3 Marker Challenge: Jumbo Edition

If you scroll through the Puddles of Ink Instagram page, you'll see that I’ve done the odd 3 marker challenge here and there, but it’s definitely been a while. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything (mostly because all the work I have created just needs finishing before it’s ready, but that’s a story for another day!) So I decided to scroll through my Character Inspiration Pinterest board, and come up with a concept I could sketch and ink quickly for the challenge. I ended up finding it so hard to decide, and so in the end I came up with four.

Note: All markers used are from the Pro-Marker range from Winsor and Newton. All white details were done with a Uni-Ball Signo, and the inking was done with 01 and 03 Micron pens.

I deliberately gave myself a time limit of 20 minutes on each one, because I didn’t want to be too precious about the pieces. I haven't focused very much on anatomical accuracy or minute details, mostly because I’ve been focusing a lot on practicing those in my sketchbook and I just wanted to get some pieces down onto the page. I chose to do two men and two women, and I tried to make each of their poses/environments different.

#1

Markers: Satin, Cool Grey and Rose Pink.

The first male I drew ended up being my favourite piece out of the lot! I think the colours go so well together - I would never have chosen them otherwise and I think I’ll play with this combination a lot more in the future because it really pops! I also quite like that the simplicity of his face meant that I could play a little with the background. I ended up adding in some glasses and a pattern on his shirt, and I went in with a white pen for tiny details.

#2

Markers: Soft Peach, Black and Spice.

I can’t decide if I like this one or not. On the one hand, I really like the colour combination, and I think that were I to do this again without any limitations, I probably would use the same realm of colours. But I think it needs more work - without the white detailing it’s a bit lost. I would probably add in more linework too - I spent a lot of the 20 minutes having an internal battle about what I should do!

#3:

Markers: Amethyst, Ivory and Tan.

This one turned out better than I expected, although the pose and composition is one I’m planning to keep working on in my sketchbook until I’m satisfied with the proportions. I still think the book isn’t quite right and, if anything, he’s tilting too far forwards as opposed to backwards. But I really like the colours in this one - purple is my favourite and so making it centric to the piece was a no-brainer!

#4:

Markers: Coral, Henna and Ruby.

I think, overall, this one has to be second best. I kept it simple again, and I think it looks more finished that numbers 2 and 3. I was quite tired by this point but I was also in the habit of drawing so my wrist was loose and my lines seem freer in parts, although her extremely pointy elbows might suggest otherwise!

This was a lot of fun to do and I’ve now got so many ideas of what to draw next, as well as which colours might pair well together. Which was your favourite? Have you tried doing a 3 marker/colour challenge? How did you find it?

Puddles of Experiments

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?