Two years ago now, a friend who took pity on me and my colour conundrums gave me a set of Tombow markers. I think that they are like Copic markers: the ink dissolves in water, and so you can mix the colours. My friend said that the markers would teach me about colour use. Unfortunately, I seem to need some teaching about the use of Tombow markers too :D. I like drawing with them because they have brush-shaped tips; it's like drawing with a brush and paint/ink without having to worry about refills. But the tints are as strong as those of felt tips, and I haven't quite figured out yet how to get pretty results with them. Often enough, I end up using them on a whim, during quick pictures that I haven't given a lot of thought - just to add a dab of colour. The picture of Kundry below was made (as you can see) in a Moleskine sketch booklet. The Moleskine paper doesn't seem too fond of pencils or colour pencils, probably partly because I don't press my pencils hard enough. But now that I have dicovered ballpoint pens, I find I'm using them all the time. I liked this drawing of Kundry, and decided to have a go at it with my Tombow markers.
The best thing about the Tombows, apart from the brush tip, is of course the fact that you can mix the colours with water. Only, my Moleskine's paper doesn't absorb water very well (not to say, hardly at all). Despite that, I did add some water, just to soften a few strokes and add some highlights. And despite the uncharacteristically strong colours, I really like how this picture came out. If all my sketches were like this... ;-)
A less spontaneous Kundry, pencilled and then inked on Fabriano watercolour paper. I was surprised at how well my Staedtler pens worked on this paper, despite the fact that it was less smooth than I hoped it would be. The result is a bit Art-Nouveauish, but I enjoyed adding all the detail to the hair.
With added watercolour paint. It's always very difficult for me to assess whether I captured the colours well in the scan; my own computer has a very dark monitor, and the computer to which our scanner is attached has a much brighter one. This looked fine on the "scan computer", but looks far too dark on mine :/.
Have I already mentioned that I like Kundry? ;P
Have I already mentioned that I like Kundry? ;P
2 comments:
Looks like fun! The pen does have a painted look. Of course, I wouldn't have enough control with a pen like that to even do the quick drawing.
Hope you still find the time off to keep making art!
Wheeee! I'm so happy to see you here :D. I was beginning to think of this blog as The Least Visited Blog in the Universe ;P. But I post anyway. Maybe one reason why I don't seem to get any traffic here is because I don't post *regularly* enough... Ah well.
Yes, I keep making art, if only sporadically. The good news is that I have found a starting point for the first Gawain comic. Beginnings can be a difficult point with me, especially when I have lots to say *g*. I have been doing thumbnails on the train, so things are getting more definite. It feels great!
I am having a hard time believing that the person who can tame a programme from hell like ArtPad would have any trouble at all controlling a Tombow marker :P. If you have never tried them, maybe you should! Though I suspect, if I can take your ArtPad style as an indication, that a real brush and paint would suit you better - and that you'd handle them better than I can!
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