makes it perfect for detail. Paper stomps are useful for shading, and smudging areas of a drawing (although I tend to end up using my fingers as well).

5. Charcoal
I must confess I love charcoal - for all its messiness it is a wonderful medium for producing drawings rich in contrast. I use Willow charcoal (produced from willow tree twigs) and also a soft form of compressed charcoal which produced a very black velvety tone.

6. Coloured pencils and graphite sticks
Coloured pencils come in all shapes and sizes ranging from the hard (light in colour) to the softer denser versions, and also the watercolour variety, which can be used to produce wash effects in a drawing. My favourite coloured pencils are soft and bright in colour; the graphite sticks and tricolor pencils by Koh-I Nor above, are lovely to work with.

Coloured pencil sketch of my daughter...

7. Ink pens & markers
I use ink pens & markers on their own for sketches and line drawings and also to finish off sketched pencil drawings. As with all tools there are favourites to be found in this group as well; ink colour and quality varies depending on the maker (black is often not a pure black, but will lean towards blue, green, purple or brown) - I tend to go for waterproof, permanent ink in pens as it tends to produce blacker lines and is supposed to stand the test of time more than soluble varieties. It also dries quicker, which makes it easier to work with.

... and to round of this subject on drawing materials: an ink drawing of my pen wallet.

Annette :)

Retail therapy

2011-09-01T16:59:00.000+10:00

The Addiction
There's all kinds of retail therapy, and by far the BEST for me is pens, paper, and all stationery and art supply materials! Walking into a well-stocked shop makes me lose track of time and enter a sort of dreamy state (comparable to the 'week at the knees' feeling you get when you hear a rumbling V8 engine). It's as much about seeing all the materials nicely stacked (the multitude is definitely inspiring), as it is about picking things up, feeling the paper quality, testing pens and pencils and wanting to buy the lot (which sadly isn't possible). A dose of pen and paper retail therapy always works wonders - and when budget is too low to shop I love sorting through the pens I have; lining them all up and then sharpening and testing them (and obviously drawing), I may be mad, but there really is something very satisfying about pens :)

The Online Experience
With the tactile element missing from any online shopping experience, you could assume that it would be less satisfying to buy pens over the internet... This is what I thought until I found this UK site: Cult Pens who stock practically every fabulous pen and pencil you could dream of! They make up for you not being able to hold the products by supplying nice images and well written (enticing) product descriptions. Having now placed my first order, I am convinced that these guys employ copy-writers who study 'penaholics' closely and know exactly what makes us tick :) Subtle use of words such as 'satisfying', 'really nice' & 'classic' combined with history, images and pen facts - mimics the feeling of being in a real shop, ensuring that the dreamy state remains all the way to the checkout page :)

The Pens...
Having searched for a place that stocks Caran D'Ache fixpencils for ages, I was positively thrilled to discover them online (being couch bound with the flu may have influenced the instant need for retail therapy, but I've happily decided not to over-analyse...). The images below are from the cult pens website - this being a post about a pen addiction, I just simply HAVE to show you images - and as I'm still waiting for my order, I've made do with these professionally photographed and highly inspiring product shots for now ;)

Annette :)

Hendrix and Witch in colour

2011-05-19T21:19:00.000+10:00

Hi again all :)

Here are two of the earlier line-drawings finished in colour. My head is a bit like a football at the moment (flu) so I will spare you from any attempts at writing a long and winding post. I did enjoy colouring these drawings, especially "wicked witch dreaming" - it's a feast to go colour mad :)

Wicked witch dreaming in colour...

Jimi Hendrix

Hope you're all well and thank you for stopping by

Annette :)

Easter drawings

2011-04-26T19:44:00.001+10:00

Hi all :)
Here are a few scanned drawings from my sketchbook. The rainy Easter weekend we just had - was perfect for drawing and listening to lots of great music... Jimi Hendrix was one of the musical adventures - he's an awesome guitarist and it's almost as if his music is made for drawing to, if that makes sense... I had a lot of fun with his hair :) While it's often hard to finish a drawing of kids (they don't tend to sit still for very long) I drew my son playing on the computer and actually finished it before he got up... Last there's a drawing completely from my mad imagination. I do plan to add some colour to these drawings, but for now I'm posting them as they are - straight from the sketchbook.

