My project for this month is coming along, although I'm struggling a little to balance it with my school responsibilities. Summer classes are hard! Figuring out how to cope with multiple responsibilities is never bad practice, though. Not to mention having something creative to do outside of school is refreshing (I'm taking art history and Japanese culture classes, so not much art creation going on right now). Here are the drawings I completed since my last update!
In case you missed my last post, what I'm doing here is going through my pet photos, choosing ones that seem like my pets will look interesting or funny without the support of their context (i.e. their environment), and then drawing just my pet and seeing how it ends up looking! So, with the drawing above, removing Kenshi's context made him look like a round head with a couple of paws underneath ๐ Kenshi was my dog all the way from high school until just a few years ago, when he passed away. This sweet-faced pose reminds me of all the good times I had with him ๐งก
My next drawing features my handsome prince, Bear, who recently passed ๐ค This is one of the most successful pieces from this experiment, because it ended up looking like he's breathing fire! I decided at the beginning to make the photos a Patreon-exclusive reveal, as a digital reward for Studio Mikarts members, so if you would like to see the secret behind this or any of the other images, just click through one of the links below the drawings, and you'll be able to sign up!
Next is another drawing of Sun! This one didn't turn out as engaging as I expected, even though something very specific and cute is happening in the original photo! The thing I'm learning the most while doing these drawings is that I'm not really able to predict, just from viewing the photo, how successful the final drawing will be. Maybe I'll get better by the time I finish all eighteen drawings for this month ๐ค
The tenth drawing in this series features Kiki, our only female cat, who is very spunky. But this drawing doesn't show that side of her! With this one, I was hoping to capitalize on the perspective to get an interesting result, but in the end, what I found most compelling about it was the way her fur pattern came out. I must admit, I'm pretty proud of being able to capture it using nothing but black lines on a white background!
Here is the third appearance of our recently-departed prince, Bear. The photo behind this drawing was taken when he was in his prime, the pinnacle of big and fluffy! It's been so long that I completely forgot that he used to look like this ๐ฎ So far, folks have had some guesses as to what's got Bear in this position, but no one's gotten it right, hee hee...
The final drawing in this post was completed just yesterday. It's Kiba, the black Manx's second appearance! This is based on another older photo but Kiba's looks haven't changed as drastically as Bear's did. He's a naturally small, short-haired cat, so the changes he's undergone as he's aged aren't as obvious ๐ I love how the final drawing makes his body look smaller than his head! Or maybe like he has the body of a perching bird XD
๐๐๐๐
I realized I'll have the perfect number of drawings at the end of this project to spread them out evenly across three blog posts, so that means there's just one more Pets Out of Context post on the horizon. I'll be moving onto another project next month, but there's always the possibility of more drawings in this style later on. Please look forward to the final six drawings in a couple weeks!
I thought up a new project! You see, we have a Google Nest Hub in our kitchen
that displays randomly selected photos we've taken, and one day a couple weeks
ago, it showed a very silly looking photo of our dog, Sun. In the photo, he
was sleeping on the couch with his snout tucked into the arm cushion. The
result was a very odd position that almost looked painful or physically
impossible, but which must have been comfy since he was sleeping like a log ๐
As we were walking Sun a while later, it came to me that it could be fun and
amusing to draw Sun as he appears in the photo, without drawing anything else,
so that the oddness of his position could be fully appreciated. I realized
this could be quickly done, which meant I could do it without compromising
schoolwork, and finally decided to make it my visual art project for July!
For my first entry into this series of drawings, I decided to choose a photo
of Sun, our Shiba Inu. He was the one who inspired me in the first place,
after all! I didn't use the photo that originally inspired me, though. I
didn't take that particular photo myself, so it was faster and easier to look
through my own library.
