#419

Today, I went out… Yay!
I went to an art and craft shop… Yay!
I bought a battery powered engraving machine and some watercolour paper… Yay!
I saw people who weren’t my family!… OMG!

I know you may not believe it, but it’s true. I also forgot to get batteries for the engraver, so I can’t talk about that yet.
As for the watercolour paper, I decided to paint a picture for my part in return for buying me a game called Overwatch. The painting is of one of the characters that he likes to play, Tracer. I haven’t quite finished, as we were playing the actual game for a bit. My favourite characters are Mei and Mercy, but as the game is new, I couldn’t find many pictures of them. Tracer is on the box, so she was easier to find references for. I will have to take screenshots for further fanart.
The art and craft shop is really cool, as it stocks so many different things. I went back and forth down the aisles for a while until I needed to sit down desperately. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to get to, as there isn’t a convenient bus going there, despite being quite a short car ride. Maybe I should save up next time, as I didn’t have a lot of money to spend this time, and I know I won’t be able to go back soon.
At least I have a couple of days to recover my body from the trip, and have plenty of watercolour and engraving to practice. I just keep forgetting to film it, and every time I put the camera on, I can’t think of what to do!
Stay awesome, Flock’em.

#418

Oops! In all the fun and confusion of figuring out live streaming, I’ve forgotten to blog! I’ll try to remember to blog what I’ve done on the streams, for those not able to attend.
Since I’ve been putting a bit of time into digital painting, and getting sore after using the pen for three hours, I needed a break, and am trying some watercolours again. I found a hardcover sketchbook that I bought years ago, but didnt get around to use, as although it was fairly cheap, it has nice paper and was saving it for something nice. I figured since my drawing has been going so well, I thought it was time to use the nice paper. It has a nice grain to it, and as I trialed today, is lovely at absorbing water. The paper is actually a lot nicer than buying cheap watercolour paper, and I have quite a lot of pages in the book.
Now you may have noticed my newly developed “ice cube try as pallette” technique. The steps are complicated, but try to keep up… find a cheap or old ice cube tray… and use it as a paint pallette. Since watercolours are activated with water, it doesn’t matter if they dry in the pallette. A tackle box is also great for this, as it has a lid to keep dust out. Alternatively, use plastic wrap over your pallette. This only works with watercolours, and gouache, NOT acrylic or oils.
So, this piece isn’t finished, I have plenty of layers to go, and have to try and make the cherry blossom petals stand out from the hair somehow.
Also, my partner suggested I start calling my followers my Raspberry Flock.
Baaaaaa.

#417

Frixion pens by Pilot came out a few years ago, and was marketed as an erasable pen, which was pretty cool, especially for inking drawings, and things. Back then there were only a couple of colours, bit now there are so many types. We stopped using these pens after discovering that once the pen passed through a laminating machine, the ink disappeared, though we weren’t sure why at the time. The other day, I had this video pop up in my YouTube feed, and had to go out and buy another frixion pen, and use it for this great technique. It turns out that it was heat that erased the pen (usually the heat caused by friction- thus the name.) So, following the video, the technique worked perfectly, and it’s nice being able to sketch out in pen, and not worry about it ruining everything, as it basically disappears after heated. There is a slight residue where the lines were, but if you use this to make a clean scan, that won’t matter. I’m not sure how it will work with markers and pencils over it, though. Pen Ink seems to work fine, though, as long as the frixion ink has dried.

Today, I have a YouTube channel spotlight in the form of DoodleDate.

I was resting my hands from drawing in preparation for tonight’s twitch stream, so I was watching a bunch of videos, and I love the idea of this channel. The couple who created the channel, Steph and Adam, are both illustrators, and they get together and have a time where they sit, talk, sometimes go out and eat at cafes and draw together. Luckily for us, they record these sessions, and watching them is lovely. Each one is unique and they often undertake art challenges, such as the three marker challenge, or swapping their pencil cases. I love the idea of a doodle date, and pitched it to my partner, who can draw, but doesn’t do it nearly enough, and he agreed to try it out. Now I can plan a nice indoor picnic, I think. It sounds fun.

Speaking of the stream, I’ve been working on some overlay images, as well as trying to get a cat cam to work. (The cats didn’t go near it all night.)
Starting of next Tuesday at 8pm Australian Central standard time, I will be streaming for 3 hours at twitch.tv/raspberrysheep just remember, Tuesday streams get a bit weird and there is swearing and frivolous activities, so if you’re looking for something nice and family friendly, do not come to that one. I will be making a nice one during the day (when all the weird people aren’t around) probably on a Friday. Hopefully that one will be a little more structured, and have more teaching, while being at an easier time for other countries to watch. I’d love to hear any questions or suggestions for lessons and let me know what you’d like to see on the stream.

Goodnight my sheepy peeps.

#416

Remember this from months ago? No. Ok… I did this as an idea for a digistamp. I cleaned it up and started to colour it in (I don’t know why, digistamps are just outlines) but I got so far and decided I didn’t really like it, and stopped working on it. Since my drawing binge started, around Christmas, I’ve noticed my art has improved a lot, and thought it was time to try redrawing some pieces, and this was in desperate need of an update. I’m very proud of the new version.

This is just a photo, from before I inked it, but you can tell how much better it looks. I mainly owe this improvement to Yamio’s Chibi tutorial, on YouTube, that I’ve mentioned before.
Apart from drawing chibis, I’ve been streaming my digital painting sessions on Twitch. I didn’t want to let you all know until I was settled, as I’m not really ready for a big audience, but I’m setting up a Raspberry Sheep account that would be better suited to this audience, as my private channel gets a bit weird and I can play games and swear. I’ll try not to do that on Raspberry Sheep, so that I can invite you and family members there, hehe. Trying to get my non-arty friends to ask questions about art and craft is difficult.

While I’m on the topic of digital art, I came across an amazing site for anyone who does digital art, or is thinking about getting into it, but isn’t sure if it’s for them. They have a massive free video library of five minute videos on just about every topic you can think of pertaining to digital painting, and art motivation. Visit Ctrl+paint, which have new videos out every Thursday, and you can comment, ask questions, and suggest future video topics. The videos skill range from before you know what digital art is to expert levels, and all categorised for you.

I’d better go to sleep before I sound anymore like a talking billboard. Night, Sheeps.

#415

Sorry it’s been ages since I posted, it’s been one of THOSE months.

In other news, I hand sewed this bunny for a future human. He’s nice and soft and cuddly and baby proof. I’m always wary of what to give babies, and don’t even trust safety eyes, that’s why his eyes are just embroidered circles. I may go over them and add a mouth, but I’m not sure. I got a bit sick of hand stitching half way through, as it was getting painful, so one I had finished that, I put him to the side for a bit while my hands recovered.

I had a dream about buying some pink fabric to make a bear, so I feel as though I need to make a pink bear, now. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything like the fabric from my dream, so I’ll have to figure that out. May take some improvising or a shopping trip.

I’m madly trying to design more t-shirts to sell online. I need to start focusing on finishing designs so I can start earning something for my work.

I’d better get some sleep. I’m getting sick on top of everything else (thanks to my other half) and need some rest. ❤