Holidays in Ink Week 5

 

I've been excited to have a go at the Black and White on Toned Paper prompt (Process #6). When working on a toned surface, I nearly always select a warm color or neutral  gray. This time, I decided to pick up the cool colors of sky and water, using a sheet of periwinkle-colored cardstock that has been living in the studio closet for several years. I'm loving the strong contrasts and power of these Notan style sketches. I used the paper color as my midtone value, adding just black and white for lights and darks. I definitely want to do more of these moving forward.

I made Sumi ink this week for the first time, using a Sumi ink stick and stone.

Making Friends with Manikins

One of the challenges of Project Megasketch was finding enough subject matter to sketch from life during the winter months. One great solution was the trio of manikins that resides in my studio. If you don't have a manikin, you're missing out. They are fabulous for many different types of studies, such as basic shapes, foreshortening, cross contours, perspective, proportion, motion, dramatic light and shadow, and so much more. Even a great model can't hold an action pose for as long as a manikin!

Set up your manikin in as natural a pose as possible. It can take awhile to find something interesting, that looks like the way a person might actually move. Once you find a pose you like, instead of changing the pose for each sketch, rotate the manikin. Draw the pose from many different angles.