Víctor Martínez Escámez (aka Swasky) is a Catalan illustrator and art teacher from Spain who lives on the outskirts of Barcelona.

You can see his artworks at

• http://www.swasky.es/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/swasky/
• https://www.facebook.com/drawingswasky

He has mentioned some of his drawing tools in his 2013 sketchbook Enjoy Gaudi but let's take a more detail look at what he uses.

Qn: Let's talk about your pens and pencils first. What do you use? Did you use them to create the drawing above?

Right now I mainly use fountain pens, like Hero or Lamy Safari, but I also use a four colours ballpoint. I started using a ballpoint pen from Uniball, the Eye model, with waterproof ink. The drawing above has been created with the Hero fountain pen, and two Lamy Safari with black and red ink.

Qn: And what pens did you use for the drawings in your book Enjoy Gaudi? I remember there's a picture of a pen that looks like a Lamy fountain pen.

I drew all the book with a Lamy Safari and one Sailor Calligraphy. The Lamy has a Medium nib and the Sailor has a 55º calligraphic nib.

Qn: What ink do you use in your fountain pens?

I used Noodler's Bullet Proof Black Ink but I changed to Carbon Ink, which black is deepest and it doesn't fade with watercolour. Noodler's is good but sometimes, it depends on the paper, fades with watercolour.

Qn: What's the clipper at the top right used for?

It is a cheap clipper used in my country for hanging laundry to get dry. I use also clamps but usually I lost them or I lend to people and I forget, so now I use this cheap clipper for holding sketchbook pages in windy days.

Qn: What's the watercolour box that you're using? Is it good? The mixing area looks small.

It is a Winsor & Newton watercolour Artist Field Box. In my opinion it is enough for me, but I know that there are better than mine. Anyway It is useful, sturdy and colours are good. I bought Artist range, it was expensive but people say that student's (Cotman), which is half the price of professionals, are quite good. Mixing area is small but you can open and there are 3 different mixing areas, enough for me, when I'm out.

Qn: The description you've written just beside the water container says that the box set is 15 years old. Have you replaced any of the colours in the box? What are the colours in your box currently?

Once I went to London I visited a Art Shop, really cheap and I bought, the 24 colors metal box, artist range. It is too heavy, too big and I decided to use its pans in my old plastic field box. Originally it was 12 colours:

• Burnt Sienna
• French Ultramarine
• Ivory Black
• Permanent Alizarin Crimson
• Raw Umber
• Titanium White
• Winsor Blue (Green Shade)
• Winsor Green (Yellow Shade)
• Winsor Lemon
• Winsor Red
• Winsor Yellow
• Yellow Ochre

I removed black and white and I added three more: Prussian Blue, Permanent Sap Green, Cadmiun Yellow, Cadmiun Red and Paynes Gray.

Qn: What watercolour brushes do you use? I was looking at your watercolour sketches from Enjoy Gaudi and some of the washes are really flat and even. They are made with from the Pentel waterbrush, are they?

No offense to those who use the finest brushes, but I don't really care about them. I'm more practical and I pay attention to the end not the means, and yes, Pentel Waterbrush fits in my concept of the right material to work far from my studio.

Qn: What sketchbooks or watercolour paper do you use?

I'm quite flexible and I always say that you have to get used to any kind of paper. You should be conscious about it and get the most from your sketchbook, experiment. Then when you get enough experience you can start binding your own sketchbooks with the paper you like, that is what I do when I have a commission. Arches are quite good.

In my backpack, right now, I have three different sketchbooks: Moleskine Japanese watercolor sketchbook (special edition for the Urban Sketching Symposium in Barcelona), the second one is a Stillman & Birn Gamma Series, where I have done my drawings about "My sketching tools", and the last one is a Laloran handmade sketchbook from book-sketch.blogspot.com.

Qn: That's an interesting container that you use to store your tools. A tobacco box? What are these tools? They look different from the drawings in the first picture above.

Yes, it is a tobacco box which my sister-in-law gave to me because she works in a Tobacconist. I do not smoke but I think it is a good box for my drawing tools.

From left to right, inside the box there is a clamp, a brush which was inside my W&N 24 watercolor metal box, three Pentel Waterbrushes with liquid watercolour inside, ready to use.

There are also two Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils (black and white), my syringe with a needle for refilling my fountain pens. With a green, golden ring and black tip, my Sailor Calligraphy fountain pen, two Pentel Colour brushes (Black and Orange), three Pentel Waterbrushes (fine, medium and broad), one BIC black ballpoint pen and one BIC Four Colours ballpoint pen.

Qn: What do you use the Noodler's Rabaul Red for? Is it waterproof?

My Noodlers' Rabaul Red Ink bottle was a mistake. I bought that when my original purchase Noodler's Red Fox Ink (waterproof) was run out. Wrong. It is too much ink (3oz) and after two years It still remains more than a third of it. I thought that It could stand washes but most of the papers don't keep it and it fades. Now I use it for text or monochrome drawings.

It was my dream and thanks to my first book "Voltant per Sants" I could buy it.

It is a Brompton folding bicycle and as a commuter, now my trips to the city centre are more comfortable.

