Tag Archive for 'Sketch'

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Sketch: A little vampeer. Not vampire, vampeer!

Kat Johnston Sketch: A little vampeer - not a vampire, a vampeer!

Today’s sketch is somewhat of a sneak peek at something that I am cooking up… sorta. It might take a little while longer until the finished product is ready!

I am trying to get into the habit of creating more ‘finished’ work. I love sketches – adore them to bits… I think that there is a wonderful immediacy, sense of movement and style that comes with swift pen-strokes, guide marks and all the little errors that go into making a picture. I believe it to be an art of its own. That said, I’ve neglected doing anything really ‘finished’ for quite a while.

I think, in part, it has to do with the fact that I love sketching – and I also love the finishedness (that totally isn’t a word) that comes with completing a truly great sketch. You know, at that point, that the sketch is the best it is going to be. Perhaps it could be further enhanced by doing something derivative from it, but the reality is that putting it into any other form will change it.

For today though, I am going about it differently. The idea came first, the internal visualization came second, the sketches were actually only a nutting out of the final product because I work better with a good solid base (it lets me sort out some of the bigger problems ahead of time and sort out the general foundation of the picture) than starting from scratch trying to work immediately on the vectors.

I think that going into the sketches knowing that they are really only a rough guide for another work makes it easier to detach myself from them. When I sketch to produce a… well… ‘finished sketch’ it is different from when I am sketching to produce something else. I don’t know exactly what it is that defines that difference though – perhaps a measure of investment, or an understanding of the clear potential it has as a product in another form. Either way… hopefully the finished pictures for which this sketch was a quick study for will be up in a few days.

Sketch and Update: A tiny companion.

Kat Johnston Art: A tiny rat companion sits inside a keyhole within the chest of a most delicate dame.

Ahhhh, more of the same… can you tell that I am enjoying this? They’re beautiful, delicate, distinguished and ever so intriguing, don’t you think?

So anyhow… I’ve finally gotten around to sorting out my things on Flickr so that all of my blog drawings (if not all of the blog photos, for certain reasons) are up. I’ve sorted them out, and there’s even a special category for the creative commons licensed photos so that you can just click on that to get them all at once, rather than having to find them one at a time scattered across the different sets.

All thrown in together, it all seems rather random: sketches here, cooking there, some pictures of dandelions and other such things. Hopefully the collections and sets will help it seem a touch more structured!

So yes… check out my Flickr page and explore the sets to see what you can see!

Artist Feature and Sketch: A tragic clown.

Kat Johnston Sketch: A proud and tragic clown, looking down with an imperial air.

The last couple of images I’ve uploaded have been rather… um… sketchy! So time for something a touch more precise.

I tend to go through different moods – fairly unscribbled here, lots of scribbles there… since I don’t tend to ‘pre-sketch’ for these sketches (ie, do something erasable underneath first before going over the top in pen) scribbles sort of lend themselves to the medium. Even in slightly more ‘precise’ work I tend to work over an area with short, sharp strokes rather than long and flowing ones.

I know this isn’t a way I always used to sketch. I’m fairly sure that I used to favour more long, sweeping strokes – one stroke to create a line from start to finish. Perhaps it is the tendency of biros to cut out part way through whatever you’re doing (something which is tragically a major annoyance with cheaper brands or pens you have used faithfully for the extent of their life) or the gradual build-up of a line achieved when using a short-stroke style that has caused me to prefer one style of sketching over the other.

Whatever the reason… It works for me!

Now for something I’m going to try and do more often: linking to other brilliant artists whose work I admire and adore.

Artist Feature: Radio Signals.

I had the pleasure of first ‘meeting’ Miss Radio Signals when the sim my mainstore was located on in Second Life was no longer suitable. One of my customers told her about me, we met up, had a chat, worked out a few things and BAM! Just like that I had found a new home. I’ve never looked back!

Her store, called Scribble, presents a blend of beautiful products, but beyond her work in Second Life, she is also a talented pop-surreal artist with a great knack for the digital medium. With delicate tones and a style which is all at once both precise and seemingly organic, it is simply stunning. Yeah… I’m a total fan-girl!

Here’s a couple of my favourites, which can be found for purchase at her Etsy store:Actaeon and Eulogy, though of course more can be found at her website, including wonderful progress shots and a look into the process behind the artworks.

Sketch: A few little scribbles make the girl.

Kat Johnston Sketch: Does the girl make the scribbles, or the scribbles make the girl?

Not that long ago, my scanner had a run-in with a glass of water… or something liquid at least. In any case, it was out of commission. It seems to have recovered somewhat, and I haven’t posted an actual sketch for a while, so here we go!

Today’s image is a sketch for the sake of a sketch – a few random scribbles and a girl is born… or is it the other way around? Which came first… the scribble or the girl? I’m not entirely sure.

You see, thing is, I knew that I would be drawing a girl when I started, but she (as in, the actual finished girl) didn’t emerge until the scribbles had defined her. Eh… is it really worth pondering?

Sketch: Little mister dragon.

Kat Johnston Drawing: A little dragon sketch - isn't he cute? Ok... so he might be just a scribble-dragon... but I think he is cute!

I was doing a little scribbling last night in a sketch book (oh my god! I’m sketching in an actual sketch book!), and this little fella popped out. I was sketching dragons… you know… just coz? Ok, I might have had an ulterior motive. I need to make a birthday card later today because I am too lazy to go out and buy one for someone. I mean, it is really kinda rude to show up to a birthday party without even a card, or so I am told! It won’t be overly fancy, but it should do the job.

So, later on, I think I’ll get to sketching the actual card. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do for it – it has to have at least a dragon. Possibly a dragon rolling a D20, swilling a good glass of red while being attacked by a ninja reading a fantasy novel. Well, perhaps not… but it would be a good way to combine a heap of things she loves into one awesome image!

My apologies… my writing may not be fantastic today. I am writing this blog post while listening to the commentary for ‘Dr Horrible’s Sing-along Blog‘, which admittedly is really as good as the movie itself. So I’m a little distracted. But don’t worry – I’m sure that my posting will be up to its usual fantastic (ha!) standard again soon. When I am not listening to musicals and grooving along instead of paying attention as I should.