Mariana Black Illustration

Setting - Out of my Window

 

 

Settings and landscapes are another subject I don't paint very often, so these Make Art That Sells course prep assignments are really pushing me out of my comfort zone. Seems as though everyone is conspiring to do so recently! Well, I'm welcoming challenges, so I took this one up with much amusement and a good heart, and did a couple of rough sketches. Above is one of them, and below is another:

 

 

And I finally remembered to take some photos of the process ... well, of the second one anyway. Here they are:

 

 

I'm going to declare myself quite satisfied with my rough attempts, for now at least. If I intend illustrating for children's books I shall have to practice loads more I suspect! Well, am certainly not scared of trying out new things, or of change in general, so we shall have quite a pleasurable ride ahead ... Cheers.

Drawn and painted with Staedtler pencils and Winsor and Newton watercolours in a square Pink Pig sketchbook.

 

Finding Minette

 

 

I'm not very adept at drawing human characters, so I normally try to avoid doing so. But of late I'm learning to face my fears (yes, ouch), to explore them and embrace them. The result has been surprising ... I'm discovering a new world full of creative expression and, dare I say it, joy. So when I saw that one of my favourite online 'schools', Make Art That Sells, was offering a children's illustration course, I jumped at it. They've started us off with 5 days of preparation, beginning with character exploration. Well, below you can view a few of my tentative sketches -- and above is, I hope, my final result. Minette ended up finding me, and I think we're both fairly pleased at ourselves and looking forward to getting to know each other better.

 

 

It's only a beginning and I'm aware that I have a lot of work ahead of me. Clearing the dark, scary corners of my inner world is not an easy task. But if these are the discoveries I'm going to be making because of it, well, pass me that broom as I'll be sweeping away quite happily no matter what I find. I'm in this for the long haul, so I welcome all challenges that come my way. I hope Minette and I will remain friends for a while ...

Painted in a Pink Pig sketchbook with Staedtler pencils and Winsor and Newton watercolours. Cheers.

 

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Animal Sketches

 

 

I love exploring. Here, I'm getting to know my animal friends better. Drawing them, and drawing them, and drawing them again, in as many ways and mediums as I can think of, until I discover their true characters, what lies behind the bare sketchy bones, and they finally allow me to truly see them so that I might place them on a page in a style that they're content with. I think I'm getting there, finally. It's a slow process but full of fun. Below are some of the stages I went through, and close-ups of the sketches of my little panda and his friends, the red panda, golden monkey, Temminck's Tragopan bird, and a mouse ... I still have to add the leopard cat, he'll be along soon. I'm learning patience ... but in a positively joyful way.

 

 

I think they're beginning to trust me now! We seem to be enjoying ourselves superbly, which is good news as we have a long journey ahead together. More coming soon. Cheers.

 

A Little Red Panda or Firefox

 

 

I'm meant to be doing rough sketches of animal companions for my baby giant panda, but keep getting carried away and distracted. Story of my life, really ... quite amusing, except when I have a deadline to work to. My excuse here is that I'm getting to know these animal friends better, as I should. So here's a little red panda that I originally sketched in pencil and then coloured with watercolour pencils and finally, above, popped into Painter and then Photoshop to finish up digitally, curious to see how it would turn out. I'm growing quite fond of it.

 

 

I have to admit that I prefer the slightly rough watercoloured version to the too-clean digital one. This seems to be a new trend of mine, preferring the untidy sketchy outlines to a far more detailed and perfectly (technically I mean) finished end result. Slight difference to the way I used to draw, but then life has been chock-full of changes recently and I'm going with the flow now, remember?

 

 

My preparatory sketches are far 'rougher' than they used to be, in fact I never actually drew preps before, instead setting pencils to paper to produce a finished product that I'd already seen completed in my mind. I'm now told that these are actually still too 'finished', funnily enough. Still learning, folks, and enjoying the lessons as I go.

So, which panda version do you prefer? The paper or digital one? I'm off to get acquainted with more animal friends and will keep posting those experiments here so please do stop by again. All and any comments, criticisms and suggestions are always most welcome. Cheers.

 

PS: According to the Red Panda Network: "The Red Panda, or “firefox,” is often referred to as the “lesser panda” in deference to the better-known giant panda."

 

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