Jimi Hendrix - line drawing

Ben playing on the computer - sitting still long enough to draw him :)

The Wicked Witch from the East takes over my dreams...

Hope you're all well and thanks for stopping by!
Annette :)

Tarot - The Devil and The Tower

2011-02-10T10:49:00.000+11:00

I'm back again with 2 more cards in the tarot series:

The Devil has quite a few different interpretations out there - depending on where you look - ranging from pure evil to a bit of a trickster... One can look on it as either succumbing to temptations (lust, drugs, possessions, food and so on) or as being enslaved by those same temptations. There is a difference :) I don't tend to see the devil as an external tempter, but more as the (at times) uncontrollable aspect of oneself, which feeds on primal desires.

The Tower is a chaotic card - out with all those old ways in a big hurry! Symbolically the card talks about a traumatic change that will bring about new direction and positive growth.

The Devil

The Tower

Thanks for visiting and stay well!

Annette :)

Line Drawing and Colour

2011-02-02T00:52:00.001+11:00

I wish there were more hours in a day (and night!)... somehow I keep hoping that the evasive time-lords will relent, and hand out a special box of "extra hours when needed" to all those who ask for it!

Today was a very hot day, no cloud, full sun, and a hot wind thrown in for extra excitement! I do love summer more than any other season, but sometimes it stops you being super productive when the mercury is climbing towards 40 degrees... and so you tend to wait for that cool evening breeze (which decided not to come tonight) for working on things that ask for a semi-focused head. Without the evening breeze it's still very warm, but quite nice, and much better than freezing... a bit like living in a sauna :)

I spent this late warm evening finishing the drawing of my son (the coloured version), and here are both versions:

Line drawing of Ben - pen & ink on paper

Ben - Coloured Drawing

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Annette :)

Drawing Board Fun....

2011-01-31T14:46:00.000+11:00

Last week I got a drawing board - one of those you put on the desk and can adjust the angle in several steps. At one of my old art schools we had large adjustable drawing tables, which were fabulous (even though things would sometimes roll onto the floor....) A drawing board means you still have the table top for putting all those pencils and other bits and pieces on, and I just love it! The thing about working on a flat surface is that it sometimes makes it hard to avoid elongating (especially if you're drawing faces), as the eye tends to adjust to the foreshortened viewing angle... for large drawings I tend to use the easel to overcome this - and also to get more stepping-back and moving around space... but with smaller drawings I've either drawn flat or with the sketchbook on my knee... So it was very exciting to set up the new board and get to work!

Well... drawing is really comfortable and it's easier to get good lighting because there's less reflection on the paper. I was probably too excited about the board to look properly with the first drawing ;) - When finished and scanned I discovered that instead of elongating (or getting it right...) I was still in "flat mode" and had ended up squashing my poor daughter's face... I decided to keep the peace by making a few adjustments to the scan before I coloured her...

original scan on left & adjusted drawing on right

Amanda coloured line-drawing

I did a line-drawing of my son too, which I'll post once I've finished colouring it.

And here's a charcoal pencil drawing of the two of them together:

Ben & Amanda - charcoal & pencil drawing

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Annette :)

Tarot - Death & Temperance

2011-01-05T01:53:00.000+11:00

Today has been a day of colour :)

Death although inevitable, has more than gloom and doom in her cloak; carrying the wisdom of life and the ability to discard what has served its cause. The symbolic meaning of Death talks about the end of a phase - where the present situation is outworn and it is time to move on to something new.

