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The Fairy Godmother
Based on an illustration by Arthur Rackham from teh fairy tale "Sweetheart Roland", this is my version of the infamous fairy godmother we are always hearing about. Who said she was old?
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This art has 37 comments.
Hey! (I love your username! Very cool!) My main suggestion on wrinkles is to know where they start and where they end... does that make any sense? Basically if you know where on an object - namely clothing - the wrinkles start from (in this picture, they start at her skirt) you can control their flow. Depending on the fabric - heavy versus thin - and the situation - the wind blowing or not - you can decide if they are deeper at the top or the bottom.
Personally, I think wrinkles are best when shaded. :)
u need to gives me tips on how to draw wrinkles on clothes!!!!!
thank you very much MaryTD! This was worth my while to read, definitely. I've wanted to use fountain pens ever since i started inking my pictures, but after one failed attept I gave up. :P (I wasnt even using the right type-i was using calligraphy pens-- >.< fail)
Soooo, MaryTD and StrangeJade (love the name! XD) could you pretty please take a look at my work and comment on it??? I desperately need feedback. Thank you for your help Mary!
Sorry to keep posting so much! I guess I'm just too eager to share...
The only thing I can suggest is to practice until your hand is steady! That's what I did. I never used to use my actual fountain pen on any of myt actual artwork, just scraps of paper, until my pen ran out and I had to use it. I've found that when drawing black and white pictures, I prefer not to use too much shading. The shading I do use is either absolute or the cross-hatching lines (example is the dress). Obviously I'd suggest drafting it in pencil, then going over and doing the inking and shading, and erasing the pencil after about half an hour to be absolutely sure the ink is dry. Normally it wouldn't take that long, but in areas where you do a lot of inking like hair - or the body of her dress - you want to be safe.
I found that I have smoother lines when I hold the pen closer to the hilt, especially in important features such as the face or wavy lines. For the slower lines, hold the pen closer to the end of the body.
I guess you would use most of the same techniques you would with a regular pen. The real difference is just how you hold it, because the nib is flat, so you can't twirl the pen. The rest of it is up to you, depending on what style you are going for. This example is based on fairy-tale style illustrations like you might see in the book ofr Grimm's Fairy Tales, which is why the contrast is so stark here. Varied shades look great... if you are going for a picture that has a lot of varied shades, I might suggest stippling, the dot technique... it looks awesome once you get the hang of it!
Anyway, sorry for taking up so much time... I hope I gave you any information you wanted. If not, just let me know and I would be happy to try and answer any questions you have about fountain pens or ink or anything. Thanks. :)
(continued from above)... my fountain pen is heavier than most other pens, so it takes getting used to. Different pens are different weights and styles, of course, so some fountain pens may not be that way. I would suggest starting on the side opposite of your dominant hand (for example, I am right handed, so I would start on the left-hand side of the paper and move to the right) because that way you would be less likely to smudge the wet ink by running your arm over it. (I have done that too many times!) A simple tip my dad taught me is to store the pen with the cap facing upwards, because if you store it upside down all of the ink runs into the cap, and then you have a mess when you open it! (I've done this too.)
Refilling and cleaning the ink cartridge is the main source of trouble. If you don't use up all of the ink in the cartridge and you let it set for a week, the ink hardens in the nib. Luckily it can be easily fixed by dunking the head into a glass of water - or be like a pirate and lick the nib, which is how my dad does it - and it will get the ink flowing. Make sure to test it out on scratch paper right afterwards, to avoid dripping water on your picture.
That's the main care of the pen out of the way! I feel like a salesman...:) I have a few more tips on actually wielding the pen coming up...
14 articles 1 photo 118 comments