When I draw "Voltant per Sants" I got a mountain bike which was quite old. Bicycle is one of my best drawing tools, it helps me for going around and visit places. It is faster than walking, but slower than a motorcycle, and it is greener. One of my dreams will be traveling with my Brompton and drawing far away, who knows.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

It is a tough request, but in order of preference: Emmanuel Prost, Miguel Herranz, Inma Serrano.

Swasky

That's all for Swasky. Thanks!

Check out more of his artworks at

• http://www.swasky.es/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/swasky/
• https://www.facebook.com/drawingswasky

Comments

You can send comments and questions to Swasky at http://www.swasky.es/2014/01/les-meves-eines-de-dibuix-mis.html

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Today we have James Hobbs from London talking about his drawing tools. He's an artist and freelance journalist. His artworks can be seen occasionally on his blog and the main Urban Sketchers site.

Times Square, New York

His style is that of simplifying, distilling a scene down to the minimal but yet retaining recognisable features of the places and things he draws. Very impressive and challenging.

He has also recently written a book called Sketch Your World, which you should check if you're into location drawing.

Alright, let's see what he uses to create those drawings.

Qn: How about an introduction for our readers? Tell us what you do.

It's very simple really. I draw in sketchbooks. That's pretty much it. I tend to carry a sketchbook around me wherever I go, but I can go a few days without using it, depending upon what I'm doing.

Doing a drawing a day doesn't really excite me: if I'm moved to draw every day, I'll draw every day but I don't turn it into a mission.

I do make colour digital prints of some drawings, which I sell, and I've been making small drawing-based works on canvas, which has entertained and surprised me, so it's not only sketchbook work, but it all starts there.

I should say now that some of the other people who have taken part in this Art Tools and Gears interview series seem to have a lot of kit. I don't. I like things pared down. I've been under self-imposed austerity measures for decades, because I prefer things simple.

The pens pictured here, for instance: I may take at most two out with me at any time.

Qn: Can you give a rundown of the pens you use for drawing?

I'm still on the lookout for an everyday pen that works for me. I have a heap of permanent black markers that I dip into. I bought another one to try yesterday. I seem to be using the Pentel Green Label (NMS50) most at the moment, and the Edding 400 has had quite a run in my kit. It's fairly obvious that I like a strong black line, but the danger for me is using a pen that is too thick in a sketchbook that is too small.

The big Pentel chisel point (M180) was a bit of a revelation. I'd been drawing on canvas when I came across it, and I was rather amused at how excited I was cycling home with it after I'd found it in a local store. At 14mm wide, it wouldn't work too well in an A6 sketchbook, or many other sketchbooks, come to that. I don't generally like chisel points – a bullet point is preferable. But I'll make an exception with this big beauty.

Qn: Why are these your preferred drawing medium as compared to others?

I drew with a pencil and charcoal for years, and I like them both a lot. I like their organic nature. They seem to have come in from the landscape. The graphite for the early pencils came from the ground of the Lake District in northern England, and charcoal has that Neanderthal feel to it. I've written before about my love of pencils— they are the most lovely things.

But as I am usually on the move with a sketchbook, I've fallen in love with permanent markers, even if I do dislike their plasticity, smell, propensity to stain clothing, and their secrecy — you can't tell at a glance how much life they still have in them as you do with pencils, charcoal or a pot of ink.

What they offer is an immediate, inescapable line. You have to live with whatever marks you make. You can obliterate or create diversions to draw attention away from areas that don't seem to work, but essentially you have to make do with whatever you put down. I like that level of risk. Apart from cycling in London and following the England cricket team, I don't take many risks. Using markers is another.

You also get a lot of drawing done very quickly with a thick marker. I work best, I think, when I work fast. For me, spending too much time getting something small right is the beginning of the end for a drawing. But that doesn't mean being careless. Meticulous abandon is what I'm after. I like the work of those artists who push at the limits of what they can do. Dare to fail, I think.

Qn: What's your watercolour setup like? That looks like a 12-half pan box. What brand is that? How do you find this using this outdoors?

That box has Rembrandt artists' watercolours (US | UK) on its lid, but I realise now that they are mostly Winsor & Newton pans (US | UK) inside. I don't always take them with me, and don't always use them when I do. I'm not sure what you call what I do, but I don't "paint", by which I mean make some finished work in colour from drawings. I did three years of painting at art college, mostly using oil, but now I don't get through paint very quickly.

Qn: What are those brushes by the side?

They are the big Daler-Rowney Petit Gris Pur series 24 size 6, and an ABS series 2 size 8 kolinsky sable. They are both beautiful brushes. I'm not using them enough to wear them out. I've had them both for years, and I understand that ABS isn't even trading any more. I edited a magazine for some time in which we tested different art products each month: this pair came out well, if I remember rightly.

Qn: In the picture above, between the two rows of pans, is that a collapsible brush?

It is. But using big brushes in a small sketchbook works better for me. The small collapsing brush doesn't get used. It's too small, and would be encouragement to fiddle around with details that really don't interest me.

Qn: How do you carry those brushes around outdoors? It seems quite easy to damage the hairs without proper protection.

I have a plastic tube that I carry them about in, but it's not so often they come with me.

