Using Big Kid Markers Now!

I have really been enjoying using markers to color my work recently. No Not Crayola. Prismacolor of course...I’m using big kid markers now :) I had a hard time at first because once you color a spot you can’t UNcolor it like you can when using PhotoShop. I had to get used to planning out where I wanted it to stay white or where I was going to Highlight. In a way it is very similar to Scratch Art…only that is planning out where I want it to stay black.
Mostly I’ve stuck to the Artist Trading Cards but I’m considering branching out and coloring larger pieces with the Markers. I have become pretty confident with them, much more then I am with paint and with Markers I can get the colors to be more vibrant I think. I’m working on about 10 more trading cards and then I will get started coloring a 11x15 piece that I’ve been working on. It is one of my few Si-Fi pieces and I actually took it from a ATC that I did for Dragon Con last year. I’m excited to see how it turns out when coloring it all in Markers. It will be quite a task so wish me Luck! I’ll try and post progress photos as I go.

P.S. I’ve finished a few Brand New Myxies and should be posting them on my store soon, keep checking my blog for updates!

Thanks for reading.
~Caralyn

Gather Around Kiddies and I’ll tell you a tale

So some of you may know that I have started working with Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). Little blank playing cards that you draw on, Paint or whatever you want really. I like to draw little pictures on mine and then color them with Markers. I’m really enjoying them and people seem to be responding well to them. I made about 10 for Dragon Con and went home with 0. Well I just recently got back to drawing a few more. I finished about 7 cards, then inked them before coloring them with Markers. Love that Coloring as you all probably know :P Anyhoo, I usually ink my work with felt-tip pens, I just like them cause they don’t bleed but usually bleeding isn’t a problem because after I ink my work I scan it to color it. So if I don’t have a felt-tip I just reach for whatever is there. So I just used some random ball-point to ink the ATCs I was working on. However I do all original ATCs so I color them before scanning. Much to my chagrin, this would be a bad decision. Now it was time to color and My Prismacolor markers, which NEVER bleed, started running wildly with the black ink, making a lovely mess out of the cards UGH! At first I thought it was the type of paper I was using but luckily before I had ruined to many I figured out what was the cause and stopped coloring. I wasn’t able to save the two I’d screwed up and the others will now have to be scanned and colored in PhotoShop. So the lesson for today kids is Ball-point pins don’t play nice with Markers…Remember that, it may save your lif….errr art :)

Go and learn from my mistakes. Later!
~Caralyn

Color Me Excited!

HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!
So for those of you who know me, know I am a 5 year old stuck in a 26 year’s body, so naturally I would take great pleasure in the same activities as any elementary schooler. One such Activity is COLORING!!! Oh you betcha, no matter how old I get I never seem to tire of the enjoyment I get with a crayon or marker in my hand, FUN! I used to even bring coloring books to doodle in while I’m at the 9-5…but I finished them all off and don’t have anymore at the moment. So I guess I’ll just start acting like an adult and get to work…WRONG! I’m gonna draw my own stuff to color. Yep this is how I came up with my newest pictures. There I was thinking of something to draw that I could then color all over and have a grand ol time and The Color Kids popped into my head. What has more coloring opportunities then the COLOR KIDS from Rainbow Brite, the best 80s cartoon EVER..if you were a girl :P
Now For those of you who watched the show, these don’t look quite like the Color Kids you knew. I put my own little spin on them. So check them out, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed coloring them. :)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=34739324
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=34739359
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=34739374
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=34739387
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=34739417

I have a few more pieces I’ve been busily working on so keep checking my blog for updates.
Thanks
~Caralyn

Computer Art is still Art.

When people ask me what medium I use to color my art, I usually answer Photoshop or MS paint. At this response they normally give me a look like my art has lost some value because it’s not done with watercolors or acrylics. I have tried so many different mediums including watercolors, color pencils, markers, and for me the one I like best for coloring is the computer. I don’t get mad at those people though, it seems to me if you aren’t impressed with art created on the computer, it’s because you don’t know all that goes into it. So I’d like to explain how my drawings are made.

First I start with a pencil and a piece of paper as most artists do. After I’ve drawn the picture, I ink it to keep it from being too light when I scan it onto the computer. Now it’s time to add color, and this is where the computer comes in. After deciding what colors my picture will have, I blend the colors. It’s much like you would with a paintbrush only a lot less clean up. I add and take colors using the color index until I create the desired color.

I then add my color to the picture. I make a base color, (a darker shade of the chosen color). I fill in the area with the base making sure to get every small detail by zooming in to color it. It’s not just a matter of clicking the icon, I use the mouse like a brush as I add the different colors. I then color over it with the chosen color, carefully leaving any areas I wish to be shaded open for the base to show through. Then starting with the chosen color, I readjust it to make highlights or shadows on my picture. Each small color difference is a result of adjusting and readjusting to get the precise color I want. True, I don’t have paint all over my face and clothes when I am finished, but I believe the end result is just as colorful and valuable as watercolors, and certainly as much hard work.