ArtFight ~~ The Final Stretch!

 On an unrelated note, this is the 800th post on my blog! 🎉

 

Artfight 2025 was counting down it's final days, and the race between the Crystal and Fossil teams was neck and neck! Every time I logged in, the ratio would be 50%/50% or 50.01% one way and 49.01% the other! According to sources, in the 8 years that Artfight has been running, this was by far the closest the competition had ever been! It spurred me on to do a few quicker sketches to keep my team afloat. My team is the Crystals, by the way, did I mention that before at any point? XD

Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the wrap-up and my final thoughts.  

 

Original Character:  Aspen from TheKittyCatFlies

Technique Notes:  I did the next couple of drawings in the same style that I drew Arthur a few weeks ago. I determined to do a "quick 15-minute sketch" but they both ended up taking nearly an hour, lol. I used a reference for the head (excluding the ponytails). I tried to do it in a more "sketchy way", in that if lines didn't join up, then I didn't worry about trying to refine it, etc. I did take more care with the face, though. 

I like:  I feel like I captured Aspen's character fairly well. She was formerly abused, and ran away to join a pirate crew to find adventure and people she can fit in with. I feel like her uptilted head and slight smile reflect that. I think! What do you think??

Could Improve:   The ponytails are a bit misshapen. XD Also the back of the head underneath the ponytails seems a bit weirdly shaped? even though I drew it in one line with the upper part of the head and erased it later. I've noticed in drawing there is sometimes a paradox in that what's factually correct can look janky when you translate it onto paper, and you need to adjust it to make it look "right" to the eye. 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Maya from SiTheSerpent

Technique Notes:  As per the above drawing, I used a reference. The hairstyle, hairbow and t-shirt are added by me. I tried using the "Toothy Pencil" brush set quite thick. Then I did the hair and t-shirt details with the "Pencil" brush on a much thinner setting. I chose a red background to honour Maya's Japanese heritage. 

I like:  The hair, well, most of it anyway. The t-shirt. Normally I hate drawing nostrils, but I think they came out okay. I've just realised that I didn't draw her eyes with pupils. I could take or leave pupils myself, honestly. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I love her sass though. 

Could Improve:   The lines are a bit wobbly today. My Carpal Tunnel was catching up with me again. Also, I think I was sitting on the couch for this one. Unsurprisingly, I seem to do better linework when I'm sitting at a table with my elbow and wrist properly supported. Heh. The hairbow is pretty bad. 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Rey from ZippyKoii

Technique Notes:  So, perhaps I should have quit while I was ahead. :7  I wanted to do another quick sketch, but this time with colour, as it was the colour palette that I loved about this character. 

I like:  The colours, but I can't take credit for that at all, heh. I tried making the hair locks curl in different directions, which made it look slightly more dynamic than in my earlier attempts at drawing shorter hair. I wouldn't say I "like" it though. And I made the highlights in his eyes tiny clouds. See! Do you see it? Squint real hard... there you go!

Could Improve:   Just about everything really, heh. 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  TRAVA from Rolladerby

I only had time to draw a couple more characters, and when I was whittling them down I just had to do Trava the Thorn.  Their skin colour and downward-sloping ears reminded me so much of my character Cora. Rolladerby sent me an incredible drawing in response. They have just started a YouTube channel -- go and show them some love!

Technique Notes:  Just a standard example of my "style", such as it is at this stage. I used "Monet Mixer" brush to do the red stripes on their head. The highlights in their eyes are tiny flowers. 

I like:  The linework seems a bit more confident today. I added some lines to the background as the corners looked kinda empty, and that is an okay thing. I was a little worried the background would be too close in tone to their skin colour, but I think it's okay.  Their mouth is quite crooked, but I actually like that. It looks more expressive than my "standard" trapezoidal mouth. 

Could Improve:   The red bits behind Trava are meant to be roses, but I did them quite perfunctorily. 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Sidd Powderkeg from zelathegreat

Technique Notes:  Yikes. This one also comes under the "I Should Have Quit While I Was Ahead" category. It was the evening of the last night of Art Fight, and I wanted to really quickly bang out one more sketch. You know how you see artists at work, and they do a "preliminary" sketch, but it turns out to be so good that it could stand alone as it's own work of art? Well, apparently I can't do that. XD  (yet) 

I really debated with myself whether to send this to Sidd's owner. I decided to do it in the end, because artists of all skill levels are welcome on the site, and it's important for people to see that we all have bad days. I will, however, keep Sidd on my bookmarks list and try to draw them better next year.  

