Hope you are having a great week so far. In our neck of the woods, we’ve had a weird weather. We went from cold to beautiful within a day. Yesterday started out gloomy and wet. Then there was a downpour for about half hour- and I’m talking about a deluge, trees threatening to fall over from the wind . I dropped off my son at school in all of this. The poor kid was soaking wet – as were the other kids in school. I came home drenched and cold. The umbrella and my rain jacket were pretty useless in all of this.
This was followed by a pretty gloomy morning . I guess, being wet and cold, prompted me to create something bright and cheerful . I went with watercolors and gel pens for this one. I remembered to take a few in progress shots of this illustration . It gives you an idea of how it all came together.
I used my Artist’s Loft watercolors for this illustration . It is available at Michaels – I love the brilliance of the colors . I recommend this set for those who’ve never used watercolors and would like to try it out.
I added the patterns and details on the sari and blouse with Sakura Micron Pens and gel pens. I used acrylic paint to bring out the shine and flare on the sari .
Watercolors for her hair and a touch of Micron Pens.
There she is – all done and sashaying away to some mysterious location . She’s available for purchase in different sizes on Etsy and on phone cases etc through Casetify.
Often I get asked about how one can improve on sketching , painting etc. I thought I’d create a blog post with the markers that I use the most – Copic , along with Prisma Markers.
There are many ways of creating a single look . Other artists may use different markers within the same brand to achieve a look. This is mine . So feel free to use this as a guide , but come up with your own way to get a certain look.
Here’s a sketch I created from Amazon India Fashion Week , that happened last week, in India. The model is Indian , so the markers I used for the skin tone would apply to a tan skin tone. I normally use these skin tones for Indian skin tones, tanned skin tones etc. I make adjustments on which color to use more to create the appropriate skin tones .
Again depending on the skin color I start out with lighter colors as base colors and then build up on the darker parts . For this sketch , I used E02, E31 , Y11 and RV10 for the skin colors.Mixing RV10 and Y11 give the sketch light blush and pale yellow tones where the light bounces off the skin.
From then on I build on the skin color using E31 – Brick Beige – which is a great color to use for tan / brown skin. The shadows work great with E55 – Light camel. Sometimes I use gray tones to build on shadows on skin. I didn’t in this case.
A black outfit makes this sketch a perfect subject for a tutorial !
The trick to sketching a black outfit is to work with grays as base colors and then use black to fill up on the darker portions . It works well to play with the light and shadows and to create a sense of movement .
I used C3, T3 and C7 for the gray tones.
I don’t know how many black markers I own , honestly. I ran out of black Copic markers , so I turned to Prisma Color marker and Faber Castell pens .
Faber Castell artist pens are , for a lack of a better description – black gold . They are amazing for sketching and creating rich dark tones.
I usually use Sakura Micron pens to add finishing touches and add outlines to my sketches. They work great along with Copic Markers.
Lets not forget the power of the Colorless blender. Its the perfect tool to blend colors to give it a seamless effect. I highly recommend it when you use two or more markers to achieve a certain look.
Purchasing Copic Markers and Sakura Micron Pens.
Copic Markers available at Blick and Amazon. There’s a small selection of Copics at Michaels. There might be other venues that I’m not aware of , but these are where I get my supply of Copics.
I’ve purchased Sakura Micron pens from Michaels, Blick and Amazon .
All of the markers , pens (Copics, PrismaColor , Faber Castell , Sakura ) , I’ve referenced in this post are of beautiful quality . So there’s really not a cheap way to get these materials. They are all considered quality illustration materials – which means you get high quality.
If you are starting out or a student , then I recommend starting out small and slowly building up your collection.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts and how you use your art materials for similar sketches .
So much has happened since I last updated my blog. For now I want to update it with the sketches I did during Lakme Fashion Week held in March/April in my hometown – Mumbai.
I worked on these sketches using Copic Markers and Sakura Micron pens. No pencils were used in the making of these illustrations ! I went straight for the pens and markers.
I was super excited to see Swati And Naina’s sari collection ! The classic always stands out !
Payal Khandwala – Never shies away from color and I love her work for it. This one was my favorite – I liked creating the movement in the fabric.. and that sari !
And Anushree Reddy’s bridal brigade … simply gorgeous !
I really enjoyed illustrating these. I hope you like them too .
As always, feel free to contact me for commissioned works for your look books, events and more. I love creating custom looks .