Death

Temperance is traditionally often shown as an angel (wings...) close to water, and pouring from 2 cups. The symbolic meaning talks about harmony between the subconscious and conscious mind, adaptation, patience and an even temperament. To me, both harmony & an even temperament are closely linked with water - there are few things that put the mind at ease as well as a swim does :) My Temperance lives in the water as a mermaid-like figure, where she can float freely between the subconscious and conscious realms.

Temperance

Thanks for stopping by & take care!
Annette :)

3 Tarot drawings

2011-01-03T23:07:00.000+11:00

It's been so nice to shut down the computer for a few days and just spend time with pen & paper and the family - drawing at the kitchen table :)
I've scanned these last 3 cards, which are still waiting to be coloured - but I thought I'd post them here anyway and then update once they are finished:

Death, Temperance & The Devil

Thanks for stopping by & take care.

Annette :)

Tarot - Justice

2010-12-28T14:26:00.000+11:00

Justice started as a pen drawing on a plane several months ago, she travelled the world in her pen & ink state while her colours slowly took form in my mind waiting to be applied - Justice ended up having to be very patient with the last few months being so hectic with work and life. She sat there in my sketchbook waiting & waiting... I only just found the time to colour her, by which time she was probably starting to lean towards inJustice... The Sword & Scales are both traditional symbols of Justice, I incorporated the book and the two ravens to illustrate both gathering of wisdom and the ability to look further afield to see the 'whole picture' (ravens are wise and have very good eyesight).
I don't think I will leave the next card (death) quite this long... :)

Stay well & thanks for visiting
Annette :)

The Hermit & Wheel of Fortune

2010-07-01T00:27:00.000+10:00

Hello again all :)

Here are two more cards in my tarot series. I find it interesting how drawing each card tends to put me in the mood of the card I'm working on, which makes some of the cards in the series easier to spend time with than others (perhaps that's not really strange after all...). I accidentally (or sub-consciously) skipped the hermit and drew the hanged (wo)man instead a while back.., although once I started on the card I found it quite a peaceful image to draw.

The Hermit

The Wheel of Fortune

Line drawing for The Wheel of Fortune

Stay well take care & thanks for visiting!

Annette :)

Bicycle girls & Illustration process

2010-06-11T14:44:00.000+10:00

Hello all :)

In between tarot cards I dived in and did a few drawings for a project I'm working on with a friend. The aim is to turn it into a book, so I'd best not give too much of the storyline away - though I think it's safe to say the project focuses on dizzy girls and bicycles :) Posting work in progress can be a good way both to test the waters on ideas and also see things from a different perspective, which helps with the re-thinking or re-working process.

I am always trying to refine the process of getting from an ink drawing to a finished colour illustration, with the main obstacle being how to treat the scanned drawing :P Any tips, corrections or ideas are most welcome :)

My current process looks something like this (feel free to skip this part if it's too technical or boring):

First I do a feint pencil sketch which I then ink over using a nice black pen
I erase the pencil marks to avoid them being scanned
Next I scan the drawing (into Photoshop) at 300dpi black and white
I get rid of any marks that shouldn't be there, convert from bitmap to grey scale >> RGB
(I'm not sure if this is right, as I'm beginning to think the initial line drawing should be saved as a bitmap?).
I then select everything white - (fuzzyness set to around 145) and cut the selected pixels to leave a black line drawing on a transparent background - this then becomes the line-drawing I work on for the colours.
Once I've re-saved the file (with a different name so I have the original scan to revert to if needed), I create a layer below the line drawing and start adding colour - I use a variety of brushes to paint colour and add detail, and the paint-bucket tool to add large flat colour areas (changing colour mode and opacity as I go).
I then make additional layers for highlights and shadows, generally dividing up the illustration to keep background and detail on separate layers.
I usually have to duplicate both the flat colour layer and the line drawing layer, and work over the whole image touching up to minimize light or transparent pixels sitting just around the edge of the black lines (drives me mad - but is still part of the process :)).
When done, I make sure I've saved the psd before flattening the document and save it as a high resolution jpg.