I like:  Oh sheesh. 

Could Improve:   All of it. Just all of it. 

Lesson Learned: DO NOT try to draw in the evenings. My hand and brain just can't do it.  

 

 

 

 FINAL WRAP-UP

 

 

Starting Goal: 10 drawings 

Drawings Given: 35

Points Earned: 632.5 

Drawings Received: 12

 

 

At the start of the month my goal was to do 10 drawings, and I way outstripped that with 35! I'm very very pleased with that!

 

 About half of the artists I sent art to sent one in reply. (These are called Revenges in Art Fight parlance.) There's absolutely no obligation to send a "response" drawing to anyone, and I'm thrilled that anyone chose to draw any of my characters! 

 

I didn't realise that "Mass Attacks", which are drawings of more than one character in the same piece, as I did in this post, only count as one drawing. So, on the website my statistics show that I did 28 drawings, though I actually drew 35 characters. While it was fun doing the "mass" drawings, I might not do that again next year. Or, if I do, I'll put them into a proper scene with a story, instead of just collecting them together in my sketchbook. 

 

 Art Fight was a huge amount of fun, and I will absolutely do it again in the future! It was a great learning experience to see all of the different art styles. I got a chance to experiment with several digital drawing techniques and tools. I'm very motivated to make better drawings of my own characters, too. I should probably give my poor hand a break, though. XD

 

 I don't know which team won yet! It takes a few weeks for the admin team to investigate any reports, calculate, churn the cogs, and all that stuff. I'm waiting with bated breath. 

 

ArtFight ~ Week 4!

 I was even more enthusiastic than ever by this point! For a couple of the drawings, I decided to try a technique that my friend had mentioned to me a while back. I did a quick sketch on paper of the main details, then scanned it in, and coloured it in digitally. I'm really happy with how they turned out!

Just a quick reminder -- you need a (free) ArtFight account if you want to view any of the links. This privacy helps to keep artists safe from AI theft! 

Original Character:  Chamomile Clover from unknownaliias

Technique Notes:  Chamomile is a druid, and reminded me so much of the new Dungeons and Dragons character whom I just started playing, that I really got into it and put in extra effort! ✨As I'd suspected, my confidence doing linework traditionally with pencil on paper really made a difference. Well, I think so anyway! XD 

I like:  I love the broad, sweeping lines of her mushroom hat, the brown markings on it, and the 'drippy' fungus edge. (That last part is different to the orignal, my own idea.) I love the eyes, the hair, the little clovers scattered through it. I tried doing highlights in the hair, which I don't think are particularly successful, but at least I tried. 

Could Improve:  The oak leaf, even though I used a reference, is a bit simple. Even if it just curved over a bit? I could have pushed the shading under the hat deeper. It's hard to see. 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Raspberry Manatee from Rhubyrist

Technique Notes:  I used a reference -- for the manatee part, not the raspberry part! XD I made the brush quite thick and tried to keep the lines minimal. I was originally going to do it in a single colour, but the green and bright red of the raspberry called to me and I did both the linework and coloured it in those colours. I also tried a technique I had seen where there is a white outline around the overall shape, to make it stand out from the background. On a simple drawing like this, it really works well, I think.

I like:  The thick juicy lines, the cute little whiskers and the shape of the flippers. 

Could Improve:  The raspberry part could have been drawn better. But it gets the message across, I guess. 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Marabelle from poorlemons

Technique Notes:  I found Marabelle in the first few days of the event, and adored her as soon as I clapped eyes on her. I bookmarked her page, but I didn't have the courage to try drawing her until the 28th of July! I again used the technique of doing a traditional sketch on paper, then scanning it in. 

I like:  Marabelle studies bats, so I showed her in a cave. Compared to my previous attempt, I think I depicted the background with a light source coming from the side a little better. I like the rim lighting down her face and arm, and the shadows on the darker side. I'm proud that I tried a 3/4 pose with her upper torso. Her facial features come across passably. Her hair seemed to be partly braided and partly loose in the original, so I did my best to make it look like that. Her dress with its dotted decoration. 

Could Improve:  What's going on with the left side of her neck?! I also wish I had spent more time getting her soft jawline as it's meant to be. 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Moon from Qlorine

I was particularly excited to do this drawing! Player Qlorine was the first person to send me an artwork unprompted -- that is, not as a "reply" to one I had sent them. So I sent them a reply! They only had one character on their profile, but she was so adorable, I jumped at the chance to draw her!