Qn: What kind of paints do you use? Do you use acrylic as well?

Occasionally I do use acrylics, particularly on the small canvases I've been working on. The photograph of this box gives the wrong impression, however. I'm married to the artist Naomi Strauss, and from time to time I may just use a squeeze of colour from a tube or two from this box in her studio.

I prefer water-based media. I work small on things that will fit under a scanner, and dealing with white spirit and the smells of oil painting in a domestic environment is not a good idea.

Qn: What's the difference between acrylic and watercolour? When do you prefer to use one and not the other?

I use watercolours when I'm out of the house, and acrylic around the house on canvas.

Qn: Is that a box set of watercolour tubes beside the box? How does that compare to the 12-pan set that you're using?

They are Sennelier watercolour tubes I picked up on a trip around its factory in northern France several years ago. I use them at home from time to time.

Qn: More brushes I see. Those are Pentel waterbrushes. Those with the black ink. Did they come with the black ink or did you fill those? What do you use inside? What's this setup for?

Well spotted. They are Pentel waterbrushes: I haven't been using them for too long, but some of the urban sketchers seem to use them a lot so I've been giving them a go.

I fill two of them with different strengths of diluted ink and take them with me if I'm out drawing to bring some tone to a scene. I use the other two, filled with pure water, with watercolours. But usually, as I said before, I use only a pen. Black and white is a lovely combination for me.

Qn: What do you think about the usability of those Pentel waterbrushes?

I haven't really mastered them. I often seem to get ink over my fingers and over the drawing as I try to get a decent flow. This isn't necessarily to the detriment of the drawing. I enjoy a good accident.

Qn: What sketchbooks do you use? Do you have a preference for sizes? Those don't look big.

The books are mainly a selection of Seawhite of Brighton and home-made, although I have picked up kinds of makes from time to time.

This image includes a Moleskine that I was lucky enough to win from the Urban Sketchers symposium in Barcelona, which I wasn't able to attend.

I like home-made books: the buff coloured one has been covered with an old padded envelope as an experiment.

As with the pens, I'm not set on one brand of sketchbook. Moleskines are beautiful, but I don't often work well in them. I need a sense of play and experimentation to make a drawing work well, and a book that is too precious can put a brake on this.

I usually have an A5 sketchbook and A6 sketchbook on the go at any one time. The A6 will fit into any pocket, and the A5 will be in my bag. Just occasionally I'll work larger. The square one, bought in an Oxfam charity shop in St Ives, Cornwall, was to try something new.

Qn: What's the paper quality in the sketchbook like? What kind of medium can they handle? Since you use markers, do they bleed over? Or do they make an impression on the opposite page that will show up when scanned?

The Seawhite books are 140gsm acid-free cartridge. I'm very happy with them. The good thing about making your own, of course, is that you can put in whatever paper you want, and in any dimensions or format. I do use scraps of paper behind drawings as I work to prevent ink from the markers bleeding through. I save elastic bands to hold pages back and keep books shut. I love a good, thick elastic band.

Qn: What are the challenges of drawing on small sketchbooks?

The challenge is to make something that is lively, varied, bold and that can bear being looked at. That can all happen within 60 seconds.

The challenge, I think, is less about the size, and more about the medium. It's a tightrope, and at times I fall off. I have whole books of disastrous drawings, but they just happen to be small.

It's odd: I only think of small as being an advantage. You don't have to keep remembering to stand back and look at it from a distance in the way you would with a huge work, for instance. I have made very large prints of my small drawings before, and I'm always surprised at how well they still work. The composition, balance and energy of a scene are the same whether a work is large or small. Isn't that right?

Qn: Do you paint on watercolour paper? If so what do you use?

I have all kinds of old watercolour pads and blocks that I work on sometimes, including Hahnemühle and Gerstaecker, but the sketchbooks are what I'm emotionally attached to.

Qn: I can barely make out the label for this photo. Indian Ink, 600ml. Any particular brand? How is the ink? What do you use it for?

The make is Ocaldo. The bottle has been in the cupboard for years, and I'm not sure where it came from. Sometimes I use a brush and ink on watercolour paper working from drawings in the sketchbook. One of these ink works was selected for the Jerwood Drawing Prize show in 2006.

I like drawing to be as simple as possible. Dipping a brush into ink and smearing it on paper is as direct as can be. Using materials of quality that will survive is important in ways, of course: that is being professional. But sometimes the back of an envelope using a ballpoint pen can be the best. I don't want to feel precious about what I am using. I want to feel liberated and care-free. And that's why drawing is so delicious to me. Thank goodness for drawing. It's such a fundamental and joyous thing to do, so it is crazy to make it too complicated.

Qn: Have you ever bought something from the art shop, tried it and disliked it?

I have a small collection of pens that are just too thin for me, but they are always useful for writing with. I write quite a lot in sketchbooks, especially if I'm away travelling.

Qn: Who do you think we should interview next?

Three spring to mind:

• Rolf Schroeter: I'm interested in how he uses very thin paper and lets interference from other pages bleed through
• Marina Grechanik: she makes fantastically relaxed and flowing drawings
• Inma Serrano: her works have a great balance and energy and colour

They are all in Sketch Your World, and they are some of my favourite sketchbook artists.