The next pet I chose to draw was our Ragdoll/Norwegian Forest Cat, Bear. He
was the oldest of all our pets, and very sadly, passed away only days after I
drew him. It was a long time coming, so it wasn't exactly unexpected, but I
was still happy to have drawn one more picture of him while he was still with
us ๐ค
The next pet I drew was our Manx, Kiba! He's a funny kitty who has undergone
an extreme personality change over the past few years, all for the better. We
rescued him as a stray (he had been living under our house for about a year
ever since the neighbors moved away and abandoned him; we finally took him in
when we noticed he had lost a worrisome amount of weight) so he was
understandably skittish when he first joined us. These days though, he is more
silly than scared, so we have a lot of good photos to use for this project!
After drawing three of our pets, I couldn't not finish off my first four
drawings with our last pet, Kiki! She's an American Shorthair (or
thereabouts), and a super playful, mischievous, athletic girl. She's the only
fellow girl I have here at home and I like to think we have a lot in common ๐
For my fifth drawing, I came back around to Sun again. This was the piece
where I had to make some decisions about things like collars. If the pet was
actually wearing it, should I draw it? In the end, I naturally ended up not
drawing them. I think it makes the final image even more interesting ๐
The last drawing I'm including in this post was finished just yesterday. For this one, I reached way back into the past and chose a photo of our family cat, Gaki, who has long since passed on ๐ค Kiki has been reminding me of Gaki a lot recently, so I think that combined with the inherent qualities of the photo itself is what lead me to choose the photo reference for this drawing.
๐๐๐๐
That's all for this post! I intend to keep drawing these throughout the month, so be on the lookout for future digest posts like this one! Stay safe and healthy everyone ❤
Hey everyone, happy new year! I'm recovering from the flu right now, but I wanted to start the year off right by making a little blog entry on the very first day of 2019. I have big plans for this year, most of which revolve around my return to college! Spring semester starts on the 14th and it's going to be the first time I've ever taken a full-time course load. I'm excited! I've always loved school, so being a full-time student is going to be really fun and satisfying. Outside of that, I'll continue making illustrations and creating rewards from them for my Patreon supporters throughout the year. I also figure that I'll have plenty of new artwork to choose from, so I'll participate in the Western Idaho Fair fine art exhibition again, and perhaps other art shows that are a good fit for my work. These things are what I'll definitely be doing, but a year is a long time, always ripe with new opportunity, so what I'm looking forward to most in 2019 are all the unpredictable things that will come my way!
May 2019 bring us all the strength, ferocity, tranquility, and protection of the Boar!
Happy Independence Day from me, here, in the United States of America! I was inspired to create something fun and unique today, since the holiday falls on a work day! Please allow me to present Aunt Sam!
"Aunt Sam 2018"
graphite, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and ink on watercolor paper, 5x7"
Completed 4 July 2018
I wanted to genderbend our well-known fictional representative and make her a cheeky, fun-loving lady (as opposed to the grump on the Army recruitment poster, lol). I don't know where the idea came from, but once I thought of it, that's all I wanted to do for my 4th of July Twitch stream. I think more than anything, the fact that this would give me a break from my February Gryphon illustration, which I've been working on diligently every day for the past few weeks, was what motivated me.
I ended up using an even wider variety of media than I originally planned. My plan evolved as I worked and after finishing the graphite sketch and the watercolor, my use of the gouache with a stencil proved that I would need to use something else when adding more detail to the background. I had intended to use gouache there too, but it was too bold and would have taken away from the main focus of the piece (Aunt Sam, that is). So I switched to metallic silver acrylic! I love the effect! I definitely think it was the right move. Everything else went as planned and I finished off the details with ink and more gouache.
Real time creation video of Aunt Sam 2018.
I had so much fun creating this piece (and chatting with one of my Twitch friends) that I ended up streaming for a full hour longer than scheduled! And I didn't even notice my back hurting or my stomach complaining for food like I usually do. I definitely needed this break :3 What a great way to start my long holiday weekend! Happy Independence Day, everyone ๐บ๐ธ
P.S. Consider supporting my art career by purchasing this artwork as a print! Available as art prints, mouse pads, mugs, and more! Click here to check it out :D
Today I'd like to share a chibi I drew for myself, as a response to an art challenge posted by my friend on my message board back in April 2017. The challenge was to draw something from one's first anime. When I thought very hard about it, I realized that, technically, my first anime was The Hobbit! Although it is a Rankin/Bass film, the animation was done by what would eventually become Studio Ghibli. So, to complete the challenge, I drew the cutest Bilbo Baggins I could!
