MY FAVOURITE BRUSHES FROM KYLE'S DRAWING BOX

A few months ago I purchased Kyle T Webster's ULTIMATE Photoshop Brush Combo (for only $10) and have been playing around with them every since. I thought I would share a few of my favourite brushes from this pack, and show you what I use them for. Bear with me because I don't think I have the vocabulary to talk about photoshop brushes, so I am just going to explain them the best I can!

PB PARROT CLEAN

I have used PB PARROT CLEAN for almost all of ANXIOUS 2. I LOVE the way my writing and comics look with this brush, cartoony, plump, round. The brush transitions from thick to thin seamlessly so you don't get those very digital looking wobbly edges that I would get when using the regular old hard round brush.

GOUACHE ROUND OPAQUE

This is the brush I turn to when I want to make things look more painterly and less digital. This is pretty much my default brush for everything, unless it is the zine. I love sketching in this brush, and I love making big chunky textured brush strokes with it. The line examples above (other than the writing) are all in the same size, just different pen pressure.

CHARCOAL PERFECTION

I think I use this brush incorrectly. The lines it makes aren't solid enough for me, but I love to use it for the subtle texture it makes when used at a large size (as you can see on the orange hair). It is hard to find such subtle textures in brushes, so hooray for charcoal perfection. 

So those are my top 3 favourite/most used brushes in this pack. I am still experimenting with a lot of the other ones. Honorary mention goes out to BIG WIDE SOFTY, PENCIL SOFT, WATERCOLOR SOFT GRAIN, OIL LUSH, and the always charming FAT FUN SPONGY. 

Do you make your own custom brushes? What brushes do you use? 

Art on Society6

I have been meaning to get on Society6 since forever, but it took a recent nudge from Alyssa at Random Acts of Pastel  for me to get around to it. I am SO GLAD I DID. Not because I am making any money at all, because I'm not, but because I can see my art in pillow form. I love throw pillows, LOVE them, and I have been uploading images just to see what they would look in pillow form and dream about them in my future amazing house that I am really far away from owning.

Spoiler, they all look awesome and I want them all.

Woops

It has been approximately a million years since I have blogged. While I don't really do New Years resolutions, blogging more in 2014 is probably a good idea.

A lot happened in December 2013. I completed my first zine, a 20 page zine full of colour illustrations about anxiety and my life. I have sold about 20 of them so far, enough to help cover half of the next months rent. ANXIOUS is available here.

After a nice Christmas holiday in Thunder Bay with my parents, which included an amazing day of skiing and tons of food, I began working on a book cover for a friend of mine. She wrote an extremely compelling novella which I devoured in 2 days. The finished cover:

 

I received a ton of positive feedback on this cover, and I managed to complete it really quickly which I was thrilled about.

I am now working on a new black and white zine (two actually, but one is a little secret), which I will update you on in a new post.

Project in the works

I am very excited about a new personal project I will be working on, a zine about anxiety and depression, based on my personal experiences. The zine will include some of my comics, illustrations and a teeny bit of writing.

I will have the zine complete by DEC 15, at which point I will be printing and assembling it myself. I splurged on a 25 dollar long reach ruler and everything!

Below are some of the complete or partially complete pieces for the zine.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Now that the Thanksgiving festivities are over, I am feeling inspired and energetic.
Yesterday Eric and I took a beautiful fall walk, and saw a lot of amazing pigeons (I then made him write down "PIGEON" so I would remember to draw one).

So here is a little pigeon. Their colours are really incredible. I always said if I could go back to my first year of university when we had to make a dress based on a theme, I could change my theme to PIGEONS and make something really iridescent and incredible.

DRAWING SUBWAY PEOPLE

I've been trying to devote all of my time to working on the flower book, and it is only working some of the time. I was able to finish the bunny page (see below), and then I excitedly started a new page, a page that has probably the most potential out of the entire book for a really awesome illustration.