If anything above stands out as "OH NO" please let me know :) I've experimented with using the pen tool to trace the drawing - creating vector lines which have noooooo fuzzyness (is this the best way to go and should it be done in illustrator or Photoshop?). For fun I've also experimented with Illustrator live trace - but to me it feels like cheating (even though you can end up spend hours fixing up the drawing after tracing it...)... so after lots of experimenting; the list above is where I'm at now - happy to continue refining and learning!

Thanks for stopping by

Annette :)

Tarot - The Hanged man

2010-05-31T01:46:00.000+10:00

I ended up drawing The Hanged man instead of The Hermit (which is the card that comes after Strength)...
I always get these two cards mixed up in order... To me, the three cards: Fool, Hanged man (or woman :) ) and Hermit - all represent ages of the soul, which is probably why I end up trying to put the hanged man in the middle.

The Hanged Woman

The Hanged (wo)Man - represents sacrifice for a noble cause and also spiritual awareness.. Hanging upside down does give you an opportunity to see things from a different perspective... I drew her as a joker (I believe they are pretty good at standing on their heads...), and with the scenic background I wanted the card to say that whatever you gave up to hang upside down; it was definitely worth it.

scanned drawing from sketchbook:

I know I said I'd go into more detail about the process of drawing each card - I hope to do that in my next post. Off to draw the Hermit - and hope you're all well :)

Annette :)

Tarot - Strength

2010-05-28T17:13:00.000+10:00

Traditionally the Strength card pictures a lion, but I chose a black panther instead; to me the panther embodies both grace and strength, along with a large measure of mystique - simply a gorgeous 'big cat'. I also liked the idea of strength being a side-by-side companion rather than a force to be tamed. I'm definitely allowing myself a lot of artistic freedom when interpreting the cards, even though I aim to retain the symbolic meaning of each card :)

The line drawing - scanned from my sketchbook:

The finished card:

Strength

Back with more soon, until then stay safe and well :)

Annette :)

Lovers and the Chariot

2010-05-21T03:15:00.001+10:00

The next two cards in the tarot series:

Scanned drawings from sketchbook

The Lovers

The Chariot

Sorry about the short post - it suddenly got very late and I think I need to sleep...
Back with more soon :)

take care

Annette :)

The Hierophant

2010-05-13T23:10:00.000+10:00

Hello all :)

Here's card 6 (number 5) on my tarot journey... The Hierophant.

Scanned drawing from sketchbook

The Hierophant

After the last high-flying royal cards (Empress, Emperor and Hierophant (which in some decks is referred to as The Pope...)), I think it's time to come back to earth for a bit :)

Take care

Annette :)

Tarot meanings & The Emperor

2010-05-12T21:58:00.000+10:00

Number four (or IV) in the major arcana is The Emperor (the Fool is either 'unnumbered' or 0). The Emperor represents power, reason, control and order. He (in this case she...) is the archetypal father figure, and upholder of discipline and leadership. There is an endless amount written about the interpretations and meanings of each tarot card for those who wish to go looking... Without going into too much detail, I've included a brief explanation for each of the major arcana cards - and as the tarot relates to aspects of oneself, I've also included the Jungian archetype, which can be applied to the card.

The Fool - Innocence, new cycle, wonder - The Child
The Magician - Skill, wisdom, energy, action - The Skilled Master
The High Priestess - Intuition, mystery, knowledge, inaction - The Secret Keeper
The Empress - Fertility, motherhood, creativity, harvest, nurture - The Mother
The Emperor - Leadership, control, discipline, dominance - The Father, Hero
The Hierophant - Spiritual, higher consciousness, guidance - The Wise old Man
The Lovers - Love, honour, trust, equality - The Soul, Anima & Animus
The Chariot - Hard work, conquer, opposing force, movement - The Warrior
Strength - Strength, courage, compassion - Endurance
The Hermit - Soul searching, wisdom, reflection - Wisdom
The Wheel of Fortune - Fate, chance, continuation, gain or loss - Fate & Destiny
Justice - Fairness, instinct, order - Justice
The Hanged Man - Spiritual awareness, necessary sacrifice, intuition - Sacrifice
Death - Major change, renewal, end of phase - Rebirth
Temperance - Diplomacy, patience, harmony - Balance
The Devil - Trapped, lost soul, destruction - The Shadow
The Tower - Traumatic change, chaos, realization, upheaval - Chaos
The Star - Inspiration, insight, understanding, openness - The Spirit
The Moon - Emotion, intuition, imagination - The Unconscious mind, Dreams
The Sun - Joy, happiness, pleasure, warmth - The Conscious mind, Joy
Judgement - Release, forgiveness, liberation, fulfilment - Evaluation, Reward