Thanks. That's all from James Hobbs.

You can check out more of James Hobbs' artworks and postings at http://james-hobbs.blogspot.com and http://www.facebook.com/sketchyourworld

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Today we feature Fabio Consoli, a visual and music artist.

Qn: How about giving our readers an introduction? What do you actually do for a living?

Hi, when I was a child I loved playing in the streets, though I preferred plastering my neighbourhood with drawings to kicking a ball around. Later I studied at the University of the arts of London and at School of Visual Arts of Manhattan.

At twenty-five, I wanted to see the world. Not in a picture book, but with my own eyes, so I started traveling the world on my bike.

Right now I have my own graphic design studio. I do illustrations, I teach graphic design at the Abadir Academy of Arts and sometimes I write illustrated books about my travelings.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown of the pens and pencils that you use?

I like collecting old fountain pens, my favorite ones are a Pelikan that I bought in Paris (a little expensive) and a Raja I bought at the Spitfire Market in London for 5£.

Lately I prefer the Raja fountain pen, his chunky nib creates unpredictable loose lines. Also I used a lot of Sakura Micron pens for more detailed drawings as the ones a did in Madagascar.

When I travel I bring my Staedtler Mechanical pencil with 2B and 4B, but I love buying pencils on small villages, for me it is like I transfer the energy of the place on paper. For more lose lines I use the Pentel art brush, with which I can do tiny lines and heavy strokes, I think this is the "all in one tool" but in my opinion, to be able to use it very well, you need a lot of practice.

Qn: What watercolours are those? I see a watercolour box. Are the tubes also watercolours?

They are Winsor & Newton watercolors. The tubes are acrylic colours, I use them when I want some textured flat background, or when I want to cover some drawing I don't like. Sometimes I dilute acrylic with water to have a sort of more textured watercolour. I like mixing media, some times I lay a flat colour with Pantone pens, then add some coloured pencils, then wash it with very diluted acrylic colour. I Just experiment new texture.

Qn: How did you colour the blue for the drawing in the picture above? You went over some black lines. Is the black ink waterproof?

I used a blue Staedler coloured pencil, then acrylic blue colour. For the blue shirt I used cyan watercolour pencil and Pentel Manga Brush. In this way the background is satinated and the shirt is more brilliant.

For the black lines I use the Noodler's bulletproof ink both for fountain pens and brushes. It is really dark and waterproof, just wait let it dry completely before putting water on it.

Qn: What materials did you use to create the drawing above? The hatched lines for the guy, the background of buildings and the yellow taxi.

This is a digital illustration I did for an editorial project. I used the Wacom tablet and Corel Painter. Anyway I used wet acrylic colour for the background and taxi. For the man's suit I scanned a texture, the black lines are felt pens. Everything is digital. You can see more pages here http://www.fabioconsoli.com/nyc-short-novel/

Qn: So of all the drawing tools that you use. Which are your favourites? 

I do love pencils. Give me a pencil and a guitar and you can leave me on desolated Island for the rest of my life :) Also I would bring the Pentel black brush for big black areas and a machete to open the coconuts.

Qn: Is that the new Wacom tablet? What size is that? What do you think about the tablet?

This is the 24" hd Wacom Cintiq display. This is something that changed my professional career. With this Wacom and Corel Painter I can draw and painting like I am working on paper.

When I work on commercial illustration I have to be very fast and flexible, a lot of corrections and short deadlines are very common. The digital illustration make things a little bit easier and I think that with a lot ( and when I say a lot I mean A LOT) you can get a warm feeling on your illustration.

For personal projects I still love drawing on paper, messing up with colours, having paint ink on my hands, but when I have to work on an commercial project I take my 2B digital pencil and I started sketching on Corel Painter.

Qn: Can you tell us more about the visual music journal that you just started?

Since I was a child i recorded my life, my emotions, with drawings and music at the same time, keeping them separated until today. Now I recognise that eventually they tell the same thing but in a different way.

The Visual Music Journal is the recording of my life, made of drawings and music at the same times, a sort of soundtrack for my drawing.

So every week (I hope) I will blog a drawing and I will compose a short piece of music on my guitar. Nothing too pretentious, just rough drawings and guitar music. Nothing more than feelings. I will record live with no audio retouch. In some case it is possible to hear what happens around me, as in the first track where my son plays around and sings :)

Qn: That's a lot of music instruments you have. I see two acoustic and two electric guitars. What guitars are those?

The acoustic guitars are a Washburn and an old Tamaky (the black one). I have also an Ukulele, but I have to share it with my son who is one year old :)

The black electric guitar is a Yamaha, which is one of my first guitar, it's 21 years old!

The white one is the last arrived in the family a Fender Stratocaster American Standard, which is the one I play more often.

I also use a Fender Tube Amplifier and analog Boss Overdrive and Tremolo. I try to keep the signal as much analog as I can. Other pedals are Boss RC2 Loop pedal, EHX Freeze, Line6 delay, Boss tuner.

This is my soundcloud page https://soundcloud.com/fbc-fabio-consoli

Sample song

Qn: What sketchbooks and paper do you use to create the drawings on your blog? Do they work well with watercolours or markers? 