"Chibi Bilbo"
ink and Manga Studio, 4x5"
Completed 9 February 2018
I've always loved the incredibly unique art style of the animated The Hobbit adaptation (as well as that of its sequel, The Return of the King). It was very fun to take that amazing style and process it through my own chibi style to come up with this super cute Bilbo! I started by finding a good reference image from the movie and then began sketching.
Completed sketch.
I used my Plumchester sketchbook to draw this piece and the sketch was done with a simple mechanical pencil. Interestingly, I didn't move directly onto inking. For whatever reason, I forgot about the project entirely until my friend posted his completed challenge drawing a week later XD
Erasing pencil.
Completed inking.
I used my Sakura Micron pens to ink. I may have used a small brush pen of a different brand as well, but I honestly can't remember anymore, lol. I cleaned it up and got it scanned in and digitized for coloring on my PC but, again, for whatever reason, I totally forgot about the project and didn't start coloring it until nine months later!!
My digital working environment with reference and color swatches.
What got me to finally pick this project back up was my need for digital work to do during the months when I was in-between homes earlier this year. I was extremely fortunate to be in a place where I could stream art on Twitch despite my awkward situation, but digital was MUCH easier to do since I had a rather small workspace. That's how I dug this file back up and finished it off! You can watch the whole thing happen in the video below!
The coloring of Chibi Bilbo in real time.
So there we have it! Took nearly a year but I finally completed my friend's art challenge XD I'm really happy with this chibi, it reminds me just how much I truly love that awesome, unique art style from Rankin/Bass's version of The Hobbit~
This year I did something I'm actually surprised I never have before: drew all my pets in chibi form! Pet caricatures are something I've done here and there in the past, but this year I've been taking it to the next level, promoting this artistic service as an inexpensive way to obtain custom artwork in my unique style. So, who better to model for this product than my own precious fur babies?
Click images to see them larger :D
Another reason I drew this set of chibis was because I needed subjects for the weekly themed drawing I started doing for my Twitch livestreams, Chibi Friday. I wanted to avoid too much fan art and everyone loves animals, so I figured my pets were a great subject that anyone could enjoy (^^) Each of these drawings took about two hours to draw, give or take, so they were also the perfect fit for my standard streaming window!
"Chibi Kiba"
ink, marker, colored pencil, 4x6"
Completed February 2018
The first pet I drew was my black Manx, Kiba. I don't know why I decided on this, but I started with him because I wanted to draw everyone from smallest to biggest. The reference photo I used showed him laying on the floor on his side, looking up at the camera. I'm not sure if that comes across here without a background, lol.
Here's the video of Chibi Kiba's creation!
"Chibi Kiki"
ink, marker, colored pencil, 4x6"
Completed February 2018
Next, as the second smallest pet in the house, I drew my cat Kiki. Her full name is actually supposed to be Tanuki because of her adorable striped tail, but that name was very quickly shortened XD For her chibification, I chose another unusual pose as reference. I wanted to challenge myself to draw chibis in positions that I never have before. So she's sitting on the floor, looking straight up at the camera, in her reference image.
Here's part one of chibi Kiki's creation...
...and this is part two!
"Chibi Bear"
ink, marker, colored pencil, 4x6"
Completed March 2018
Next on my list was Bear, my second largest pet and the biggest cat. He's also the oldest pet! If I remember correctly, Bear's reference image was unique among this series because I took it right before I started drawing. We had only just got his weight back to normal after years of trial and error so I wanted to draw him looking his healthiest (^^) He wasn't very amused by my picture-taking so that's why he looks kind of annoyed in the drawing, lol.
