Color Stippling - A Basic How-To

Here’s a simple visual how-to on color stippling. This works great when your drawing calls for mostly primary colors but when you get into skin tones and the such you need to be a bit more creative when it comes to choosing the colors to create your shadows. When you need for your colors to be deeper, place your dots closer together. When you need for them to be lighter, place them further apart. A rule of thumb is don’t use black otherwise your shadows will look too harsh. Then again, once you get the hang of this, rules can be broken. Other than that have fun and play around with the colors to see what works for you but if you’re looking for a starting point work with primary colors until you get comfortable and then explore from there.

Finding Inspiration

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a vacation from my art. It hasn’t been so much that I needed one but rather I haven’t been too inspired or motivated to draw. It’s inevitable that anyone who is in the craft of creating art will have such moments. For me, it happens about twice year; I’ll open up my sketchbook or drawing pad and my mind just goes blank. Sometimes these moments will last for a day or two, sometimes for two to four weeks. Eventually I come out of it but it can be a bit agonizing when the desire to create is there but you just can’t come up with anything. Here are a few things I do to get through my creative slums.

1. Doodle - Sometimes it just seems pointless and I admit, at times I feel a little silly when I step back and look at my “doodling” and think “What the hell is that?” But there’s just something cathartic about taking a pencil, holding it like a three year old and scribbling like a mad woman or aimlessly drawing circles and squiggly lines. It helps get out some of the angst and frustration that comes with trying to get ideas from my imagination to the paper. I like to call it “mental dumping”, getting rid of useless energy so that I can free up some room for more creative and productive energy.
2. Relax - Like I mentioned before it’s inevitable to have moments like this. The worst you can do is fret over it, which I’m guilty of. So I go out for walks, go out for a nice meal, visit friends or take a nap. It helps to keep me from worrying about whether or not I’ve lost my creative mojo.
3. Change - Try something different creatively. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to try then try it. Or if you’re like me and have other creative skills then switch to one of your less prominent skills. I’m mainly a pen and ink stipple artist but I also like carving linoleum blocks, digital drawing, flash animation and sketching. If I’m having a slump with my stippling switching to one of my other skills for a little while helps to get my creative juices going again.
4. Other Artists - There’s nothing that inspires me more than looking at the art work of other artists. I LOVE drawing so a big treat for me is when I go to an artist’s website and they have sketches from their sketchbooks up. I like all the “behind the scenes” work that goes into a painting more than the actual painting. I’m the type of person who will buy books like “The Art of Star Wars” not so much because I’m a big fan of the movie but because I want to see all the sketches that went into the concepts of the costumes, the stage setup and what-nots.
5. Music - Nothing transports my imagination like music. When I’m listening to music I like to create my own videos inside my head to express the meaning I think the song is trying to convey. I typically come away with some good ideas for a drawing. Some of the music genres that work best for me are: trip-hop, downtempo, electronica and world.
6. Movies - Watching visually appealing movies are another source of inspiration for me. I get all into the lighting, mood, design of costumes, colors, art direction and imagination that goes into a film. If the visual imagery is captivating than the plot doesn’t have to be much for me to like a film. A couple of my favorites are The Cell and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, particularly the ending credits.
7. Just Draw - In the end, when all else has failed the only thing you can do is just draw. Sometimes you won’t find the inspiration. If all you do is sit around and wait for inspiration you won’t get much art created. Sometimes the inspiration comes before, sometimes in comes during and sometimes it doesn’t come at all but don’t let inspiration be your down fall. Creating art is more work than inspiration so in the end you just have to grin and bare it, pick up your pencil and get at it.

Now, with that being said let me go grab my sketchbook and get to scribbling.

A Brief (very brief) Demo On How I Carve Linoblocks

1. Tools:
   linoleum block
   Speedball cutter
   my design
  
   In this brief demo I’ve decided to do the Chinese character for “peace” as my design

2. I draw out the design on the linoleum block and since I don’t intend on using this for making prints in the usual custom so I’m not concerned with reversing it.

3. The Speedball cutter comes with six cutters that provides various forms and shapes of cuts.

4. Using the #6 blade I trace my design so that the cut can provide a stopping point for when I start removing the linoleum.

5. Using the #4 cutter I start removing the linoleum from around the design.

6. With all of the linoleum removed, my design is ready for some color.

7. At this point I take a Sharpie and color in my design.

8. …and there you have it! “Peace” all finished.

The Technical Pen

When it comes to resources, there’s one book I recommend any pen and ink artist to have in their library and that’s The Technical Pen by Gary Simmons. For anyone who wants to learn more on not just how to get the most out of their technical pen but also on just drawing with pen and ink in general, this book is full of explanations on how to build form, tone and textures in pen and ink renderings. Simmons does a wonderful job of giving step by step demonstrations that illustrate how to develop good, solid image construction from the initial pencil sketch to the final inking. He also points out the common mishaps and pitfalls and how to avoid them when mastering the medium. Although I mainly do stipple work, this is still my go-to reference guide for when I want to get a good idea on how to construct various line techniques and patterns. So if you come across this book at your local library be sure to pick it up and take a look through it. It’s also available on Amazon here, if you want to get your own copy. I think it’s currently out of print but you can still purchase a used copy at a descent price from some of the Amazon merchants.

5 Of My Favorite Artists

Andrea Joseph - Her work is filled with the simplicity of everyday things. Cars, keys, stamps, laundry, you name it. I’m fascinated with the fact that she takes things that can be found in our everyday lives and make beautiful drawings out of them with nothing but ballpoint pens and moleskines.

Kurt Halsey - His work is sweet, tender, emotive and touches the romantic in me.

Audrey Kawasaki - There is such a delicate softness and femininity in her work that I often wish I could capture in my own. Her style has a unique elegance to it that can’t be duplicated yet I’ve seen others try.

Paul Davey - I love all the earth tones and details in his work. I can look at the same piece over and over again and always find something new about it.

Gris Grimly - He is my Tim Burton of visual arts. (I’m a Tim Burton fan.) Having to explain why I like Grimly’s work often leaves me speechless. I just like it, that’s all I can say.