Technique Notes:  Most things are the same as my previous drawings. I was a bit more adventurous in drawing her upper torso and not just cutting it off at the shoulders. She loves flowers, so I drew her enjoying sakura season. The flowers are just a single flower duplicated, re-sized and stretched to make them look different. Doing that and placing them was surprisingly more painful than I thought it would be. But it was worth it.  

This drawing is when I started a "style" of making the highlights in the eyes a shape matching the character -- in this case, tiny flowers. I don't know if anyone would notice it though, heh. 

I like:  I had a concept of her doing something, even though it's quite static. I like that I added detail in the form of her earrings.  I colour-picked from the original drawing, but I had to adjust the shades as the original was on paper and they were a bit muddy. I think I did quite well at that. 

Could Improve:  The 3/4 pose isn't as successful as my last drawing. Her eyes look totally different shapes, lol. Her expression, especially her mouth, isn't as, well ... expressive enough as I would like. The hair on the left side of her face isn't configured right. I realised at the time, but I was having a bad brain day, and didn't have the confidence that I would figure out how to fix it. I also wish I had added shading, etc, but by the time I finished the flowers, my ADHD decided I was done. 

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Wren from birchtreecrown

Wren is special in his own way as well. I had found this character at the very start of the month. The original drawing was in uncoloured pencil, so I messaged the owner to ask about their hair/skin/eye colour. They responded on 29th, with apologies. At that time I just happened to be feeling very de-motivated, but receiving the message got me all excited to draw again!  

Technique Notes:  I went all out with this one, drawing them in a shirt, with a badge and earring, and with shading over everything. I used a reference for the hair and the shirt. I had to play around a bit with the size and position of the facial features before they looked okay. They want to be a librarian (relatable!) so I used a photo of such as the background. 

I like:  I really like that I added details such as collared shirt, badge and earring. The character wore some badges in the original, but you can't see what they depict. There was a sketch of a plesiosaurus (?) next to him and I thought it was really cute. I had the idea to incorporate it on his badge. 

I chose all of the colours for the piece as the original was uncoloured, and I think I did quite well in fulfilling the owner's notes, and in choosing colours that went well together. I resisted the temptation to make his eyes much bigger, and I think that was a good call in this type of (slightly) more realistic drawing. 

Could Improve:  The way I drew the fringe and the hair don't seem to gel together properly. I realised afterwards that I had used hard shading on the shirt, and soft shading on the face. I don't know if that's a no-no, but it might have looked better if I was consistent? I tried doing highlights on the hair; I need to find a better way of doing that. I could also again have pushed the shading further, seeing as the background seems to indicate that he's in a fairly dark place. 

 

 

Don't worry, that's not all! The last few drawings are coming soon, in a few days!

 

ArtFight ~ Traditional Drawings

By the end of Week 3, I was getting a bit over digital drawing, and decided to return to something more familiar. I had seen this video by Silver Cactus, in which they drew several characters in their sketchbook and uploaded them as a group -- this is called a Mass Attack. I decided to give it a go! 

 Also as per the video, I used the technique of doing a pencil sketch, linework with textas, and colouring in with coloured pencil. I only erased the pencil sketch at the end, in spots where it was glaringly obvious. This isn't a technique I've ever done before ... if I recall right. 

 

The first sketchbook page is of three characters, plus two of my own to fill in the spaces. After I finished, I realised all of the characters have black hair, so I guess that was the theme?  My Carpal Tunnel was quite bad that day, so things are pretty sketchy. I think they're pretty bad, but the recipients left some lovely comments, which I very much appreciated. 

The next day I did this page below. I chose all non-human characters. My hand was feeling a bit better, so the linework is less janky, and I even did shading for some of them. It was fun to do goo (top-left), ensuring I got the pattern and colours right.  I particularly like Linda (the bottom-left one). Linda isn't meant to be gesturing at Baby Pumpkin Butt, it just turned out that way. She's a producer on a TV show, so I wanted to show her in a "boss" pose. XD

The day after that, I decided was going to be Cat Day. XD 

Donut (top-right) is a real-life cat. Ruby (top-left) is an Anthro character, and Lys and Drizzleskip are Feral characters.* I made sure to follow their colouring and patterns as closely as I could, though I was frustrated that I didn't always have the exact colour pencil to match. As well, with the bottom two characters, I found myself copying the fur and other details rather than doing it "in my own style". I've never drawn any characters like this before, so I don't actually have a style yet, heh. 