I always used Moleskine pocket sketchbooks 9x14cm, the advantage of using small sketchbook is that they are easier to carry and that they don't attract too much attention when you start drawing on public places.

Even if I use the ones with heavy paper, they doesn't works very well with watercolours and markers, they dry in a irregular way but that's what I like! Sometimes Pantone markers and watercolours are visible on the pages behind, but I like it, it gives a little bit of texture at the page so you don't have to start the new drawing on a completely white sheet, which, even if in a remote part of our brain, it could be a little bit intimidating :)

Thanks. That's all for Fabio Consoli.

You can check out more of his work at http://www.fabioconsoli.com and http://www.idrawaround.com

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We have Katarzyna Kozlowska aka Lady2 (DeviantArt | facebook), an artist from Poland to talk about her drawing tools today.

Her coloured pencil drawings and portraits really captured my attention, especially the eyes of her subjects. She has even created a tutorial on drawing eyes with coloured pencils.

Alright, let's get on with the interview.

Qn: Can you give our readers an introduction of yourself?

I don’t like to talk about myself – it’s always so hard! My works do it instead of me. But to be serious: I am an average girl from Eastern Europe. Bein’ into drawing since I was a little girl… And began to draw seriously in 2009. Now I’m studying an architecture. And all my free time I spend on drawing, sketching, learning about art etc. My whole world is about this art thing. I also do private and commercial commissions. Still trying to develop in this direction...

Qn: It seems like coloured pencils are your preferred drawing medium. Why do you like about them?

You got me! I have to admit that I discovered coloured pencils recently…

Previously I drew only using ordinary pencils you find everywhere. But I came into the conclusion that it’s time for small changes. So I’m still learning how to use them... However, I'm charmed by power of these little bastards! :D

Qn: What brand are these coloured pencils? Can you talk about the colours here? This is an interesting set of colours. I see mainly flesh tone colours, with reds, a blue, purple and green.

This is probably one of my favourite sets for drawing people. Because of a range of tones here - you can draw any type of skin tone without getting an artificial feeling. And it’s Polycolor set by Kooh-i-Noor. I really love them!

Qn: Faber-Castel coloured pencils. 36-pencil set? How does this set compare with the other set from above?

And these are my little children!

For a long time I hesitated on buying them because they are not cheap. However, everyone recommend them to me so I decided to take a risk. And I was not disappointed!

These are by far the best coloured pencils which I had the pleasure to draw. They are very soft and soooo easy to blend ... Perfect.

Unfortunately, I have a fairly small set. That is why I support them with Polycolor. Together make my perfect duo.

Qn How long do the colour pencils last? Your drawings are quite large. I suppose you would use up the pencils very quickly? Are the pencils sold separately?

This may seem strange, but colored pencils are more efficient than a pencil. They are expensive - but they are worth it. All the pencils I’ve got you can buy separately. However, it is more economical to buy the whole set.

Qn: What are the qualities of a good quality coloured pencil?

For me, a good coloured pencils must be sufficiently high quality that can be really easy to blend. And of course my must have is a wide range of non-standard colours.

Qn: Where do you buy the pencils? At art stores or online? I'm asking this because some artists are afraid of buying their pencils online for the fear of them breaking during shipping.

Usually I buy in the shops stationary. However, for few times I have ordered things on the Internet. They are so well packed that there is no way to break during the delivery.

Qn: Can you give us a quick rundown on the pencils you use? What's the difference between the technical pencils? What's that cute yellow pencil(?)?

In the picture you can see my personal set of pencils which I usually use when I draw black and white works.

After many years I collected the pencils which I think are best for me. So you can see 2h, 2b, 4b, 6b, 9b in different brands. I totally love Faber Castell green pencils. They are sooo cool! I also use two mechanical pencils: 0,5 and 0.3 mm.

Hhaha that cute yellow pencil is my mechanical eraser. The best they’ve ever invented.

Qn: What eraser do you use? Is it good? Some erasers can be quite brittle.

I use my cute yellow eraser. It is compact, does not leave streaks … There is nothing worse than drawing spoiled by bad eraser. So I recommend mechanical ones.

Qn: What paper do you use? I see some Daler Rowney and Canson drawing pads. The Canson drawing pad above seems to be for pastel work. Do these papers work well with coloured pencils?

I have tested sooo many papers from sooo many different brands that I found that Daler&Rowney paper is the best for me. They are really high quality and quite cheap. Also the texture is excellent for any mediums.

The Canson one is for pastel medium but I bought it to try coloured pencils on it… We will see how it works.

Qn: What are some of the sketchbooks you use?

The best paper is from Daler&Rowney so all my sketchbooks are from this company. The black one is sooo great because it’s got spirals and you can draw easily on each sides. The one with butterfly is the one I’ve handmade.

Qn: How do you protect your artworks? Pencil sketches in sketchbook have a tendency to smudge when in contact with other pages. How about the single sheet artworks?

For All my works I use an ordinary hair spray :D Yes I know that it’s seems weird … but it really works and it’s waaay cheaper than professional sprays.

Qn: How do you scan the large drawings?

