Back!

I'm back! I haven't gotten my adsense account back, but that's fine.  It's nice to be able to use my blog anyway.  I haven't anything new yet.

Bleh.

AdSense has disabled my account, so I'll just be updating whenever I feel like it.

Tools of the Trade

When I draw, I often draw using many different types of pencils and pens.  I have decided to write a post about what brands I think are good for drawing and sketching.

A peek into my tackle box.  The gray markers at the bottom are my Copics.
The rest is stuff I need to clean out.

My Favorites:

• Copic Markers - Gives pictures more of a watercolor/painterly feel.  Colors blend nicely with minimal bleed.  Unfortunately, they're a bit pricey at about $4-5 per marker.  They also have replaceable ink, which is pretty cool.
• Prismacolor Markers - Has much darker pigment than Copics.  Bigger nibs make it ideal for coloring larger areas.  These are also much cheaper than Copics, ranging from $2-3 per marker.
• Faber and Castell Graphite Pencils - Just a preference of mine.  Staedtler is another alternative, but I find them to be a bit pricey. Faber and Castell's run about $0.65 per pencil, while Staedtler is about $0.99 per pencil.  Staedtler is also break resistant, so that's pretty cool.  When buying pencils, it's always good to have a nice variety of leads, from soft to very hard. (B= Soft, H= Hard and HB= Medium.)  I may write a post that's a bit more in depth later, if anyone is interested in learning more.
• Sakura Micron Pens - Good archival pens, but a little pricey.
• Millenium Pens - Cheaper than the Sakura pens.  Still pretty good archival pens.

Light blue and black pencils are Staedtler, dark blue and gold are Faber and Castell.
The gray pens are Millenium and the tan are Sakura.

• Prismacolor Color Pencils - Smooth coloring and even color
• Adobe Illustrator - For digital work.  A decent free alternative would be GIMP, but it doesn't have as many features.  It's a good basic program, but I would not recommend it if you plan on doing professional work.
• X-acto Knife - I usually use this for when I make stencils or collages.  Any sharp, surgical grade steel knife should work.  No need for name brands if you can't afford them.
• Faber and Castell Dust-Free Eraser - LOVE LOVE LOVE this eraser!  Minimal dust and erases almost completely!  Runs about $1 per eraser.
• Kneaded Eraser - Also a very good eraser for cleaning up smudges.  MOO is a really neat alternative to kneaded erasers.  It's made by a Korean company called Nayana Co. and can be purchased at Hobby Lobby for about $2 for 2.  the MOO is also dust-free, so there is minimal mess and erases cleanly.
• Self Healing Cutting Mat - Ideal for projects that require a knife or any sort of cutting that is not with scissors.

There are other things I use, but these are my favorites.  If price is an issue, cheaper alternatives are also fantastic!  No need to spend a fortune trying to make decent art!

Collages Part 2

Win! by Casey Steele

The World by Casey Steele

These are a few more collages I did for a class.  They were created using Game Informers and Psychology Today magazines.  I haven't been creating a lot of art, lately, so I'm posting some older stuff.

Cthulhu

Hey by Casey Steele

Just a small picture I drew a while back.  It's a cartoon version of Cthulhu.  I drew his hand on backwards, but I don't think it detracts TOO much.  This is a pretty old picture, so the quality is really bad.  I think I took this with a camera phone, or something.  I have a devilish character drawn in this same style, but I like this one better.

This was done with Copics and micron pens.

Unicorn Sketch

Rampant Unicorn Sketch by Casey Steele

This is a rough sketch of a rampant unicorn for Matt's blog Tales from the Prancing Unicorn.  I'm not sure what he wants to use it for, yet.  I would LOVE to get some feedback on it, though!

Overall, it took about an hour or so to draw.  I haven't had any experience in drawing horses.

I referenced a picture he gave me, but I cannot, for the life of me, find it right now.  Typing in "Rampant Unicorn" in google will yield very similar pictures, though.

Old Pictures

Yoko by Casey Steele

Chie by Casey Steele

I was a bit embarrassed to post these, but there's nothing like looking at past works in order to improve.  I'm pretty aware of the flaws in both of these images, but I like the coloring, for the most part.  I drew these back when I was more into anime.  I don't watch it much, anymore.  These were done with Copics and Micron pens.