Having said that, I have drawn real-life cats before, and the heart-shaped nose and line between the nose and the eyes are elements that I'm sure have appeared before.  

 

 

ArtFight! ~ Week 3

 

ArtFight is more than halfway over! Here are the drawings I did in Week 3: 

 

Original Character:  Vladimir from Saint_Judas

Technique Notes:  One of Vladimir's roles is to patrol the tunnels in his area, so I tried to depict him with a light source coming from the left side with some shadows and highlights. I also coloured outside the lines deliberately (scandal! lol), again, for a looser look.  

I like:  The way I drew his hair -- the linework is loose and (I hope) matches his curly hair. The expression on his face, especially his mouth. 

Could Improve:   I could have pushed the shadows much deeper and made it a bit more ominous. Perhaps next time!

 

Original Character:  Mary the Microwave from Lizzie3_14159

Technique Notes:  It was a different challenge to draw a shape with straight, boxy lines. I used a different brush to give crisper edges, and varied the thickness to draw the details. I used a photograph for the background, as I wanted to draw her in a kitchen, but wasn't confident (or patient!) enough to draw a full scene. She is meant to be a very old model, and I imagined her in a 1970s kitchen. 

I like:  Her face is sweet and expressive. Using the brush at different thicknesses gave the impression of a mechanical object quite well, I think. The programme selections are a little dig at the kinds of things microwaves were advertised as being able to cook when they first came out. XD

Could Improve:   The perspective is all wrong and some of the lines are a little wobbly, but actually, I like that. It's quirky.  

 

Original Character:  Em from Stunt22 ~ Em is a nurse android

Technique Notes:  I decided to switch from using "Pencil" brush to "Brush" brush (lol) for the outlines. I like the more crisp and solid line. For the colourwork, I changed from "Chisel Marker" to "Classic Comics Nib". It's a solid brush, so I don't need to go over it multiple times to get full coverage. It makes colouring in much faster!

I like:  The hand is quite good, considering I didn't use a reference, heh. Em is very shy, so I depicted her holding her tablet to her chest in a closed pose. In the original, she has a pink flower elsewhere on her outfit, so I converted it into a ponytail decoration and made it pointed to match the robotic and futuristic theme. 

Could Improve:    When I don't use a reference, my drawings always end up with huge eyes and attenuated necks for some reason. As for the background, I was just mucking around with different brushes and didn't really think too much about making it match the theme. 

  

Original Character:  Arthur Williams from Ryley

Technique Notes:  This was meant to be a "quick" sketch, maybe 15 minutes, but it ended up taking an hour! I used 3 different references -- for the body/pose, the hair and the glasses. I had seen someone else do a sketch with a single colour roughly applied over the whole drawing. I really liked the idea, so I decided to give it a go. Arthur is a classical academic, so of course I had to depict him reading. 

I like:  I tried drawing a few lines to indicate folds in the clothing. I tried not to overwork it, using as few lines as possible, and I think that worked out pretty well. Having a contrasting colour behind really brings out the sketch. 

Could Improve:   Even using a reference, I don't like how the hair worked out. I struggle with depicting short hair, to be honest. The hand is a bit janky, but passable. 

This week was a little slow as I had other commitments, but things really ramped up in the last week, so stick around for that!

 

ArtFight! ~ Week 2

To find out more about ArtFight, see my Week 1 post, 

or the literally hundreds of Youtube posts out there about it. :)

 

Hello again! Here are the drawings I did for Week 2 of ArtFight 2025.  

Just a reminder that, to view the original artworks that I based mine on, you need a (free) ArtFight account.  

 

Original Character:  Jean-Cou from Utopique

Technique Notes:  I was immediately drawn to the colours and shapes on this monster, so I had to draw him! I tried some shading, and added the flowers for a little detail. The background is a photo I took a while back, which I darkened so Jean-Cou stands out more. I liked the idea of an imagined monster in a real garden. :)

I like:  That I tried to do shading! I also tried to make his neck/head more 3D by making it curl over and towards the viewer. 

Could Improve: the technique I used for the shading. My linework is also still very hesitant and kinda jerky. 

