Q. What do you use to create your traditional artwork?
A. There's no short answer, I use a few different mediums.
Copic markers (Sketch & Ciao) - I like the brush tip, vibrancy and range of colours. That being said, I have read about Copic ink fading over time, but if artwork is cared for, stored and displayed properly (kept away from direct sunlight and damp conditions), then it minimises the ink fade issue and will last longer. I personally haven't had any issues, but I feel that should be stated.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour pans - with a variety of watercolour brushes purchased from W H Smith (they are their own brand, synthetic & I find them very easy to use.
Prismacolor Premier colouring pencils - I find these easy to blend, and very vibrant, the only thing I don't like about them is how often they need to be sharpened/can snap.
HB Mechanical pencil - A good old HB lead pencil, versatile, easy to sketch with, easy to erase.
Staedtler pigment liners - These are the fineliners I always end up going back to. They are lightfast, water-resistant and don't smudge when colouring over them.
Sakura gelly roll white gel pen - This is the best white gel pen I have come across for adding highlights and details on top of both the Copic markers and the Prismacolor pencils.
Q. What do you use to create your digital artwork?
A. I use an XP-PEN 12 tablet and Clip Studio Paint. These things in combination allow me to draw as if I'm drawing on paper, making the digital drawing experience a lot smoother for me.
Previously I used Paint tool SAI and a Wacom Intuos Pen tablet, but ultimately the hand-eye co-ordination became an issue and a barrier to me drawing digitally to the point where I almost entirely stopped until I got the XP-PEN 12 tablet, which has made a huge difference to me.
Q. I really like your art, but I can't buy any, will you draw something for me for free?
A. It's wonderful that you like my artwork, but unfortunately the answer to this in all cases is no. Art takes a lot of time, energy and the cost of materials adds up very quickly.
Q. I love what you do, how can I support you so that you can continue creating?
A. - I have an Etsy Store, you can buy some of my work there, but not everything is available due to the cost of postage and cost of listing fees.
- I have a Ko-fi if you'd like to support me that way, I offer sketches if you'd like one after donating, if you let me know in the comment box.
- I offer commissions, there's a form that can be filled in on the commissions page and anything not on there that you may be interested in can be talked about by emailing [email protected]
- I attend conventions, but finances do limit which ones I can go to, so if you spot me at a convention I will have things that are not available to purchase from my Etsy Store.
- And of course, sharing my artwork, telling people you know and showing them all help in supporting an artist and this means that more people can see my artwork and potentially support me too.
Q. Why is your artwork priced the way it is? I want to buy some, but it's too expensive.
A. Artwork takes time, a full colour piece without a background usually takes me at the very least about 6 hours to complete, and that is a piece that isn't detailed, often it takes me much longer. It depends on complexity and detail.
There are also other things to take into account like cost of materials, time communicating with someone that would like to buy some artwork, in the case of a physical artwork, time and cost to post it out to someone. There's a lot that happens behind the scenes and people may not always see this.
A lot more goes into the making of artwork than just the artwork being completed. Artwork is something of value and as a small creator I don't mass produce what I do create.