ArtSpots Forum Group - Artistic Dialogue

Another badge question - Lenny Mutt

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:42:29 -0000

I got a horizontal hole punch from my boyfriend for Christmas a couple years ago and I love it. It's definitely worth the money if you're going to use the standard badge clips. I've seen some people take a regular circle hole punch and punch it in a line three times and I'm sure that could work but the clips fit a lot better with the horizontal ones :)

not knowing - Calzephyr

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:55:21 -0000

There are lots of untrained artists out there...if you search Google images for "outsider art" or "naive art" you'll see lots of examples.

Sculpey? - Embri

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:34:39 -0000

Raid your local dollar store or hardware store for wire, you'll want something fairly sturdy (I like 18 gauge wire) for your base structure. It should be difficult to bend with your hand but reasonably easy to pose with pilers (pick up a pair of those at the store too if you don't have any!). I also like using a smaller gauge wire for fine details like muzzles, ears and fingers, say 20-22 gauge. The wire is bent to make the skeleton; doing some sketches before hand to get the proportions right is helpful. Over the basic frame, pad out the areas that should be bulkier with aluminum foil. Not only can you bake the foil without any problems, it'll save you money since you need less clay. Don't overdo it though! You should still have at least a 1/4 inch layer of clay over all the major areas by the time you're done. Any parts that stick out (like muzzles, ears, large, flowing hair, tails, hands, etc.) should have wire armature underneath for strength and durability. There are two routes you can go when it comes to choice of clay - a single color (if you'll be painting the finished piece) or various colors to represent the final finish. If you're going to be painting, I'd choose a package of Super Sculpy. It comes in 1lb flesh tone blocks, enough to make quite a few pieces. If you're going with colored clay, Premo is my first choice (it's a bit firmer than Super Sculpy, so more forgiving of handling and better durability.) It's by the same company as Scuply, and most fine art stores should have it. Right then. Once you've got a sketch, made an armature, and padded with foil, you're ready to put on the clay. A few simple tools are suggested - a paintbrush with a rounded end, something pointy like a wooden skewer (or an appropriate paint brush end). A cheap paintbrush for smoothing the clay is also a good investment, either use an old paintbrush that doesn't keep a point anymore or pick up any old brush at the dollar store. A paperclip is also great, take a look around your home for things you can use as tools. Bits of shaped popsicle stick and dowel are just as useful as the expensive sets from the fine art store. You can bake most polymer clays several times, which is very useful for "setting" parts of the sculpture you're done with. I find it easiest to do the body or the head first, bake, then do the other part, so I have something safe to hold on to while working at all times. Depending on the subject matter that you're sculpting, it's also very convenient to prebake things like teeth, eyes, and claws before doing your main piece. Once hardened, they can be set into the paw/jaw/head without having to worry about smucking them with a clumsy finger. Sorry about the long ramble. Hope that helped!~

Sketcher Classes - Feather Dancer

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:53:28 -0000

Due to Big Cat Live being on, my class will by at 9pm my time instead of 8. It finishes tomorrow and it's been very awesome to watch each night even if the timeblock keeps changing and/or shrinking... It's just coming up to 7pm right now so :)

not knowing - Meezer

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:14:21 -0000

If I understand what you are asking, there are people that fix VCRs with out instructions so I'm sure there is artists that create art with out studying it. ;) I don't understand why one would NOT want to learn more about art if they enjoy creating it. I am always reading about art techniques/tutorials, art history and it help improves my work a lot! I myself don't really see art quality as 'talent' but more a skill set that is learned and practiced over and over. :)

not knowing - Doodle Bug

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:46:39 -0000

Well, I mean, the first artist probably didn't! I'm fairly certain plenty of people haven't, and turned out pretty good. Besides, a lot of artists started as little kids who didn't know the first thing about art. They maybe took classes later, but not to start out. Plus, Darksilver says he never took lessons in his artist statement.

not knowing - crazywolf

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:50:42 -0000

ok, this may be a strange question, but were there ever artist who didn't study the elements of art?