 

 

Original Character:  Yuhna from yYuhzinha

Technique Notes:  I tried doing her eyes without pupils, but with highlights. Also, I tried something new with her mouth. I found the green stripe in her hair difficult, and I'm not happy with how I ended up depicting it. I enjoyed drawing her fox ears. The polkadot background took longer than I thought it would, and was kinda annoying, but I like the colours I chose. 

I like:   The eyes, nose, mouth and ears. The bottom ends of the hair. 

Could Improve:  Her fringe. And obviously how the green stripe in the hair was treated. 

 

 

Original Character:  The Terbibble from nightynite

Technique Notes:  The moment I saw The Terbibble, I just knew I had to draw him! It was my first time trying shadows and highlights. I also added in my own character Elspeth admiring his cuteness, and was trying to show her looking through a window. tbh I didn't put much effort into depicting Elspeth as she'd be obscured by the window anyway. 

I like:  the linework on this one was a lot smoother and more confident. I gave him pupils, but in a darker green rather than the usual black/lineart colour. I *love* the expression on The Terbibble's face. 

Could Improve:   the shadows and highlights could have been blended smoother. I couldn't quite tell what the pointed things on its head are. They're not ears -- perhaps knives? It was hard to depict them well without knowing what they are, but I just tried to copy the original artist's painting. 

 

 

Original Character:  Sabrina Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy OC) from Queen_Atlas

Technique Notes:  Look, not every drawing can be a masterpiece, and I think it's important to acknowledge that, not try to hide it! Sabrina is a character from the Umbrella Academy universe. Her special power involves using fidget spinners to manipulate time, so I thought I'd try drawing her holding one between her fingers. 

I like:   Um, well, at least I tried. XD  I do like the shadows under the fringe, and the idea I had of depicting her holding the fidget spinner. Sometimes it can be hard to think of poses or situations that aren't already in the original.

Could Improve:   I used a reference for the hand and it still turned out totally janky! lol The hair looks strangely spiky and also lank at the same time. I did a style of lips that I've done before, but it didn't work out this time. I had trouble deciding on the lip colour, and I think I should have gone darker. 

Oh yeah, and I didn't realise until after I uploaded it that she's supposed to have glasses, and I couldn't be bothered going back and putting them in. Sometimes that can be a bit of a faux pas. 

 

 

Original Character:  Pine from blitzen ~ an amargasaurus

Technique Notes:  After my last effort, I decided to do something much more simple. I experimented with blocking in colour and not staying within the lines. The original painting only shows Pine in profile view, so I decided to turn her so she's in three-quarter view. 

I like:  how the blocky colour worked in some parts -- the head outline and especially under the neck. The linework in some parts I think is better. I drew her with an open mouth, and I like the way she looks like she's happily smiling at something out of frame. 

Could Improve:   I don't like how the blocky colour looks on the spines. I futzed with it too much perhaps? I tried to do shading on some of the spines to show they are further away, but I don't think it was successful. 

 

 That's it for Week 2. See you again for Week 3!

 

 

 

I'm Doing ArtFight! ~ Week 1

 Firstly, I should explain what ArtFight is. It's an art gifting game that runs during July each year, where people draw each other's characters. It's framed as a friendly 'fight', with everyone divided into two teams. Points are allocated to each artwork depending on how complex it is, and the team with the most points at the end of the month 'wins'. But it's all in fun, really.

 

The game is for anyone, of any skill level, of any art or craft medium. Having said that, most of the people who participate are digital artists, so as a craftsperson myself, it's extra delightful when you spot a paper doll or a clay figurine or a cross-stitch.

 

I heard about ArtFight last year, but was too shy to try. This year, having been reminded of it 2 days before the start, I decided to go for it! Now, in the last few years, my memory, ability to concentrate and make decisions has declined quite a bit, plus I have Carpal Tunnel, so I wasn't sure how I'd go. I had also tried digital art about 4 years ago and it didn't work out too well, mostly due to technical issues. But this time, I was determined to overcome them!

 

I set myself a goal of doing 10 drawings and I'm pleased to say I've already surpassed that! So let's have a look at what I did in Week 1.

Before we start, I should mention that you need an account to view any artworks on ArtFight, but it's free, and this way artists are more protected from AI theft. I will link  to artists' profiles, but just be aware of that. :) 

 

 THE DRAWINGS

 

Original Character:  Cute Toedstool by LittleDragonPumpkin

Technique Notes:  I used a reference for the Pokeball, which is why it looks a lot more solid than the character! hehe

I like:  I tried to do a scene with my first drawing! I'm kinda proud of that. The character has a facial expression reacting to the Pokeball, which, while very simplistic, I think comes across quite well. I like how I used a thicker lineweight for the Pokeball. I also like the frill on the right side of Toedstool's body. 