The World - Never-ending spiral dance of life, new life, completion - Wholeness

Scanned drawing of The Emperor:

The Emperor

Until next post - Stay well and happy

Annette :)

High Priestess and Empress

2010-05-06T14:47:00.000+10:00

Here are the next 2 cards in my tarot journey...

First the scanned drawings from my sketchbook:

The High Priestess

The Empress

I'm in a bit of a rush but plan to post more information about the cards and also the drawing process in my next post

Stay well and happy!

Annette :)

A Tarot Journey

2010-05-03T23:21:00.000+10:00

I like tarot cards, mainly for the images but also for the symbolism and mystique surrounding the deck of cards, which can help decipher or further muddle the things we already know :) My tarot cards have been with me for over 20 years (ouch), though I still remember finding them in a small shop in Sydney & falling in love with the illustrations (by Morgan-Greer). A number of years ago my sister made her own tarot cards, I can't remember if she did the full deck (78 cards), but she certainly put a lot of work into them, using family members and herself to represent the different cards.

All of the above inspired me to go on a bit of an illustration journey: Draw each card in the major arcana (22 cards) as a different aspect of myself. I know it's a bit of an ego trip, but after 2 cards I'm really enjoying it. I figure I can clad the ego trip in justified clothes by saying:

I'll get lots of practice and will hopefully learn new things
I'm working in mixed media as each drawing is pen & ink and then scanned & coloured
I need to work on all 22 cards 'belonging together'
It's an opportunity to wear a different outfit each day :)

Starting from the beginning I've done 0 - the Fool, and I - the Magician.

The original pen drawings:

After I'd drawn "The Fool" I realized that to me, she's running the wrong way - so I flipped her before I coloured her in Photoshop.

The Fool

The Magician

Meanwhile the dragon is resting... :)

Annette

My imaginary friend...

2010-04-26T02:12:00.000+10:00

Hello again :)

Sometimes I wonder how other artists' characters develop over time... do they sit on the desk and talk to the artist; telling him or her to give them more distinct features (make my nose bigger, come on.. green hair is just so yesterday... and so on), or do they put forward 'adventure requests' and jump up and down when they get put in a story they don't like? Do characters drawn by different artists get together and compare notes at any time? I'd love to know :)

What started out as a funny picture in my head about a dragon and a boy... now has me listening to the pair of them (dragon being the noisiest of the two...) on an almost daily basis; believe me - they have lots of ideas!

I did another illustration of the dragon and boy today - pen & ink, which I've scanned and coloured:

The original pen & ink drawing

My imaginary friend - coloured version

Until next post - take care :)
Annette

First encounters can be scary...

2010-04-20T01:22:00.001+10:00

Hi again all :)

This afternoon I was drawing at the table with my kids (who were busy drawing too.. ;) ). We had pencils and crayons everywhere, and a running commentary of all the different ideas and drawings taking form. The cat was begging for cheese (she succeeded), the sun was shining, and it was a great way to spend a few hours... As I enjoyed the first illustration of the dragon meeting the boy (and obviously I'm as curious as anyone to find out what happens next), I did a drawing; probably more of a comic strip (aimed at children perhaps...?) exploring the first few moments of their meeting...

Here's the drawing:

and the coloured version:

First encounters can be a bit scary... for both!

Perhaps they have more in common than they first thought...