Painting realistic fur digitally - Meezer

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:44:48 -0000

Hrmm not that I think I am any expert. I always shade my figure before texturing, texture does little with out shape behind it. Fur I see like water flows with the movement, which so far you seem to be doing :) Here is a WIP I did a few months ago, to try to show you what I'm talking about. http://bp3.blogger.com/_gWifyp_cQsY/R_w-LCwxdPI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/XK-SQVhvkFg/s1600-h/cornish_rose.jpg I was painting rexed fur, which is a little different since it has a curled wave but I always paint the shadows first THEN the texture on top of that. Also so I can know where to put my highlights, which will make texture pop out is the highlights. This was the next day of work. http://bp1.blogger.com/_gWifyp_cQsY/R_94aEBcoSI/AAAAAAAAAFY/LaAXQoxPfP0/s1600-h/cornish_rose.jpg I don’t use any custom brushes for fur, I just use a 4-10 pixel round brush and make sure I stay with the flow and shape of the figure. Honestly painting fur for me doesn't take long at all, as long as I put decent shading in and know where my light sources are. Hope this helps.

Favorite artist? - WolfReign05

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:34:21 -0000

She's an excellent artist too. ^^ Also want to add TaniDaReal to this list since it WAS her WeuUkoo Wolves pictures that got me to start drawing in the first place. ^^

Favorite artist? - Richard Bartrop

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:38:24 -0000

If I had to choose a favourite among the Artspots artists, it would have to be Megan Giles.

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Nimblebun

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:12:08 -0000

Vizon said:
Because ink and paint are easy to screw up, I might advise scanning in your penciled image (though I think you've already done that). Then if you mess up somewhere, you can print out your sketch, place some graphite paper under it, and trace it onto a new watercolor page. And actually...because I think the inking will be more difficult than the painting, I might do the ink first, as it would be more frustrating to redo the entire watercolor job if you mess up afterwards on the ink than it would be to redo the ink and get it right before putting in the color. But that's just me, really - more tentative when it comes to such projects that involve so many straight perfect lines...

you could also just print this back out on watercolor paper and retrace the lineart with the ink pen:)

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Fru

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:33:33 -0000

Thanks Vizon! I actually did the first copy on a big sheet of regular drawing paper, and then used carbon paper to transfer it to watercolour paper, so I do have the original copy if I screw up the watercolour badly. :P Good advice though. And as for the inking, heh, that'll be the easy part ... I can usually do straight lines and inking stuff on the first try, that's one thing I AM good at! XD And thanks Thornwolf too. Yah, I did hear that about Microns. Worrisome! But I guess it might be okay if I'm inking it last, and it's all dry and stuff by the time I go in with the pens, eh? Oh and also thanks Loba for the stretching thing! I've never had a problem with buckling watercolour paper before ... but it wouldn't hurt to stretch it first just in case I suppose. So thank you =)

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Thornwolf

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:37:14 -0000

A note about Microns, I know a bit ago they changed their formula of their ink to one that is slightly water soluble. I found this out the hard way when I normally was able to use water based paint (gouache, watercolor etc) with the microns but suddenly they would get slightly blurry or smudge a bit more, even when erasing. Copic pens have proven to be very good and also come in the sizes Microns do. But yes I've used Microns and Copics on watercolor paper and other thick stocks and haven't had any sort of problems with bleeding into the paper.

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Vizon

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:19:40 -0000

Because ink and paint are easy to screw up, I might advise scanning in your penciled image (though I think you've already done that). Then if you mess up somewhere, you can print out your sketch, place some graphite paper under it, and trace it onto a new watercolor page. And actually...because I think the inking will be more difficult than the painting, I might do the ink first, as it would be more frustrating to redo the entire watercolor job if you mess up afterwards on the ink than it would be to redo the ink and get it right before putting in the color. But that's just me, really - more tentative when it comes to such projects that involve so many straight perfect lines...