I visit the printing press - where they have professional scanners.

Qn: I see that you also take commissions for the coloured pencil drawings. How do you ship those large drawings without damaging them?

I always packed them into the paper tube. It’s so strong that nothing can be damaged.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?
There are so many great artists, it's hard to choose one. Maybe Jennifer Healy– she is my great inspiration!

That's all from Katarzyna Kozlowska. You can check out her works at

• https://www.facebook.com/lady2art
• http://lady2.deviantart.com/
• http://instagram.com/lady2art
• http://lady2.tumblr.com/
• http://society6.com/lady2
• http://lady2.bigcartel.com/

Comments

You can comment and send your questions to
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=777703228910976&id=114616388553000...

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

For this interview, we have Kathrin Jebsen-Marwedel from Germany to share with us the drawing tools she use on her journal pages. She writes and draws so every spread in her sketchbook is like a mini story. Her works have also appeared in the book An Illustrated Journey.

Qn: Can you give our readers an introduction of yourself?

I’m 48 years old and I live in Kiel, the provincial capital of Schleswig Holstein, the most northern federal state of Germany.

After school I did an apprenticeship as a photographer and after that I studied graphic design. Actually I’m working in a small business for machine engineering in the marketing department and it’s my job to design all brochures, flyers, trade-fair appearances and so on.

I began very early to keep a diary, but I used to fill them with writings about my thoughts and things which happened in my life. When I bought my first Moleskine pocket diary in 2001 I began to do some shy doodles and sketches additionally to the writings.

You have to know that I haven’t done any drawing after my diploma as a qualified designer in 1996, because my professor told me that it would be better if I won’t draw — she thought I wasn’t very talented. Perhaps she was right, but I always loved to draw and I love all this wonderful drawing stuff.

In my pocket diary I wasn’t very obstructed, because I kept it just for me. Who cares when I did some lousy drawings? In the course of time I recovered my fun in drawing and I drew more and more.

When I noticed one day that there are many people around the world who keep an illustrated diary I was so delighted — it gave me such a shot in my arm ;-) I began to follow several people with wonderful journals on Flickr, and in 2005 I began also to upload my drawings. I love the exchange with other people about journaling, drawing etc. That helped to stick to journaling.

Qn: What are your favourite tools for line work? And also the watercolour brush that you're using since it's in the picture above.

For line work I like Copic multiliners, Pilot G-Tech and Edding 1800. I use Da Vinci Harbin Kolinsky brushes in 2,4,6 and 10.

Qn: Can you tell us about the several watercolour box sets that you have? What's the difference between them and are they used for different kind of jobs or purposes?

I’m a drawing stuff victim, and I can’t stop getting watercolours and watercolour boxes. Especially when I see a little watercolour box for traveling I can’t resist.

Those big watercolour boxes (filled with Schmincke Horadam) are really very old (I began to use watercolours in my youth), but they’re too heavy to bring them along for traveling. So I have several small boxes and rearrange them from time to time. One little box is filled with Winsor and Newton, another box with Schmincke Horadam. The little plastic box from Winsor and Newton is my travel equipment. In series it’s filled with Cotman watercolours, but I changed them into Artists watercolours.

Qn: Of all the watercolour box sets, which is your favourite?

I love them all, and I also have virgin unused boxes.

But I think concerning the form and the materials my favourite is the metal box from Schmincke in the drawing from November 10. It has a nice size and provides enough space for MANY colors. ;-)

Qn: Why did you choose to go with getting half pans as compared to buying watercolour tubes can squeezing them into empty pans?

I choose half pans because I can squash more wonderful colours into a small box ;-)

I never bought tubes because I’m sure that I would waste the valuable colour with my gross sensory motor skills while squeezing them generously into the empty pans ;-)

Qn: What are these colouring pens that you have here? They look like markers. Are they easy to work with? What do you use them for?

These are Stabilo Point 88 and Stabilo Pen 68. They are very cheap felt tip pens. It’s easy to work with, but it’s not very easy to draw a consistent coloured area. Those pens are good for lines and sometimes to make the contrasts in watercolour drawings more vibrant.

Qn: Can you tell us about your set of Copic markers? There are a lot of colours I see. Wow, there are also the wide Copic markers, those are not easy to use.

Copics are great. Their smell is unique and can be addictive, because there are so many wonderful colours available. Yes, the bleed across to opposite pages. With a bit of luck you will be avoid spoiling the next 3 pages ;-)

Qn: What sketchbooks do you use? Most of them seems like daily planners or diaries. Do your drawing materials like watercolours or markers work well on them?

I use Moleskine Pocket Diaries (US | UK).

The paper is lousy and has a poor quality. Sorry that I have to say this. So the watercolours and markers don’t work really well on them.

Nevertheless I buy this Moleskine every year again. Perhaps it’s appealing for me to use high-quality colours on lousy paper. When the result is not as expected I can lay the blame on the paper ;-)

Qn: Do you use other drawing paper?

Nearly never. I suffer in stoppages when I’m sitting in front of a very fine paper. I think the drawing on it has to be a masterpiece, and at the same moment I remember that I’m not Rembrandt, so I’m really obstructed in drawing the first line onto expensive paper.