Until next post - keep well :)
Annette

Dragon meets Boy - finished

2010-04-17T18:41:00.001+10:00

Here's the finished illustration of the dragon and the boy:

Dragon meets Boy - to be continued...

My daughter was reading to me from Harry Potter yesterday, and while listening to the very exciting story, I did a pen sketch of her sitting on the lounge (you may think she spends a lot of time on the lounge; truly she doesn't :D - but I will happily grab any opportunity to draw my children when they are 'semi-still').

So.. here's the sketch - scanned from my sketchbook (it's one of my favourite sketchbooks - each page opens 'flat' allowing you to draw across both sides):

And here's what she looks like after colouring the drawing in Photoshop:

Take care :)
Annette

Dragon meets boy - part 2

2010-04-16T00:58:00.000+10:00

I've still got the background and some more details to do on this one, but I'm having fun with it, and have a feeling there may be more than one illustration evolving from this pair :)

take care :)

Annette

Dragon meets boy - part 1

2010-04-13T01:29:00.000+10:00

Today my kids made these cute creatures from modelling clay, which are now sitting on top of my monitor giving advice on all sorts of things...

I'm not sure if it was my new-found role as a creature minder, which inspired me to think about what happens when creatures from different worlds meet.. Anyway I got thinking about dragons; fierce dangerous dragons, or are they...?

This is the start of a little illustration - which I hope to finish tomorrow:
Dragon meets Boy...

Annette :)

Four versions

2010-04-12T15:57:00.000+10:00

An illustration can take on a completely different look and feel depending on what you do with it. I've had a little play around with a drawing I did of my daughter sitting on the lounge. The original is a pen & ink line-drawing, and although it doesn't really follow the rules of cross-contour (where you use continuous lines rather than cross-hatching and or tone to show form), it was partly what I had in mind :)

The image above is the original drawing, pen and ink - scanned from my sketchbook

This is a very rough and quick watercolour test, which I did after scanning the original drawing & reducing the opacity to print showing only feint lines. Because of the paper being anything but designed for watercolour there was a bit of pooling going on, though I figured for a quick play (and a slight dose of impatience) it was worth it.

I then inked over the watercolour in a loose and more sketchy style compared to the original.

This last one is digitally coloured - working with the scanned original version of the drawing.

Until next post - stay well!
Annette :)

Welcome to the Creative Pencil

2010-04-08T00:33:00.003+10:00

Welcome to this very first post :)
I aim to use this space a bit like an online visual diary, over time I hope to fill it with work in progress and ideas. In the meantime you can view my work in the portfolio and gallery section.

Ideas can often appear a bit like a strike of lightning... for some unknown reason imagination tends to run especially wild when I'm on bike rides with my friend Amanda... Maybe we have this synced way of looking at the world through silly glasses... :)

So in this first post I thought I'd share part of a story (which you can read in full on the Biker Bunnies blog), with the drawings I did based on the story we conjured up as we rode around the back of Somersby...

On this fine morning we rode along a country road, when suddenly we spot 3 men standing out in the middle of nowhere, beside a lake, next to a car... Obviously (with help from our imagination) something shady was going on; in no time we'd conjured up a drug-deal gone wrong (under-belly style) with the two heavies taking the dealer out to a quiet country place to finish him off...

Now.. imagination needs some drama and involvement, and seeing as we'd made ourselves as 'witnesses' in this shady ordeal; naturally the 'bad guys' would come after us... They manage to capture Amanda (who knows what I was doing at the time...) and drag her off into the sunset.

With Amanda tied up in a warehouse somewhere (in the middle of nowhere), and the baddies trying to extract information from her terrified soul... I (somehow) come to the rescue and throw a bunch of water bottles at the mafiosos, putting an end to their bike-equipment torture regime.

All though far from reality, stories like this produce ample ideas for drawings. If you laugh or smile then it proves you're as silly as we are, if you shake your head - my only defence is: you had to be there :)

Stay well :)
Annette