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Loba

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:57:31 -0000

Any kind of tape that will stick on wet surfaces will work. Personally I use staples and a big piece of foam core.

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Nimblebun

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:13:37 -0000

Loba said:
I use Micron pens on Arches watercolor paper all the time -- they don't bleed even when applied to paper that is not fully dry yet. I pencil first, then color, then ink after everything has dried thoroughly.

Remember to stretch your paper beforehand or it will inevitably buckle and be annoying to work with. This page explains the how and why of stretching: http://painting.about.com/cs/watercolours/ht/Howto_WCstretch.htm

Good luck with your portfolio!

Would draftsman/artist tape work too?

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Fru

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:00:24 -0000

Okay, so Microns sound like they will work fine. Thanks all! =) Oh yes, about the Art Nouveau thing ... I guess I worded that wrong, what I meant to say was that I wasn't really thinking about the style at the time of making it, but when I finished the outline I noticed it seemed to have some elements of the style in it (from what I've seen of Nouveau stuff, anyway). Hmm. I never thought of that though ... do you think it would be bad if it has some of the same elements without researching it? I guess it was more of a coincidence, as I wasn't really going for any Art Nouveau thing. It just seemed to happen :( Well, if'n you want you can have a gander at it in my sketchbook thread, I've just posted a (bad) photo of the piece so far. =) I would appreciate any input on it too! Thanks again! And if anyone else wants to say anything more, please speak up ... :D I haven't started inking yet, haha.

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Loba

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:19:13 -0000

I use Micron pens on Arches watercolor paper all the time -- they don't bleed even when applied to paper that is not fully dry yet. I pencil first, then color, then ink after everything has dried thoroughly. Remember to stretch your paper beforehand or it will inevitably buckle and be annoying to work with. This page explains the how and why of stretching: http://painting.about.com/cs/watercolours/ht/Howto_WCstretch.htm Good luck with your portfolio!

dealing with struggles - crazywolf

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:20:13 -0000

thank you for the advice, i'll be off drawing for a bit now.

dealing with struggles - KoOkY!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:42:26 -0000

I'm always hearing that little voice in my head telling me that I shouldn't bother drawing anymore because I'm not that good, nor will I ever get good and I'll just get myself aggravated. I don't quite know how to quell that voice entirely, though have been able to lower its volume just by not over-thinking it. Like if I'm going to sit and draw for an hour, I try to clear my mind of any nagging thoughts about what I'll be drawing, how bad it'll come out, etc. I just try not to think at all and just let the pencil start moving across the paper just to get things happening. Also what Metsys said. Like I've been drawing felines again which I'm not very good with. They're coming out HORRIBLE, though I know it's ridiculous to expect great results when trying something for the first two dozen or whatever times. So I try to keep that in mind also. Short answer, I just tell that voice to shut-up and try to have fun with it. Hehe.

dealing with struggles - crazywolf

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:25:22 -0000

ok, i'll just have fun then?

dealing with struggles - Metsys

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:43:54 -0000

Well, I just have to remind myself of the fact that I won't get any better if I don't try the things that I think I can't do. If I'm only doing the things I know how to do I won't get any better. Also, it's perfectly fine to screw up a painting, drawing, or whatever. Art isn't sacred, so there shouldn't be anything to fear, really.

dealing with struggles - crazywolf

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:31:36 -0000

ok, how do you guys deal with self-doubt about drawing. Examples are like,"I can't do that", "I'm no good","I should give up" anyone?