Could improve:  Just about everything, lol. The linework is pretty shaky. I was out of practice with any kind of drawing, so I'm gonna be kind to myself!

 

 

Original Character: Blossom by tobwrld

Technique Notes:  I tried some shading around the neck and ears, and highlights on the hair. I added the pink bow around her neck. She loves bows and has a pink accessory elsewhere on the original, so I added that. 

I like:  her hair! Her mouth, I think. The shadows and markings on her skin. I managed to match the original colour scheme quite well. She was just an adorable character to draw. =D

Could improve:  Her eyes look kinda soulless, heh. More practice with linework, and to work out how to do highlights on the hair. 

 

 

 

Original Character: Moon Deity New by DustBunniRini

Technique Notes:  The original was an uncoloured pencil drawing. I made up the colour palette. 

I like:  the colour palette. :) The clothing with embroidered detail - maybe not so much the execution, but the fact that I tried it. The highlights in his eyes. 

Could improve:  the hair. I tried again to do highlights, but they turned out pretty bad. I think I'm more successful at drawing long hair. I tried the same style with the lips as above, but I don't think it turned out as well. 

 

Original Character:  Hypnos by Vic_Fandom

Technique Notes:  Hypnos is a planet, so I thought it would be fun to do something different. I also tried to create a story by adding in the satellite that he's looking at. The satellite is done from a reference. 

I like:  The colours, I think, but the original artist needs to be credited for that! The expression isn't too bad. 

Could improve:  So wobbly! But I deliberately decided not to correct it. Let's just call it a stylistic choice. :) I'm not very happy with the pattern of colouring, but perhaps I'm being too perfectionistic?

 

 

 

 

Original Character:  Heart Cookie Queen by CuriousFella

Technique Notes:  I included some of the accessories from the original, and added some new ones. 

I like:  I added more details in the accessories and neckline of the dress. I did the pupils with a rougher brush, and I think it looks less stiff ... though still kinda soulless, heh. I also tried something new with the background and I like it!

Could improve:   The original is supposed to be a cookie. I don't think I conveyed this very well. Should the hair drape naturally, or be completely stylised? I couldn't decide. I tried to add some shading under the chin, but again, I'm not sure it works with this style of drawing. Also, why do my drawings always have such long necks?? 

That's it for Week 1! Stay tuned for Week 2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Procrastinatory Art Journalling

 

Am I procrastinating?

Or am I just being too hard on myself? Is there actually something in there, in the depths of my brain, percolating away? I kind of hope it's the latter, though I know I shouldn't rely on it too much, if I want to produce art consistently. 

The following photos are unedited and unsorted, dumped into the post in the order that Blogspot deemed best, but I'm not sorry and not really that concerned.  Blogspot has made it so hard to blog in the last few years, that whenever I have the urge, I just want to run with it, in the most uncomplex, unresistant way I can. 

(Oh, and I had to use a different brand of browser to the one I normally prefer, because all of the little buttons started appearing as error messages, but that's just one of the vagaries of internet life.)

I haven't made any new Art (with a capital A) since the start of this year. I tend to go through rollercoaster-like phases of having ideas and feverishly trying to bring them into being, then long periods of self-doubt, never finishing anything and retreating into my 'comfort art'. 

Which, for me, is art journalling. About a year ago, I discovered a technique invented by Jennibellie. It's not an art technique, but one to choose what and how to art. I've always loved playing with randomising all sorts of things, so this was right up my alley. Being me, of course I expanded on the technique, adding more technique cards of my own, plus two dice to decide the colour and shape. There's no need to decide anything. It's quite freeing.

I tend to work on multiple journals at a time, plus a few loose junk journal pages. I'm so impatient about waiting for wet layers to dry, I figure if I work on more than one page at a time, I get more arting time for each round of waiting-to-dry time. I usually choose either 7 or 9 pages to work on, as I just like those numbers. Some of the pages are newly started ones, others have layers 5 or 10 years old already on them. 

I shuffle the cards, choose 6, or 7, or all 12, and then work through a round. When I get to the end, it always seems that it was too short, and I can't wait to shuffle them and start over again. And yes, I often ending up putting layers over layers that I wouldn't have thought of myself ... and sometimes probably shouldn't have. Ink tends to re-wet and bleed when something wet is added on top!