One day I will try it again. In my youth I’ve been better in drawing on high quality papers.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

Josè Naranja, Ali Altschaffel and Jan Uhing

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

It's great to have Ellis Nadler (website | blog | Flickr) with us for this interview. He's a freelance illustrator who has worked for clients worldwide in the fields of advertising, publishing, editorial and design.

His illustrations have a strong editorial style and are quite delightful.

Let's look at what tools he uses to create his artworks.

Qn: Can you talk about the pens you use? What's that below the Lamy fountain pen? What ink do you use?

Lamy make tremendously good value, low cost fountain pens with superb nibs for expressive drawing. They come with disposable ink cartridges but I've replaced those with the refillable reservoir converter.

I use Noodler's waterproof fountain pen ink, which allows watercolour to be painted over when the ink has dried. This is a great breakthrough and I am forever indebted to Mattias Adolfsson for bringing Noodler to Nadler! You can see it in the next photo.

The thing below is a Pentel Aquash Water Brush that always accompanies the Lamy. I keep it filled with plain water although you can use any colour with it. You can paint washes with it or use it with pan watercolours. No need for water bottles etc.

Qn: The three watercolour box sets that you have, what's the difference between them and which do you prefer?

The middle box is a conventional set of Winsor & Newton full pan watercolours. In my humble opinion you don't need more than 12 colours for most jobs. The main items should be two reds (one tending towards blue and the other towards yellow), two blues (one tending towards red and the other towards yellow) and two yellows (one tending towards blue and the other towards red). Don't bother with black.

I frequently carry a pocket set of just 6 colours when travelling and it's perfectly adequate.

The left hand box is a set of pan gouache by Pelikan. Despite the kiddie box appearance, they are of surprisingly good quality. It's very light to carry too.

The right hand box is a strange set of Japanese watercolours ( I don't know the brand because I can't read the Japanese text ). I bought them from Cornellissen's and you can see them on Page 103 of their online catalog. I think they're designed for calligraphy or woodblock printmaking or somesuch, because they feel half way between watercolour and gouache. I love them.

Qn: What are these brushes that you're using? They look really well worn, especially the one on the right.

Yes, the one on the right is probably 20 years old but still going strong. They are Roberson Kolinsky sable travel brushes with hollow handles that unscrew to hold the tip when not in use. Utterly brilliant and useful.

Qn: What does the brush cleaner and preserver do?

The brush cleaning soap is comparatively expensive but it's a false economy not to clean your brushes thoroughly after each use. Believe me, I've learned the hard way. It seems to remove old paint of all kinds, but there is no ingredient list on the box, so I can't say if it's toxic.

Qn: The first one looks like a Wacom Bamboo stylus? What do you use that on? How do you like drawing with it?

I'm a big fan of sketching on the iPad Mini. I love it because it's light and fits in my coat pocket. I mainly work out ideas and rough sketches on it but have also produced finished artwork with it. I've tried at least six or seven styli with it, including a couple of pressure sensitive models, but I think that's a whole different interview right there.

Suffice to say I think the Wacom Bamboo is the best all-round stylus. I would say that Steve Jobs missed a trick by not building a digitiser into the iPad. Drawing with your finger is NOT an option, and Apple's refusal to stock styli is just ideology gone mad.

I've tried all the major drawing apps, but I keep returning to the simplest, namely Paper and ZenBrush. An honourable mention for Tayasui Sketches which is like Paper but with layers.

Qn: What's that next to the stylus? What do you use that for?

I've got lots of clutch pencils of various diameters but this is my favourite, and I've never seen another one anywhere. It appears to be made of brass, and I found it among some random accessories in the menswear department of Fiorucci in Paris around 1979. It cost a few pennies, a real bargain. It's loaded with a sanguine Conté-type refill in this photo. Lovely to draw with.

Qn: What are your favourite drawing tools? Are they the same ones that you use to create your coloured editorial-style illustrations?

My favourites are those shown above. I produce my commercial illustrations digitally on a Mac.

Qn: Do you work mainly with traditional medium or digital? Which do you prefer? What digital art tools do you use?

For my personal work I mainly use traditional media, and I would always choose those over digital. But don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoy working with the iPad and iMac. I use a Wacom Cintiq tablet to draw directly on screen. I haven't touched a mouse for ten years! I can't abide trackpads! I mainly use Photoshop and occasionally Illustrator to produce illustrations.

Qn: Another watercolour box set. This looks like the Winsor & Newton field box but the ones they are selling nowadays are made of plastic. Can you tell us more about your set? Is it heavy?

I included this for sentimental reasons. I bought this as a birthday present to myself many, many years ago. It is hand-made in brass with hinged mixing trays in enamelled metal. It was made by a craftsman in England, but unfortunately I can't recall his name. It cost a lot of money, but it's a lovely object which has acquired a nice patina with age.

Qn: What sketchbook or paper do you use?

I like Arches hot and cold pressed watercolour blocks, and most Fabriano papers. For pen and ink work, I'm not fussy. Good cartridge paper in any shape or form.

