Adobe Ideas Overview

I have been obsessed with Adobe Ideas on iPad. It is a simple vector based sketchbook app. Because it's a vector app you can enlarge or shrink your art to any size without losing quality. Here is a quick overview of the art section of the app.

(the move tool is under the hand tool)

Your color themes in Adobe Kuler will upload into Adobe Ideas through Creative Cloud.

What I usually do is take a picture of my art from my sketchbook, put it on the photo layer and then trace over it. You can adjust the opacity of the individual layers so I tend to make the photo layer lighter. Then I start creating shapes. As long as the shape is closed I can fill it with color.

You can have up to 10 layers and upload the drawing through Creative Cloud into Illustrator; layers and all. You can edit and tweak your creation in Ai. I have discovered some annoyances though. If you have a transparent layer you can't make it opaque and lines are a pain adjust. I'm still learning Ai but I believe the the lines you make with Ideas behave like the Blob Brush in Ai. There are lots of anchor points on the line so manipulating them is difficult. The eraser tool works pretty well on the lines though.

I will figure this out as I usually have my iPad in hand so sketching on the iPad can be really helpful with my workflow. Making icons on the iPad is fun and I'm getting better with my Bamboo Stylus for iPad. I will likely never master using my finger to draw. I also have a Sensu paintbrush which is made for painting on a tablet. That's fun to use too.

Here are some other things I've created.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

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Let the Countdown Begin!

 

This is how many days I have until I can work at my art full time. Both my kids will be getting on the bus around 8:15 and getting home around 4:30. If I work about 9:00-4:00 five days a week that's 35 hours a week to create and work at my business. I decided to start a countdown to give me a goal; A focus.

Things have been a bit crazy the past couple of weeks. We've had snow and ice with school closings. I had lots of little things to get done before I went into the hospital for surgery. Then I've been recovering from surgery. Things are finally leveling out and getting back to normal. While I was recovering I spent time thinking about my art and my frustrations. I get really annoyed at not having time. I'm talking 4 or 5 hours in a row of uninterrupted time. It just doesn't happen often. So, what can I do about it? How can I get what I want? I think I need to let go of the desire of having hours of uninterrupted time and just steal minutes where I can. Focusing on "time" has become a roadblock so I'm changing my thinking.

I'm taking "Year of the Fairy Tale" from Carla Sonheim and this month's assignment has been about "quantity" over "quality". We have to make lots of quick sketches and paintings instead of intensely working on a few paintings/sketches. I love this concept. It puts all the focus on the process of making art instead of the final product. So, I'm going to make as much art as possible and not care if it's "good enough" to sell or if it will "work" for licensing. I'm just going to make the art and have faith beauty will emerge. Some of the best things I've made have been when I just got lost in the moment of making art.

My art buddy Juliette Crane has been painting on paper and she has piles of paintings now that were quick to make and are lovely. And my friend Mindy Lacefield had a post of all her work from last year. Over 100 paintings. I can't even imagine accomplishing that! If I let go and just think of any minute spent on making art as valuable I know I will have a wonderful body of work. I'm just going to sketch, doodle, paint and create. Whatever time I get will be time well spent because I'm not going to worry about the "quality". I'm going to enjoy the process!

Here are fun charcoal sketches I've been making on book paper. They take a few minutes to create and they are so dang cute!

I love these little drawings. The charcoal has a nice bold line and you can easily smudge and shade for depth. I can see some of these pieces being used in something else down the road. Every mark has value because it leads to another and another and another.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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I Can't Art Without.... Charcoal Pencils

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I have a plethora of art supplies. It's why I consider myself a mixed media artist. Art supplies are my potato chips, I can't have just one. I am trying to make art every day, even if it's just 5 minutes and I decided to focus on one art supply for at least a week. This way I really get a feel for them.

Currently I am loving charcoal pencils. They create dark lines and quick shading even for cute characters. I like how they glide slowly on the page. It forces me to be conscious of the shape of my line. When I start drawing I do a basic head shape, then I let that shape tell me what it wants to be. I know, it sounds weird but the shape either feels like a "person" shape or a "critter" shape.

The sketches below only took about 5 minutes to draw. The shading helps make the image look more finished than it actually is.

This elongated head felt like a more grown up girl.

This head shape could've been a young child but, once I did the eyes, a bunny emerged.

This circle had a tilt to it so, it became a sleepy girl.

This image of the sleepy girl is my favorite. So, I tried to figure out how to use this sketch in other artwork. Perhaps with collage or paint.

I traced my original sketch onto a coffee filter, sprayed it with fixative and glued it onto an art journal page. She still has the smudgy line quality I want but I'm not sure about the coloring I did.

The above piece I did on an ATC watercolor card. I sealed it then tinted it with my Inktense pencils. I like her better. It feels like a tinted black and white photo. I will master this and find a style that works. I like the simplicity of it.