The results, though, are richer and have more depth than anything I've made before. It excites me to see the ink splatters and pencil alternating with paint and little collaged bits that contain memories. 

None of the pages in this post are finished, and yes, some are more successful than others (however you might want to measure 'success'). Most likely, none of them will ever be seen outside the confines of this blog or my instagram, and I'm still trying to convince myself that even so, it's still actually worth it. 

Weirdly, I've been getting an urge to draw on them -- actual drawings! That's the one thing I've always baulked at, and the main reason why so many of the old pages remain unfinished. Or perhaps a wash of pastel yellow paint IS the finished page, not just the background. That's the beauty of an art journal: it's my art journal, I can do what I want!

2022 and start of 2023 Update

Hello! I know it's been a while, but don't worry, I never intended to abandon this blog. It's just that, well, life got in the way for a while. So if you'll indulge me, I'll do a little update on the arts, crafts, garden, hobbies, and all the other random stuff that this blog covers. Then hopefully I'll do some expanded posts on a few different topics soon.

2022 was a bit of a topsy-turvy year for me. "Strange" is the word I've heard most when people were describing their year, and I'd have to agree.

Me

I was diagnosed with several 'new' chronic illnesses. I was already pretty sure I had most of them for a while, so there weren't any big surprises, but it was nice to have the diagnosis confirmed. I was then able to start sorting out the best treatments, etc. This kept me busy with appointments, new doctors, new medications, etc. 

 

Videos

My style and sewing Youtube channel has been continuing. In the beginning I was hoping to make a video once a fortnight, but in 2022 it ended up being once a month, on average. I'm still very happy with that, because along the way I've learned many new video-making skills, and it's been a lot of fun. My channel is here if you haven't heard about it yet and you're interested. 

 

Arts

2022 was a topsy-turvy year with art, too. In the first half of the year, my Collective and I staged 3 exhibitions. (That's a lot!) Then we took a long break. I didn't do any art for a long time -- I guess I was burnt out. Around July I slowly started doing some art journalling and started a junk journal. I wanted to ease back into things by doing something very low-key and low-energy friendly. In December and early January we had 2 exhibitions scheduled, so towards the end of the year I started to ramp things up a bit and make sure I did everything I wanted to for those. Plus, I made a real-proper website for my real-proper artist stuff. It lists all my past/current/upcoming exhibitions, projects I'm working on, etc. It's not quite finished yet, but if you'd like to see it, here it is.

Crafts

Arguably, a lot of my real-proper art has some definite crafty elements to it, as you can see above. Unfortunately though, I didn't do much crafting just for myself in 2022. I did start a new tablet weaving, but the tension was wonky and it was a bit of a mess. Husband promised that he would make some improvements to the weaving loom he made last year. After some delays, that was done last week and I started a new weaving. (Yay!) It's going to be a bracelet, but I'll probably end up with 2 or 3 as the base threads have to be at least as long as the loom, so I may as well make as many bracelets as will fit on.

Garden

The Spring/Summer of 2022 here in Australia has been such a strange one. It rained a looooot more than normal in Spring, and some days were cold enough to still be Winter! Many of my plants were confused and didn't know whether to grow or not, so things got off to a slow start. I did buy quite a lot of new plants, but I'll introduce them in a separate post.

Note: this isn't at my house but a spot nearby.

 

Home

I did a huge project in June to tidy up my Hobby Room / Studio. It was for a studio tidying challenge online ... and I won the challenge! I put it mainly down to stubborn persistence, and remembering to take 'before' and 'after' photos. Perhaps the 'after' photos don't look that much different, but to me it's a huge change. I was never a minimalist ... I think I'm firmly in the pro-Cluttercore camp. :)

  Thanks for reading, happy 2023, and look forward to more posts soon! (Soon-ish?) :)

Tablet Weaving Update and Loom Musings

I finished another tablet weaving band! Here it is:

I took a break about halfway in, and it ended up sitting half finished for about 6 months. I guess I'm not motivated to weave in the warmer months? But as Autumn arrived (here in the Southern Hemisphere), my motivation returned, and I picked it up again. I even went to the trouble of finishing off the ends straight away. This one is long enough that I can use it as a belt. (I will model it another time. To be honest, I'm not sure I have any clothes of the style it would go with, and might not end up using it as a belt anyway.)