This is chibi Bear's video~
"Chibi Sun"
ink, marker, colored pencil, 4x6"
Completed March 2018
Finally, the last pet in this series, and the only dog, is my Shiba Inu, Sun! His name is pronounced "soon" like the Chinese surname (I named him after the Sun clan in Dynasty Warriors and Sun Wukong, the monkey king X3). His might be the most difficult pose I took on but I'm extremely pleased with the result! In the reference image, he was laying upside down in a recliner, lol.
And here is the creation video for chibi Sun!
So that's everyone, three cats, one dog, Kiba, Kiki, Bear, and Sun~ If you'd like me to chibify your pet, or even your favorite animal, I am always open for these quick projects! Just email me at Denise.Mikarts@gmail.com to get set up!
This is an extra special post since it covers a project that I've been working on since years before I even thought of starting this blog. Way back in 2011, my services were engaged by several members of a group of online Warhammer roleplayers. They had seen my previous tabletop gaming character design work and wanted me to bring their team to life :)
First group, completed 2014. Click image to see larger!
Specifically, they wanted me to visually design and illustrate six of their main player characters. They were all Druchii, the Warhammer dark elves, all with very different aspects and histories (as is only right in a decent roleplaying party). I received written descriptions of each character and started my work from there. Eventually, another member of the group liked my progress so much that he commissioned me to design a further four characters! I was so excited to be in such demand!
Unfortunately, that excitement caused me to bite off way more than I could chew. I thought I would be able to complete the project in a manner of months. When all was said and done, it took me almost seven years! I finished the tenth and final character in March of this year. I suppose seven is an auspicious number, and I learned a LOT about a wide variety of things thanks to this project, so in the end, I completed it with positive feelings.
Second group, completed 2018. Click image to see larger!
Aside from technical skill I gained through visually working on these characters, I learned a lot about myself as a professional artist. I learned what I can and can't handle, I got a better idea of how long it takes me to create things, I realized that design work MUST be approached differently than work that already has complete visual reference available. Perhaps most importantly, I understood the true value of my time. As hard as it may be to turn people down or ask for more than I know they can offer, underselling myself just to snag the job does no one any good. I end up losing money, motivation, and confidence, while the client loses faith and patience while wondering if they will ever see their dream brought to life. If nothing else, I'm extremely thankful for this commission because it made me a better artist, both technically and professionally.
If you'd like to engage my services for a character design project like this (I give you my word I won't take seven years to complete it ๐) feel free to email me at Denise.Mikarts@gmail.com!
Last month, I heard of a cool new monthly art challenge that is right up my alley: #CopicColors! Obviously, it involves Copic art markers but in particular, it challenges people to create/color a drawing using nothing but the three featured colors of that month. The colors are posted on Copic's website and they sell a three-pack of those colors for a limited time each month. I LOVE my Copic markers, so there was no way I wasn't participating once I learned of this! I even added it to my livestreaming schedule; I now do my monthly Copic Colors drawing every third Monday of the month :D
Pencil sketch and marker test.
Since this was my first time doing the challenge, I had to decide on my personal completion rules. Turns out, there aren't any official rules at all, just the announcement of the three colors each month. A lot of people approach the challenge in different ways--some use NOTHING but the markers, some allow the addition of the colorless blender, some only use a couple colors, and I've even seen some people add a contrast color for effect. Here's what I decided to use as my personal rules:
Black and white ink are allowed, as well as graphite and eraser for underdrawing.
All three colors must be used.
No other colors may be used.
Colorless blender is allowed.
And finally, most important for me:
Colors can be substituted as necessary.
You see, for my very first Copic Colors challenge, one of the featured colors isn't available in the Classic line of markers, which is the set I own! There's no way I'm buying markers from a different set just to do this challenge, so I decided that I can choose the next best color from my set when a color isn't available. (Of course, if the color is available in a Classic marker but I just don't own it, I will happily expand my collection!)
Lineart, on marker paper, made using a brush pen.