There is an advantage to having multiple art supplies on hand. When I'm stuck I pull out a different supply and my head immediately switches to play mode. It almost always pulls me out of a creative rut. See, hoarding art supplies is psychologically beneficial to creative people. That may explain my husband's vast supply of musical instruments. I guess I won't give him a hard time about owning 5 guitars anymore.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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The Wheels are Turning

Taking notes and doing preliminary sketches. I'm going to work on my first "Illustration Collection" for licensing purposes. The theme is Woodland Animals. This is an excellent way to continue my "Year of Drawing"!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Craft-A-Doodle

 

I admit it. I am obsessed with this book, Craft-a-Doodle by Jenny Doh! I carry it around the house with me or to the park so I can refer to it while the kids are playing. It has 75 creative exercises from 18 wonderful artists. I am not a doodler. I'm sure I did it when I was in grade school but I don't do it now. I actually find it kind of hard. I want my doodles to look like other artists' elaborate doodles. Well, that's not what doodling is about. You're not supposed to think. You're not supposed to compare. You just play. So, I've been playing like crazy with this book! I can draw and not necessarily be pretty and when I least expect it, I find treasures I can use and expand on in my art.

Here I attempted Cori Dantini's " Recipe for a Face". I can't draw like Cori but it was fun trying!

I loved doing some of Flora Chang's exercises.

 

One of my Fave's Carla Sonheim has exercises too!

Then I was inspired to create my own. I put random watercolor blobs on a page and drew what I thought they could be. Some failed and some were super cute.

I can't recommend this book enough. There are tons of exercises so, you can find the ones that speak to you and give them a go. It helps me get unstuck. No more "what am I going to draw?" and it gets you to play. I am very guilty of feeling "this has to be an amazing piece of art that I can sell" when I sit to create. I sometimes think playing is a waste of time. It's not. Every mark you make feeds into your art and teaches you something. All that matters is the act of creating. This book helps you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

P.S. I've opened an Etsy shop! Each week I'm adding new things. Please click the link and check it out!

 

Evolution of a Fox

I thought I'd share with you today how my foxes came about. It actually started with Ed Emberley.

He has a wonderful series of drawing books for children. I think I have them all. Every subject is broken down into shapes. He shows you step by step how to put those shapes together and you get your picture. My children and I have been working through his animal book and they are having a great time. So, during a sketching session I drew a triangle fox.

Later I Googled "foxes" and looked through the images online. I sketched and traced (using my iPad like a lightbox. It has a Zagg Shield on it so I won't scratch the screen) from real photos to get a feel for the fox.

And then I played around with different ways to make him whimsical.

When I put one into a piece of artwork I can play around with his look depending on the medium I am using.

 

 

I pretty much do the same process with all my animals. I think about their basic shape. I look at real pictures of them and then I play around with making them cute and whimsical.

If you think you "can't draw" I highly recommend going to the art section in the children's department in your local library and get Ed Emberley's books. They are simple and fun and great for all ages. Once you see that things are made up of shapes you will be able to look at something in real life and break it down into shapes. My cat Oscar is a fat pear with ears for example. (don't tell him I said that).

Be brave. Give drawing a go!

Here is a video interview of Ed Emberley as well!

 

Falling in Love with Drawing

My art career began back in 2004. I was a decorative painter and a muralist. I learned to draw and create with my brush. I rarely did anything with a pencil. I was a part of a business group and one of the members wanted me to create a business card for him. I told him this wasn't my thing but I needed the money and he seemed to have faith in me. So I painted a picture of what he wanted. He loved it. Scanned it into his computer and printed out cards. Another member of the group liked the business card and asked me to create a new logo for him. Mind you, I wasn't a graphic designer or an illustrator. I painted murals. But he insisted and I drew a logo for him. Well, his partner (who wasn't a people person) did not like my creation for them and spent 20 minutes telling me how awful I was as an artist and that his 6 year old could do better. (There was a reason this guy didn't represent his company in the group!) I think I cried for several hours after this horrible conversation. It shook my confidence and I left the group a few months later. All artists have stories like this one. Someone comes along and tells them they aren't as great as they think they are. I didn't attempt drawing again until 2 years ago. And, I have to tell you, I love it! It's meditative and fun at the same time. Most important, I do it for me.

I made myself some ground rules when I decided to improve my drawing skills.

Don't label it as "good" or "bad"

Don't compare my work with others

Draw what I like

Draw every day

Explore and have fun

So, I draw fun characters or scribbles. Whatever I feel like. I know every mark is just going to make me better. I post my sketches to Instagram pretty much every day. Here are some I've done in the past week or so.

 

 

 

 

 

This giraffe is all pastel and colored pencil.

This owl I did on my iPad with the Adobe Ideas app

Drawing can be so much fun when you let go of your fears and let go of past negative criticisms. I understand not everyone is going to like my work. I believe my audience will find me. So, I'll keep drawing and creating. It brings me joy and finding your joy is what it's all about!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find your joy and give drawing (just for you) a go!

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