I was so excited that I started another band straight away, an even longer one this time. I wanted to try a different pattern, but unfortunately I had forgotten which pattern I used for the previous one, it being so long ago, and I ended up choosing the same one from my notebook! Even the colours are the same. (I've found that spare pages in my Hobonichi diary are great for recording patterns that I find online: the grid lines are perfect for tablet weaving patterns!)

I had written "Oseberg Weave" next to it, but not the source. Also, I think there was actually more than one kind of tablet-woven band found in the Oseberg burial. I should be more comprehensive with my notes in the future!

When I googled it, I remembered that I had sourced the pattern from this video on the Elewys of Finchingefeld Youtube channel. I highly recommend this channel! Not only is Elewys an expert weaver and excellent explainer, but I love her friendly and down-to-earth attitude. I hope to do more weaves from her channel in the future.

If you'd like to see some of my previous janky tablet weaving efforts, check out this blog post!



After only having done 2-and-three-quarters pieces on my 'new' loom, I'm already starting to see its limitations. (I say 'new', but I've had it for a year -- Husband helped me to make it as a sort-of birthday present, and my birthday is coming up again!) The loom is incredibly simple: it's just made up of a board (actually a shelf) with a drawer handle at each end. In theory, this isn't even the simplest set-up that's required. But it's also certainly not the most complicated, either. I very much like the idea of this kind of loom. It's only a few of the details that are off.
(Note: in the photo below, I have taken off the bobbins at the far end because I was getting towards the end of the weave. Normally the yet-to-be-used threads are wound on to them and they hang off the back end.)

Firstly, the tablets should ideally hang off the threads, not touch the base. There isn't enough of a gap between the drawer handles and the base. The big box hardware store I went to had a large range of handles, but these were the most 'gappy' ones I could find. I hoped they would be okay ... and they are ... But the tablet set I have is made of cardboard, and having them hit the base all the time is eventually going to damage them. I can always get some wooden or plastic ones later on down the track. Or buy some smaller ones, once my lil clumsy fingers are more used to weaving (they'd have to be pretty small to clear the base, though!). As you can see in the picture below, they don't tend to sit upright, but veer off to the side, leaving the weaving sort of half-twisted. It's still perfectly possible to weave that way, but not ideal. I also have a feeling that it mucks with the tension, but more on that later. The biggest issue, though, is that it's going to make more complicated patterns, well, even more complicated. In a lot of patterns you have to separate the tablets and turn some forwards and some backwards on every turn. Having them sitting all hinky is going to make that very difficult. So that's the first problem I'd like to solve.

Secondly, I sometimes have trouble with the tension. I've tried a few different things to attach the work in progress to the handles at each end, and landed on bag clips as the easiest solution. (They are absolutely not historically accurate, I know, but dang they're convenient!) The clip at the front end works fine; the only problem is that it leaves an impression in the finished piece (which you can see in the second photo from the top in this post, on the right hand side). It's a minor inconvenience that you can only see close up. The clip at the far end though, I've had some problems with. At first I tried using weights to give the band tension (a common historical solution) but found them cumbersome and annoying. I tried winding the threads around a piece of dowel -- in pictures I've seen it locks them in place -- but it didn't work for me. (The technique is shown in this blog post; photos near the bottom.) The bag clip worked better than these solutions, but it doesn't grip the threads evenly, and they tend to lose their grippiness over time. (I've ruined two clips already!) I really want to find a solution that reliably locks the threads in place and gives them a taut tension, while still being quick and easy to release for when I get to the top and need to move the finished weaving down and off the loom.

Thirdly (don't worry, this is the last one!), my back gets really sore when using the loom. I certainly can't have it sitting on a table horizontally, as my arms won't even reach the far end, and there's no point in having a long loom if you can't reach the far end! I tried using it at a shallowish angle (with the far end resting on a cardboard box) while sitting at my desk, but even then my back gets really sore from reaching forwards. Lately I have tried leaning it almost vertically on the edge of my desk, with the front edge resting on my lap, and that works a lot better back-wise, but dang: those sharp shelf corners really dig into my thighs! (Excuse my messy hobby room and non-period-accurate outfit, it was just a quick selfie to demonstrate!)

Okay, one more tiny thing -- I'd like a way to keep the finished part of the weaving neatly out of the way and clean.

Okay, that's all I want! I don't want to ditch my loom completely, because I'm proud that I made it myself -- and the finishing on the surface of the shelf looks cool. I would rather try and modify it to solve these problems. I have been doing some research. More on that soon!