Unfortunately I got really far into it before realizing it was just not working. I thought that if I just kept going it would eventually morph into what I wanted, but it was doomed from the start. So I have scrapped that page, and will get back to it after a LOT of thumbnails and sketching.

Here is the finished bunny page:

Because of the recent flower book frustration, I decided to do something different today. When I first left my job I planned to sketch in at least 3 different places every week, and fill up a sketchbook a month. Well, my first month is over and I have added only a few pages to my sketchbook, and I have only drawn in my office and backyard.

Today I hopped on the subway for an hour and drew a lot of people (who I don't think were very happy about it). I am now working on colouring a collage of the different faces I saw with a limited colour palette of turquoise, coral, and yellow.

This is what I have so far.

I also now have my website up and running - here

NEW WEBSITE IN THE WORKS

Yesterday I signed up for a 2 week trial with SQUARESPACE, which allows you to design your website but it is not viewable to the public until you start paying the monthly amount. So far I love it. It is super easy to design a beautiful website through it. So far i am keeping the website really simple.

I have also been working on the final wolf illustration from the wolf colour comps. I want it to look messy and sort of frantic, but I think it needs a bit more work (and some sort of background element... no ideas yet). Here it is so far:

Also working on some simple practise poses - they're quick to do and great practise so I might try to do 5-7 a week. (Ignore the horrible claw hand)And another!

WORKING FROM HOME: WEEK 3

On Friday I went and printed out all of the work I have done in the last 2 weeks, (that sounded like it was a lot... it was 5 pages). It's really nice to see your work on paper rather than a screen. The illustration of the girl from the last post printed BEAUTIFULLY. The colour were so vivid, and it is shocking to me that I created something so bright. I usually stay away from bright colours.

This week I have decided to work on the Illustration Friday theme, which is "TOTEM". I'm going to be drawing a dad with kids and pets hanging off of him, looking sort of like a totem pole (and it will also give me practise drawing people, which I NEED).

So this is where it is at right now: (please ignore the zombie eyes, I'm getting to them)

Also, I read a beautiful children's book this week.

MIGRANT illustrated by ISABELLE ARSENAULT

Edit: Almost forgot I have been working on colour comps for a little wolf illo:

EDIT 2: COMPLETE!

WORKING FROM HOME: WEEK 2

The above is my current work in process focusing on atmospheric lighting - it is probably the most complete illustration I have done in a long time. I have the walls/ledge and her pants to complete, and I might add something near the top of the window, but I am not sure what (open to suggestions!).

I found this really beautiful book called "I didn't do it" illustrated by Katy Schneider.

It's only Tuesday so there will be another update later in the week!

UPDATE: illustration complete! finally! moving on.

WORKING FROM HOME: WEEK 1

I have had a really successful week working 9-5 from my little basement apartment. I wake up feeling excited and inspired, and I am finding it very difficult to pull myself away from the computer at the end of the "work day".

I am currently taking Chris Oatley's Magic Box course online, and I am already learning so much just one lesson in. It has also provided me with access to a forum of artists sharing and discussing their work and process. SO INSPIRING. The above piece is something I was working on to develop atmospheric lighting. I will probably do a few more pieces using the techniques I have learned and post them over the next few weeks.

I am also working on copying masters paintings to practise digital painting and learn to make more deliberate brush strokes and use a more sophisticated colour palette. My first attempt is coming out pretty rough, but the process is teaching me about light and shadow and mixing colours. I am going to be doing a few of these so they will only get better.

I have also been collecting inspiring children's books from the library (if you follow me on Twitter you have seen my daily tweets about these). These are a few of the books I have been inspired by this week:

BRIAN WILDSMITH'S FAVOURITE FABLES:



COSMO AND THE ROBOT - BRIAN PINKEY:

I LIKE OLD CLOTHES - PATRICE BARTON:

And finally I have been working on a children's book with a friend of mine, about flowers! Here is a peak of some cute bumblebees. Done in acrylic and magic.