Since the colors for February were pink and brown, I decided to draw chocolate-covered strawberries :3 I even found reference images that had pink-tinted white chocolate along with the dark chocolate, so it was too perfect. I decided to use marker paper, and that was for two reasons: 1) c'mon, marker challenge, marker paper! and 2) the paper is translucent which allows me to trace my sketch. I used a black brush pen for the main lines. Even though I was also allowing myself to use white ink, the sheen on the chocolate areas wasn't very strong, so I only used it on the white heart sprinkles. I tried to use my colorless blender marker, most especially to get a nice variation of tone from the single brown marker, but it totally died midway through the project! You can see the difference in the final piece: the left-most berry is so much more smooth and blended than the center and right.
You can watch the entire creation of this piece on YouTube! As I mentioned earlier, I added it to my livestreaming schedule, so my Twitch stream recorded it all in real time :D
Copic Colors Challenge, February 2018, ink & marker
I think, for my very first try and considering that I had to substitute one of the three colors, my February Copic Colors drawing came out nice! If my colorless blender had survived the project, I would be more happy with the brown application, but I made do with what I had. It was just an extra challenging challenge, this time!
(P.S. I bought a refill and brought my blender back to life right away, lol. Should be good to go for a long while, now!)
In this blog post, I'm going to share a group of chibis that I recently created in January as a way to show supporters, and especially potential supporters, of my Patreon what a "chibi" actually is, since chibis are a big part of the rewards system there. I decided to draw two human chibis, one in physical media and one in digital, and two animal chibis the same way. I hope that the four chibis together will be enough to show the variety of subjects and finished looks that my supporters can choose from when they receive a chibi drawing as a reward.
Ink, marker, and colored pencil on index paper, 4x6", Completed January 2018
So this chibi is the first human, done in physical media. I used a photo of myself from a 5K race that I had run just the weekend before as reference. This drawing is pretty much all in line with the reference photo except that I changed the color of the mug I was holding (it was an awful neon green originally) and added a generous red tint to my hair and eyes. And well, of course I went really strong with the blush on the cheeks, just as I always do with chibi humans X3
Ink, marker, and colored pencil on index paper, 4x6", Completed January 2018
Next is the first animal, done in physical media. I decided to draw the Studio Mikarts mascot, Ranger, a black and red (as opposed to tan) Shiba Inu. I had only ever drawn her once before and I realized that not only was she a perfect subject for this series of chibis, featuring the artist and the mascot serving as examples of Studio Mikarts, it was a great opportunity to draw her with my current level of skill. I still like the original drawing of Ranger, but this one is definitely much more well done.
Manga Studio and Lazy Nezumi Pro, 4x6", Completed January 2018
This chibi is the second human, done in digital media. I used a reference photo of myself again but this time chose a completely different look. Instead of a sporty, post-race runner, now chibi Mika is a glamorous newlywed! Indeed, I used a photo from my wedding reception as reference for this chibi :3 My chibi dress turned out super cute, lol. I was able to use a lot of techniques here that really show what's different about what I produce in digital media.
Manga Studio and Lazy Nezumi Pro, 4x6", Completed January 2018
And finally, this chibi is the second animal, done in digital media. It's the Studio Mikarts mascot again, Ranger the black and red Shiba Inu! The two previous drawings I've done of her were both stationary positions so this time I searched for a really active, dynamic reference image. I think Ranger looks even better leaping! Shows off her pretty markings. In fact, I had to decide on her fur pattern in some areas while drawing this because the other positions never showed those areas of her body. The biggest thing I gave her in that respect was the cute skunk stripe on her tail :3
As I said at the top of this post, I created these chibis as reward examples for my Patreon supporters. That could easily include you! Every backer at the $5 level and above gets entered into a monthly contest for a free chibi character. Some higher support levels include discounts on art commissions (which obviously could be used toward chibis) and the top level includes a free chibi each and every month, on top of the chance to win the monthly contest! You can check it all out and become a member of Studio Mikarts here: https://www.patreon.com/studiomikarts
Although I haven't yet shared my second lucky dip drawing, I'm going to go ahead with sharing my third one. This is because the second drawing is currently packed away! When I packed up my art studio to move, I figured I wouldn't need that piece before I got all unpacked. Clearly, I was wrong XD I don't want to get behind on posting my art, so that's why I'm sharing my third Lucky Dip today. I'll catch up on number two once I'm unpacked and set up in my new studio.