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Nimblebun

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:14:50 -0000

for Art Nouveau look I highly recommend you just grab a book from the library about the art movement. Otherwise your watercolor piece will look a little too fake instead of being influenced by that art style. Remember, you're going to be showing this to art professors who are well aware of all art movements. This right here will show them that you know how to do your art research, very important for when you do your art projects in school. Okay, onwards to the technical question. I recommend waterproof SpeedBall ink. Its very VERY black and it wont bleed especially since you're using watercolor paper. Try to get the paper stock that is about 140 LB instead of a lighter weight. You want your piece to be able to lay flat after you've drenched it with your paints:) Cheaper papers will have a tendency to curl hardcore. Arches paper works well too or printmaking paper. To get some interesting line art, try dip pens. You can get these at a variety of sizes and it'll create an interesting lineart. It is usually advised to do your drawing in pencil first, then color and then ink. But if you're to use a very black ink and you're not using very opac watercolors, you could most likely get away with just inking first and then coloring in the lines. I hope this helped some.

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Lozpie

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:20:12 -0000

In my experience pens like microns won't bleed into watercolour paper, wc paper isn't really designed to be bleedy otherwise you couldn't control the flow of the paint and water very well. It should be fine, and it will look a lot nicer than biro, biro tends to leave behind a sort of dark green shiny ink whereas microns are pitch black. If you're still not confident, try to find an off-cut of the watercolour paper you're using that you can experiment on, doing this is usually a good idea for while you're painting, too, so you can test colours before you put them on your real piece.

Favorite artist? - Loba

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:53:46 -0000

soufex said:
i have always loved loba's art! since i was like, 12 years old, wow. way to make us both feel old, haha. and louvelex for almost as long, too. it's really awesome to kind of grow up and watch your favourite artists progress.

Aw, thank you! Just for fun I went and dug out some of my old pieces from back when I was on Side7...and holy cow, what happened? I used to draw such horrible stuff? Say it ain't so! I agree, it's simply amazing to witness artists' evolutions, one's own or otherwise. I think your work has improved and matured quite a bit, you've developed a very unique and interesting style with a ton of personality. I have enjoyed watching your art evolve through the years as well!

Watercolour paper + inking = ?? - Fru

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:52:20 -0000

So, I'm working on a big piece at the moment which is intented for my portfolio for this art program at university. It's kind of a fake book cover design, and it's slightly almost art-nouveau-ish (though I don't really know much about the style) ... so it needs some nice outlineage. I am thinking of inking it somehow. But it's on watercolour paper (I plan to use watercolour and maybe pencil crayon for the colouring) ... and I'm terrified that any sort of felt tip pen such as a micron will bleed and make it fuzzy and messy, and I don't know how India ink is meant to go on watercolour paper ... it's that textured slightly bumpy style of watercolour paper. I am also considering ballpoint pen. =) But! I have never done this technique before (sad I know) ... so I'm wondering if anyone has experience with watercolour paper and what sorts of inks/outlining work well on it, without bleeding or spidering off into the little bumps in the paper and stuff ... my general plan is to ink/outline it first, then go in on top of that with watercolour. OR, would it be better to colour it first then ink? I don't know... Any tips?

Favorite artist? - KoOkY!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:24:57 -0000

Tracy Butler is amaaaazing. Other great, more toonish, artists in the fandom I really like are Herbie Bearclaw and Jen "Spunky" Seng. Loooove Jen's work. Has been an inspiration of mine since first found her stuff back in 1999 I think it was. :\

Favorite artist? - Fru

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:14:51 -0000

Strange? Me? :9 Oh I totally forgot to say Tracy Butler, I've been looking at her stuff since before Lackadaisy. Yay she's so awesome!!... I also forgot to say I love your stuff too Vizon, especially your groovy use of colour. Okay I'm done now. Ha. I'll try and think of some more artists I like *outside* the fandom ... :3

