December prompt

Thermocouple fan sitting on top of the New Scientist magazine. Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was mechanical and this was the first thing that came to hand….. Heat from a fire is converted via a thermocouple into energy to rotate the fan. It should sit on top of something like a log burner so the base gets hot but hubby has it lying down in front of the halogen heater…. He likes watching it whirl…

Meeting

Playing with images to protect the identity of a meeting I was in. Why pixilated when you can play with textures instead. Various things used but mainly textural effects in photodirector. Basically I ran the image through the same filter about six times to up the level of texture… Like hotocopying a photocopy over and over again… In the end its altered much more than it would normally be.

Drawing Lesson

I was just watching an on line lecture about using the new photoshop system and it reminded me of this drawing I did back in August. It was a quick sketch of my desk and drawing tablet. We were disussing about doing loose drawings and I realised thats what this is. Apparently I should be building up layers so I can change and alter them as I draw. I need to learn more… Over ten years of using photoshop and I never got into it! Thats the thing if you dont see information and you try aand learn things just by trial and error!

Cherries

I fancy some cherries , it being completely the wrong time of year for them, this is a digital drawing done at sketchfu years ago. The site is closed now but it had simple tools you could use without adding layers (something I need to learn). This was a challenge to draw from a photo…

I keep finding old drawings and pictures so I just post the ones I like.

X

Dragon doodle

Doodling a dragon 🐲 but I really don’t know their morphology. I know ones I draw tend to look horselike , with scale skin and wide wings and a long pointed tail. But would they fly? They would need a large breast bone to attach massive muscles to. They would probably need hollow bones to make them light enough to get airborne. Would they have front legs and wings too? Birds have modified front limbs that have evolved into wings, perhaps dragons would be the same.

In any case they are creatures of magic in mythology. Perhaps one day they could be genetically created, and appear like the Fire Lizards in Anne MacCafferys Dragon series of books – pets like small cats…

A few hours drawn

In the first lockdown , Urban Sketchers was doing a daily drawing. On dat 30 we did a chronicle of the day. This was mine on 17.4.2020. I seem to have spent the day on chores, cooking, eating, drinking watching cats and drawing.

How little we knew then of how long Covid19 would last, everything seemed new and unusual, a challenge, not a problem. An opportunity to be involved in something creative. And all the clapping for the NHS on a Thursday night seemed appropriate. We didn’t know one lockdown would end, and despite people’s efforts we would go into another one this Autumn. I wonder if I should do another Covid diary?

Crumpled/ twisted

Crumpled newspaper, twisted handbag strap. Bit early for today’s #bandofsketchers prompt, because I’m still up watching films. I didn’t have to look far for something to draw, this was yesterday’s Guardian newspaper. Both that and the handbag are on top of a cardboard box… I really need to tidy up!

Using dots for shading.

Sometimes hatching won’t do, so I use dots to shade things. It still creates a slightly darker tone than white. It fools the eye into thinking there is grey there (a bit like half tone in newspapers). I love the 1960’s pop art paintings where they used half tone dots to emphasise the graphic design style of them. Black felt pen on cartridge paper.

Baubles

Last year’s tiny paintings that I did of Christmas baubles. I sold them at a Christmas craft fair. I added ribbons and painted the backs of them black so they could be hung off Christmas trees. People seemed to like them and I sold three of them. I wish I could be doing the same this year. It was pleasant meeting new people, chatting, enjoying the spirit of the season. Not this year though. So I shall try and remember the good times and hope they come again next year. X