These are the art supplies I had to use this time.
As with all my lucky dips, I use a spreadsheet that lists all my art subscription box supplies and RANDOM.ORG to decide which items I'll use. I always pull five different numbers, no more or less, though a single item on my spreadsheet might actually contain more than one thing. That's what happened this time when I drew number 48, the PanPastel set. This set alone contains five different pastel colors and four different smudging tools, all in one compact unit. I consider it one item, which is why, even if I had drawn its number first rather than last, I still would have chosen four more numbers.
For reference, here are the other rules I set myself for these challenges:
A pencil for underdrawing is allowed, but all marks must eventually be covered/erased.
Extra tools such as paintbrushes, blenders, and erasers are allowed.
Substrate can be selected freely, based on appropriate use of the Lucky Dip items.
Final piece must clearly show use of all Lucky Dip items.
My tools and selected paper.
Since the pastel set had so many different colors to use (and my rules require me to use them all) I decided to go with pastel paper as my surface. Pastel paper isn't great for markers, but it works fine with all the other tools I needed to use. It turned out that the marker would have done poorly regardless of what it was used on...but more on that later. I have various colors of pastel paper I could have used, but since I had so much color to work with anyway, I chose a white sheet.
Lucky dip plans! This was a good idea; donno why I didn't do it sooner XD
This lucky dip is kind of unique in that I pulled the numbers and sketched out my ideas a year or two before I actually started creating the piece. This is another one of my many projects where I felt overwhelmed by all the little things I needed to do in order to follow through properly. I was already two blogs behind, I didn't really enjoy creating my second lucky dip piece, and even though I sought to make things easier on myself by planning ahead instead of deciding on-the-fly how to use each of the materials, I just sort of dropped it after the sketching stage.
Lucky for the project (the lucky Lucky Dip project XD) I decided to try livestreaming my art on Twitch this year. I'd never livestreamed anything before, or even posted videos of my art, but I knew I wanted to go in with a schedule and a plan. I had first learned of lucky dips thanks to YouTube videos, so it quickly came to mind and I actually ended up scheduling it as my very first livestream. You can watch it on YouTube now, to see the entire creation of Lucky Dip III from start to finish:
All done! This dragon looks glorious! Table's a wreck XD
It felt really good to do this lucky dip. I had enjoyed my time working on the first one, but the second one felt like I was fighting with it the entire time, so I was a little worried about that happening again this time, especially since it was going to be broadcast live. I did some deep breathing before I hit the start button on my streaming software XD Once I got started though, none of my worries came to pass. Everything went smoothly and the final piece turned out even better than I imagined! This piece restored my confidence in the Lucky Dip project.
RIP Touch Twin Marker in Marigold
The one real hitch in this lucky dip was the Touch Twin Marker. It was an item I received in my second ArtSnacks box, back in April 2014, nearly four years ago. I only used it a few times before this lucky dip, but despite being properly capped and stored, it was almost completely dry when I used it here. It had enough left to do what I originally intended--give the dragon its undertone--but I knew I would have to retire it after this. I took one last photo before tossing it XD
Ink, marker, pastel, and white charcoal, 9x12", completed January 2018
I'm really glad I came back to this project, even though it took me so long. The lucky dip idea--randomly drawing a limited selection of tools and then using them all together in one piece--is a great way to force myself to think outside the box, to use tools that I've spent money on but generally don't consider, and to liven up my video channels and blog with interesting content that you all can come to expect from me on a regular basis. I hope you enjoyed this lucky dip and that you'll continue to look forward to them in the future!
A lot of, "Wow, finally!" with this drawing! For one, this was the first piece I completed this year, in the very first week of January, and yet I'm only posting it now, in the last week of February XD For two, and much more impressive, this is the second in a series of chibis that I started way the heck back in 2008! It's been practically a decade between my first entry and my second entry (⊙_⊙) Hopefully, I'll be able to complete more before another ten years goes by!