Favorite artist? - Vizon

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:38:36 -0000

Hmm...right off the top of my head Michael Parks, Sean Chen for his chiseled cool characters, and Hiroki Samura for his excellent human anatomy. I like the imaginative creatures and style Tim Burton comes up with, even if it is a bit cliche' to say so. In the fandom, I first was most awestruck by Kyoht's work, and of course many of you locals make my favorites list! Louvelex, Blotch, Thorn, Vantid, Nevar, Shoom'lah, Maggock, Sulacoyote - I love seeing new work from all of y'all. And anything I spot from Daniel Smith has always floored me. I mean really - how much more realistic can you get? http://www.artusa.com/smith_prints_f-r.htm So amazingly gorgeous... I mean, if you have any doubt how important a background is to a painting, just look at this stuff. The habitat is perhaps more important to a painting than the animal itself sometimes: http://www.greenwichworkshop.com/catalogue/hol05/images/AboveTheFalls.jpg Oh and I guess I cannot neglect to mention good old Charlie Russel, having lived in MT for a good part of my life. Kind of the opposite of Smith when it comes to detailing, but color-wise and content-wise, he was a brilliant man. Almost every painting tells a story, and most of them are action-packed and full of life and movement. http://www.cmrussell.org/shop/index.php?crn=65 Also, I respect him for his honest approach to the Western ideology. He lived it before he painted it, and because he knew and spent time with Native Americans, he portrayed them well and with honor and dignity, despite the stigma of the time. He's probably one of the only authentic "cowboy" artists that has ever existed, living the legend, then passing on that experience to others through a paintbrush. The authenticity shows. http://www.cmrussell.org/meet Oh and Norman Rockwell was an incredibly talented and HILARIOUS artist as well. Definitely a favorite. And if you haven't heard of HIM, you've probably been living in a cave all your life. An absolute genius of expressions. :D http://www.artchive.com/artchive/r/rockwell/rockwell_self.jpg

art not valued? - WolfReign05

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:39:54 -0000

Yes, what he says is very true. I really wanna watch more of him now. ^^

art not valued? - crazywolf

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:56:59 -0000

mestys, I heard the talk. it was wonderful!

art not valued? - Metsys

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:43:27 -0000

I still think it's a legitimate form of expression; it's all around you. Business may be a different story. For fine art gallery artists, I would agree with Loba. It's a hard business to get into, and when you do it can still be difficult to make plenty money off of it which is why people have a stigma towards it. But I do still consider it an honorable profession, so if it's something your are passionate about you should go for it. Fine artists generally do better if they are trying to say something with their work, which of course explains why so much of that goes on. You can become a pundit and be fairly popular doing that. Aside from fine art, I think artists in general are still thought pretty highly of, especially in entertainment and advertising. Ken Robinson gave a great talk on education and creativity: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html He talks a bit about art education in schools, so that might be something you'll be interested in. It's a great talk either way and relevant to this discussion.

art not valued? - Loba

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:07:17 -0000

In one sense, yes -- In the U.S. fine art has been extremely de-emphasized, which I think goes hand in hand with diminished art education in schools, a poor economy (people focus on the 'essentials' -- art's seen as a luxury) and what I believe is a growing anti-intellectual sentiment. Until fairly recently, intellectual pursuits like art were respected, now by many they are frequently looked upon with suspicion or the people who engage in them are often seen as disconnected or 'elitist'. However on a personal level, when I say that I'm an artist or when I have some of my work around, the people I encounter show a lot of interest and seem to value or admire artistic skill. So it's a tough question to answer.

art not valued? - crazywolf

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:54:38 -0000

ok, i was thinking. is art not really valued in the US as a legitimate form of expression? not that im thinking about quitting, i just want opinions.

Favorite artist? - Feather Dancer

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:31:15 -0000

Fru, you strange person :) Ursula's definately one of my favourites too, RedCoatCat/Winged Siamese for her awesome period cats, Endling as well is another favourite. Then there's Shinerai and Beast of Oblivion does some awesome designage. Serious envy for Bobby Chiu as well, I love his critters and the humour he throws into his images. Damalia and defiantely Cara Mitten wherever the heck she's gone as well. I've been stalking both since Elfwood. Then Swandog, Synnabar, Tracy Butler with the brillant Lackadaisy... I could be here all day, there are so MANY artists I just love staring at any art they put up. That said, complete blame goes to Tacimur for kicking me out the Pokemon style habit :)

