So far, 2019 has been the year of getting really, really messy for me, and I’ve been loving every second of it. If you couldn’t tell from the name ‘Puddles of Ink’, my artistic process usually involves me getting various splotches all over my hands, and it’s been nice to embrace it as opposed to try and steer clear of it because of time constraints or work commitments - I can’t really show up to meetings and look put together with ink all over me!
I’ve completed a couple of pieces this year, but more than any other time in my life all I’ve really been wanting to do is try out different materials and techniques, pair different tools together, read a bunch of different arty books and watch different artists create things outside of my own bubble. It’s been so eye-opening and liberating; it’s been amazing to get back in touch with the kind of art you’d do as a kid - drawing inspiration from everywhere and letting go of what you’d established as your routine in favour of the unknown. It’s taught me quite a bit already, and whilst I wanted to share it with you I also wanted a record for myself so that if I ever feel creatively stuck in the future I’ll have this to look back on.
I’ve been having the most fun using up and re-discovering a lot of my old supplies that I hadn’t reached for in a while, alongside buying some newer ones that I know I’ll use. I think it’s easy to get in the habit of using the same tools to create the kind of art you know, and it’s also easy to get distracted by shiny, new toys. I think I’ve struck a balance by working with my almost-finished-but-not-quite-there supplies for less refined, sketchbook bits, and learning what I’d like to work with more and what I don’t use very often. I’ve also been discovering which tools I like for different things; watercolours tend to be my go-to, but I prefer markers for faces and character work. Recently, I’ve started using different supplies in my technical practice, making learning anatomy or colour theory more interactive. One piece I’m working on at the moment features a skull from lots of different angles, and I’ve used watercolours, inks, brush pens and liners to put it together. It’s been fun to let the watercolours do their own thing, add in some blocks of precision with the inks, and spend time focussing on making sure my skulls are as accurate as they can be for this style of illustration. Whilst I actually really enjoy studying anatomy, this was a great way to break up labelled diagrams with technical terms!
Digital art has been so much fun to experiment with, and I’ve especially loved working with colours and different effects to create illustrations. Colour theory is something I need to work on, and this has forced me to think more about how I choose colours for pieces and how I can change the entire look and feel of something just by altering them. I’ve also used it for simple sketching and character work, and I find that it’s had a knock-on effect with my traditional art, because I want to see if I can create the same kind of looks with watercolours or pencils on paper. One way I’ve been working on this in particular is timing my warm-up sketches and choosing different brushes and tools to use so that I get a feel for how they work and interact with each other. Rebelle 3, the software I’m using at the moment, has an incredible watercolour tool that is so real and interactive, and using it for these quicker pieces has helped me learn how I like to use it.
I still have a long way to go with my 2019 goals, which you can read about more here, but I’ve been more in the mood to just go with my gut when it comes to putting pieces together. I plan on talking more about the supplies I’ve been working with and the books I’ve been reading in future posts - if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see then let me know in the comments :) What sorts of things do you do to keep your art fresh or to spring yourself out of art block?