The Mushroom elf

Mushroom elf. Markers and coloured pencils. Ulla Hennig, September 2012

I drew that out of my – wild – imagination. I was inspired by a photo of two mushrooms, and I had drawn the little boy quite some time ago, so I thought I could combine mushrooms and elf/boy.

This time I did the drawing mostly with my markers, using my coloured pencils mainly to add shades.

Impala Antelope

Impala Antelope. Coloured pencils and markers. Ulla Hennig, September 2012

This was drawn after a photo reference from the Reference Images Library at WetCanvas. It was one of the photos which served as photo references for the September challenge at the Animals and Wildlife Forum. I took part in that challenge for the first time, but it certainly won’t be the last!

I found doing the background more challenging than doing the animal itself. Somewhere I read that the colour “green” is a difficult one because it is easily done in a way which is not realistic. I used all my greens (light green, two kinds of dark green) and put some blue in it. In the end I did some blending with a very light grey marker.

Wild

Wild. Coloured pencils and markers. Ulla Hennig September 2012

This piece began as a doodle, just a few strokes with a coloured pencil here, and a few strokes there. I even used a rather scrappy piece of paper. But then I thought: “Why not keep on and try to make something out of it?” Then there was a moment when I thought I’d messed it up completely and considered putting the whole thing in the bin. However I kept on drawing, filling in paint and adding strokes and the background. And in the end, I didn’t feel too bad about it.

 

 

Blossoms and leaves

Blossoms and leaves. Coloured pencils and markers

I notice that I am having fun doing backgrounds – something which I have been avoiding for quite a long period. I think that I am getting really into colours now. Working with markers and coloured pencils doesn’t need much preparation – they are easily grabbed, and easily put away in the evening (I need the table for breakfast in the morning).

I also notice that art plays a big role in my daily life. My art activities range from painting/drawing a piece to looking for references, tracing, sketching, doodling to watching art tutorials on youtube or following threads on WetCanvas. They differ in how much time they take; of course I have more time on Saturdays and Sundays, but I manage to make at least 30 minutes for art on a normal week- and work day. Art has become something for me which I won’t do without – you may call it passion.

Pink Rocks

Pink Rocks. Coloured pencils and Markers. Ulla Hennig September 2012

Here I tried various combinations of coloured pencils with a single marker, which means that I used the markers more or less as blenders. I used grays and light pink as marker blending colours over  two or three coloured pencils of the same colour (for example: blue), and then with the marker blended them together.

I had no reference for the painting. In the beginning I just wanted to play with round forms. Then I had mussels in mind, then that image converted slowly into something more rocky-ish.

Shapes and Proportions

Youtube is a great place to look at other artists’ pieces, but also a great place to learn and get inspired. I’ve subscribed to quite a lot of channels, and I have to put time aside to catch up with the loads of videos coming in.

The following one is a really good one about drawing with shapes and changing proportions in order to give the figures a certain character. It is very playful and makes you grab your pencil and try for yourself…

Fantasy Horse

Blue Horse. Coloured with markers and coloured pencils. Ulla Hennig September 2012

The horse on the reference photo was a white horse. I however had a blue horse in mind with a yellow-brownish mane and tail, coming straight out of a fantasy tale.

I must admit I traced it. It still provided some challenges though – the shading and the flowing tail and mane. But it was fun!

Dragon #2

Blue and golden Dragon. Markers and coloured pencils. Ulla Hennig, August 2012

This is the second version of a dragon, based on the same lineart as dragon #1. I like the combination of blue and yellow / golden. I also added a dark background in photoshop, which makes the dragon pop out more. Of course you will notice that this dragon hasn’t got wings, so he cannot fly. But he can dance and prance…

Pumpkin Man

Pumpkin Man. Markers and coloured pencils. Ulla Hennig August 2012

Here’s another result of having fun with markers and coloured pencils. Halloween is still far away, but sooner or later pumpkin time will be here, and why not create a pumpkin man?

By the way, this is the last post in August, and here in Berlin summer is slowly changing into fall. It has been quite a creative summer for me. I even managed to doodle and draw when I had returned to work after a 3 weeks vacation! Well, I have to admit that my acrylic piece is still waiting to be finished. It is so much easier to grab pencils and markers and a piece of paper than to paint with acrylics. But I haven’t given up the hope that I will finish it in the near future.

Waterlily – finished

Waterlily. Markers and Coloured pencils. Ulla Hennig August 2012

Now it is finished. Did you know the various colours of water lilies? I just had a look at Google images search, and the number of colours is amazing: pink, purple, yellow, even blue. This makes me think whether I should create a small series.

By the way I had the usual skype chat with my friend Karen today, and we talked about the various ways of tracing and transfering the outlines to watercolour paper and other surfaces. There’s the quite traditional method of putting graphite on the back of the drawing, put the paper with the drawing then on the top of let’s say watercolour paper and trace the lines with a pointed pencil. But what to do if you want the outline done in colour? When we had finished the skype chat Karen had put together a very nice light table, using a lamp, a plastic container and a window pane and I now knew that I could easily transfer drawings to the paper using the window in my studio. So I might do the waterlily again with acrylics or watercolour…