Favorite artist? - Fru

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:32:02 -0000

Has anyone mentioned Ursula Vernon yet? :3 I love her hilarious imagination and her real-media techniques ... the way she paints rocks and stone is amazing! I love Miss Monster, too, both her choice of subject matter and her talent and style! And of course I loffs all you guys here too, or else I wouldn't be here, watching the recents ^^ Thornwolf, and Vantid you seem really awesome and nice, plus it helps that you guys both do fantastic arts!! Not sure if these have been mentioned, but I also love Goldenwolf, Wolf Nymph, Khyot, Nambroth ... man I forget all the names of the artists I used to hero-worship (and in fact still do, haha) back as a Yerf-lurker ... :B Might I also say that I love Feather Dancer's creatures! ^^ And I wish I had WolfReign's motivation and crazy-fast way of learning ... <3

Favorite artist? - soufex

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:20:10 -0000

i <3 uglydog. i used to have - and this is going back a bit, i had an oooold computer up until a few years ago - several floppy disks full of his art. which sadly all corrupted by the time i got a new computer, and he had since taken his art down, le sigh, but i digress. i do so love his art. i love lavacat and oce, too. i love the way they use colour. and i have always loved loba's art! since i was like, 12 years old, wow. way to make us both feel old, haha. and louvelex for almost as long, too. it's really awesome to kind of grow up and watch your favourite artists progress. as for non-fandom artists, i love egon schiele, alfons mucha, craig mccracken, enki bilal, e.h. shepard, tite kubo, mark desalvo, the list goes on...

Favorite artist? - Loba

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:28:59 -0000

Patricia Piccinini: http://www.patriciapiccinini.net Probably one of my biggest influences in terms of subject matter and statement, if not stylistically. Daniel Lee: http://www.daniellee.com Particularly his "Nightlife" and "Manimals". Koren Shadmi: http://www.korenshadmi.com His comics in particular have inspired me to work on my own graphic story, in a somewhat similar style. Bonnie Marris: http://www.bonniemarris.com My wildlife art is heavily influenced by hers. She is spectacular with color, emotion, narrative, and lighting. Jon Van Zyle: http://www.johnvanzyle.com I love his sense of composition and the sense of palpable cold in his winter paintings. He has also had some influence on my paintings, particularly winter scenes. When I have to paint something wintry, I look to him for inspiration. He is the official artist of the Iditarod. Fernand Khnopff (best known for "The Caresses") One of my favorite 19th century Symbolists, a movement which has had tremendous influence on my art. Georges de Feure: Another 19th century Symbolist best known for his painting "The Voice of Evil" which is one of my favorite works of all time. George Everett Millais: Another Symbolist who created the well-loved "Sir Isumbras at the Ford" painting among many other beautiful works. My favorite of his is "Autumn Leaves". I'll admit, I don't pay much attention to "fandom" type artists etc., but there are a few whose work has influenced mine or otherwise been an inspiration: "Uglydog", an inspiration and longtime friend who has requested that his artwork not to be publicized. He could not be further from me, stylistically, but in terms of composition and narrative he has had quite a bit of influence on my work. Iolarnula: http://iolarnula.deviantart.com Fantastic, believable, ALIVE works. RedCoatCat: http://redcoatcat.deviantart.com Some of the best use of anthropomorphization as symbolism/metaphor I have seen, her setting is well-researched, and utterly believable. Synnabar: http://www.synnabar.com Stephanie Lostimolo: http://www.nethersphere.com The way she colors has been influential especially on my digital work. oCe: http://oce.critter.net I love her more figurative stuff, like "Road Dragon". Missmonster: http://missmonster.deviantart.com There are a lot I am forgetting or neglecting to mention.

Favorite artist? - Feather Dancer

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:48:40 -0000

Well someone has to still embrass you cus you DO put up with an awful lot of fangeeking from us... :) Specially from me apparently, I'm terrible for it.