I sketched the rough lines on paper, drawing the bear, staff, and Sean separately.
I then combined the sketches in Photoshop.
I'm actually quite sure I will have more to add to this series before the end of 2018. I've decided to follow up the "birthday person's favorite animal ACEO" theme that I did in December 2017 with a new theme for the entire year: fantasy chibi birthday person! The most basic idea for this series of chibis was thought up by my friend Trent ("draw your friends as chibis") and I decided back then to draw everyone as a sort of fantasy RPG-type character riding on the chibi animal that I felt fit them. So the first chibi I did, way back in 2008, featured Trent riding a black horse. I truly intended to make more, even thought of a couple more friends' outfits and animal mounts, but at the time, the first chibi had been one of the hardest projects I'd ever done (and I think that's why the drawing still holds up quite well today). I think I burned myself out and that's why it took me so long to come back to this project.
Final lines completed in Photoshop. It was my first use of Lazy Nezumi Pro.
I left the areas under the visors intentionally light or blank.
So here we have my husband, Sean, whose birthday is the first one of the year on my list. He really likes tabletop gaming and one of his favorites is Shadowrun, a sort of cyberpunk magical world based in Seattle, WA (or at least, that's how his explanations make it seem to me). Using that as the basis for what kind of fantasy character he should be, I designed all the armor and the background to match. I decided on a black bear as his mount because Sean is like a big, cuddly bear in real life. I considered other bears--brown bear, polar bear--but the black bear's general reputation (or really, its lack thereof--grizzlies are known as ferocious, polar bears make people think of the environment) fit Sean the best.
I really surprised myself with how quickly I was able to complete this piece. I didn't time myself when I created the first chibi in the series but I'm sure I didn't get it done as quickly as this one. I finished with enough time to print, dry, trim, and frame it before Sean's birthday! It's probably for the best that it took me so long to try making more fantasy chibis; there's no way I'll burn out now with my current level of skill and experience (^^) Here's hoping the rest of the chibis I intend to draw for birthday people this year are just as quick and easy so that busy birthday months aren't tough to manage!
Happy Valentine's Day! It's a bit late, but I'm finally here with my unboxing and review of the February 2018 monthly ArtSnacks box! For anyone who doesn't know, ArtSnacks offers monthly blind boxes on several different subscription plans. These boxes always contain at least four (and often five or six or more) full-size, premium art supplies. This is the last box of my third year being subscribed to the service and I'm still not bored of it! Let's see what came in my box this month.
I love when ArtSnacks themes the boxes for the holidays!
I was really happy with my January box and the February box didn't disappoint either. Everything, again, was totally up my alley! Drawing and watercolor supplies--my favorites! Here's what was on the menu:
Sennelier French Artists' Watercolor [lemon yellow, titanium white]
Raphaรซl Mini Precision Brush, Flat Size 2
Faber-Castell Goldfaber Sketching Pencil 2H
Sakura Pigma Micron PN
BONUS: Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper Sample
Outside of the actual art supplies, my box also came with a little serving-size bag of Sweethearts and a Valentine's Day-themed ArtSnacks logo sticker. I still love that every box comes with these fun bonus items!
Test of both watercolor tubes and the brush.
Sennelier French Artists' Watercolor
Watercolor is one of my favorite media so I'm always happy to receive more in my ArtSnacks boxes. I was a bit disappointed to receive white this time, though. I so rarely use white since I work on white paper (and the sample paper that came in this box was white, as well!). White is good for mixing pastel shades and greys, so it's not a useless color, but I always unbox thinking first about how I can use all the supplies together for my ArtSnacks Challenge (a piece made using all of that month's supplies and nothing else). It was not easy to imagine using every item from this box effectively in the same piece. You can see, in the testing image above, how the white paint is virtually invisible on the white paper of my sketchbook. It shows up well on the yellow paint, though, which was what made it possible to complete my ArtSnacks Challenge successfully this month. As for the yellow paint, there's nothing much for me to say about it. It seems like a quality watercolor paint, plenty of pigment and no weird smell like some other brands.
