IF - Hollow

I did this for this week's Illustration Friday subject 'Hollow'. Not very adventurous - in fact a bit obvious, but I just went with the flow.

Autumn trees

Another attempt using the ArtRage software. This time using the oil paint option. So much easier than in real life - no mess, no smell.
For Janet and anyone else who's interested to try ArtRage there is a free trial version you can download HERE, but the full package is very affordable. It's the most user-friendly and intuitive painting software I've come across. There's a very good forum too, with lots of tutorials available.

I was lucky enough to receive a Wacom bamboo graphics tablet for my recent birthday. After getting a new PC my old one wouldn't work and when you're used to using one it's hard to go back to a mouse. Anyway, bundled with it was the ARTRAGE painting software and it's just so much fun.

This is one of my first attempts at using it. A bit of a naff painting with nothing to commend it but you have to start somewhere!

IF - Shaky

Their relationship was a little shaky at times but they both knew they were the perfect condiment for each other. For Illustration Friday.



Vector art with a little colour added using Art Rage software.



My first post for some months - sorry it's been so long!

Flower power

Another retro design, but this time it's the 1960s look. I once made an outfit in fabric very similar to this, but in day-glo colours - oh those were the days. Freshly uploaded and available HERE.

Sooziebee asked me about the software I use: It's Corel Draw X3 - a package I bought about 18months ago. I'd had a few years playing at vector drawing with Serif Draw Plus but wanted a more pro package for doing illustrations to sell on my stock sites. Corel is both more affordable and, in my opinion, slightly easier to get to grips with than Adobe Illustrator, the industry standard.

Having said that, it was still a steep learning curve and I almost gave up. Then I stumbled upon some tutorial software called CorelDraw Unleashed and it really unlocked the door for me. A well put together set of tutorials, both written and video, that takes the mystery out of drawing vectors in a way that the weighty manual fails to do. It was money well spent.

For anyone who would like to give vector drawing a try, there is a free to use package called Inkscape, available as a download HERE.

Well, having said what trouble I had doing seamless patterns I then went and designed another one. This 1950s inspired design sort of happened by mistake when I moved the black part of the leaf off the coloured back in error. A light bulb flashed and it immediately spoke to me of Lucienne Day curtain fabrics! The sputnikky bits I put in to add to the Festival of Britain mood.

It's selling well HERE already, I'm pleased to say.

Doodle daisy seamless pattern

One of the first patterns I created in vector format. It's seamless and will repeat. Getting those edges to marry without fine lines beteen them was a job and half and sent me cross-eyed. You can guess that not too many more seamless patterns will be forthcoming in the near future, but it's fun trying!
It can be purchased HERE.