Raphaรซl Mini Precision Brush
This brush is one of the shortest-handled brushes I have ever seen! I was skeptical at first glance, thinking it might be uncomfortable to use, but once I tried it out, it didn't really feel any different than other short-handled brushes. I could see someone with really large hands having trouble, but then again, such a person might have trouble with any short, thin handle. When I used this brush for my ArtSnacks Challenge, I found it worked really well, holding a lot of color, spreading it evenly, and it didn't lose its shape or any bristles. Based on the menu, it seems like all boxes contained the flat size 2 brush.
A little side story about paint brushes: Recently, I finished painting the interior of my house but we were in a rush to move out (I was painting it because I sold it) and the painting supplies all got packed before I was done. We went out and bought a couple of those cheap painting kits--the kind with a roller brush, paint pan, foam brushes, etc.--and most of the supplies were fine except the 2.5" brush that was included. It was SO cheap, so awful, I was barely able to paint anything. I threw it away as soon as I was done painting because it was already falling apart after only a couple hours of on-and-off use. I've never worked with such a cheap, useless brush, not for interior or fine art applications. I'm bringing this all up because it really made me appreciate how good even the worst of my large collection of artist brushes are. It especially made me think about the fact that I've never gotten a bad brush from an ArtSnacks box. I almost feel spoiled. It's so great to paint with quality supplies!
Pencil Test. The hard graphite doesn't show well in the photo.
Faber-Castell Goldfaber Sketching Pencil
Thanks to ArtSnacks, I will probably never need to buy another artist pencil again. I have so many now! But I'm never unhappy to receive another one :3 I've been particularly keen on harder pencils recently, since they are great for doing underdrawings which will eventually be erased (the harder the pencil, the easier to erase cleanly) so this 2H was quite welcome. I don't have anything in particular to say about it, it's a hard graphite core encased in wood, easy to hold and does its job. Can't really ask for more.
Micron PN test. Like most Microns, the ink is black.
Sakura Pigma Micron PN
Now this item REALLY intrigued me. I'm a longtime user of the Sakura Pigma line and until I received this pen, I thought I had already seen (and owned) every pen under the Pigma banner. I can't describe how excited I was to see something new from a familiar brand! The blue-green color for the "PIGMA" and "PN" printed on the body was so visually striking since I am very used to my other pens that have purple or red text, instead. I had no idea what "PN" could possibly stand for. This was the most excited I'd felt by an ArtSnacks item in quite a while! Instead of the thrill of an utterly new tool, it felt like the shock of a plot twist!
I finally turned to the menu to learn just what was up with this marvel. It turns out, "PN" stands for "plastic nib". I totally would not have guessed that, lol. The nib allows for a bit more range in line weight than the Microns I'm used to but it's otherwise the same as the rest of the line. The ink is water/alcohol proof when dry, which is the nicest thing about these pens and the reason I've used them for so long.
My ArtSnacks challenge!
I actually completed my ArtSnacks challenge for this month before writing this post, which is somewhat unusual, but not bad since I can include it here instead of making an additional post. The reason I got it done so soon was my Twitch livestreaming schedule. Every second Monday is ArtSnacks challenge day, so regardless of whether my unboxing post has been completed, I have to get my challenge piece done. Not only that, but it's done live on the Internet for anyone to watch! I started livestreaming in January but this was the first live ArtSnacks challenge I did. If you'd like to watch it, it's been uploaded to YouTube!
I drew a grey heron. I really like birds recently!
ArtSnacks is on a roll so far this year. They've had a great first two boxes (at least according to my tastes) and they've been teasing their birthday box for next month, so I'm hoping I'll be just as happy with that one. ArtSnacks' birthday is my subscription anniversary, so the March box will be the first box of my fourth year as an ArtSnacker!
Pencil shavings canister gets another sticker.
So, fellow subscribers, what did you think of the February box? Did you like what you got? Did you participate in the challenge? Non-subscribers, are there any questions about the items I got this time? Is there anything you'd like me to cover in my unboxing posts that I missed this time?