I always carry a little pocket sketchbook, the cheaper the better. I keep odd scraps and offcuts of various paper and use a hole punch to assemble a sketchbook using the Roberson's Artists Paper Choice binder shown in the second photo.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

Oscar Grillo, Mike Brownlow and Paul Bommer

Check out more artworks from Ellis Nadler at

http://www.ellisnadler.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellis-nadler
http://ellisnadler.blogspot.com
http://ellisnadler.tumblr.com

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We have with us Luis Ruiz from Spain for this interview. He's an avid sketcher and writes quite a lot on his blog, in Spanish and English. He also blogs for the Urban Sketchers.

His sketches provide a wonderful window to the different places in Spain, capturing the urban landscape and atmosphere. They are very dimensional, especially the sketches of town buildings and cities.

You can also check out more of his sketches on his Flickr page.

Today he shares with us what he uses for sketching.

Qn: Can you give our readers an introduction of yourself?

I am an architect working freelance. I have also been teaching Landscaping at university for some years and now I am involved in a research study on the evolution and shape of cities from existing old collections of sketches and drawings. I am enjoying this last work very much as I love drawing cities myself! I also do illustration works.

I belong to a generation that only started to work with computers at the end of our studies, so I did lots of handmade drawing in my first years at university, including outdoor sketching. I was happy to discover Urban Sketchers many years later.

Qn: Let's look at the pencil wrap first. Can you tell us the tools you have there and their characteristics? Looks like colour pencils and crayons? Do you use them together in a same drawing?

I do not normally use pencils or crayons alone, except if I am using a sketchbook not suitable for water techniques. I normally use them for putting a stress in some parts of a previously watercolored drawing.

The crayons are Caran D’Ache Neocolor II water soluble wax pastels. You can get intense colors with them, what I only use on the paper’s surface locally.

The pencils, on the other hand, are Derwent Studio. They are not greasy at all and non-watercolour; and provide light and subtle tones.

Both of them belong to big boxes so I only bring with me the ones I think I am going to need.

Qn: For the coloured pencil artworks, what do you use to protect the surface?

I use pencil in a rather sketchy manner, it is not a careful and soft work of layers, so I do not use any protection on them.

Qn: That's a nice pencil wrap. Where did you buy it? Is it leather?

It is textile, very lightweight and occupies little space in the bag. I bought it at a beautiful local store where you can find anything you need for traveling: maps, books, guides… also drawing items. It is called Mapas y Compañía

Qn: This looks like your watercolour setup. Can you give us a quick rundown of the items shown above?

On the left part there is the ink equipment I first use on my drawings: pens and fountain pens, then on the right the watercolour set, brush and waterbrushes. There is also a pack of tissues for cleaning the brushes and a couple of pencils.

Qn: You seem to have a lot of drawing tools. Which are your favourites?

Definitely, ink pens and watercolour. You can produce loose, quick and clean sketches with them, but at the same time you can suggest detail and give some information on textures, colours and atmosphere.

Qn: What watercolour brush is that? The hair looks quite big. Isn't it challenging to work on small areas with that brush? Do you use other brushes?

It is a pure squirrel brush. I normally use it on my sketchbooks only for bigger washes, like skies or seawater; but I have to say that you can achieve also thin lines with its tip; it is a very nice tool. The rest of the drawing would be normally colored with water brushes that are much easier to handle when you are standing as you do not need additional water because it is already in the brush’s tank.

Qn: What watercolours do you use?

I always carry with me a Rembrandt watercolour set in a small and battered tin box. It is only 12x7 cm and has a metal ring to hold it in your thumb, so it is perfect to draw outside. I also like the quality of the colours themselves.

Qn: The watercolour box you use usually holds 12 half pans. What additional colours have you added? Why?

I found that the original box contained very bright tones and lacked some tones that I needed for urban environments. As there was room for additional colours, I wanted to have a wider palette suited for my favorite subjects: street views and harbour sketches. So I looked for some specific blues and brownish tones

Qn: What are some of your favourite colours?

Easy to guess, you can just check the most used ones in my box… if I had to choose six they would be the following:

Jaune Naples Rouge. I first added it to my box thinking of a flesh colour, but it has become irreplaceable in urban environments and architectural issues.

Burnt Sienna. A good companion to the previous one, combined with it in different doses.

Yellow Ochre. Very useful for the architecture but also for trees…

Turquoise Blue. A touch of it is always perfect for Mediterranean seascapes and skies, mixed with other colours.

Cobalt Blue. A basic one.

Viridian Emerald Green. I use it for trees but also for the seawater.

Qn: Do you clean your watercolour box? I know some artists do while others do not.

The colors you usually see in cities are rarely pure. Urban colors are normally “dirty” so it is always useful for me having some puddle remains on the box to mix with in order to get the greyish or brownish tones that usually prevail in cityscapes.

Moreover, I am very intuitive doing the mixes… I do not have a mathematical approach as other people I know, that can remember the percentages of each colour they have applied for a particular wash. On that basis, a not-so-clean box is not a problem but an advantage.

Qn: What are these pens that you use? What's the difference between them?

What I enjoy most is drawing with line, I start straight with ink and afterwards I use colour in an economic form to put the accent only in some places of the drawing.

I love textures done with ink and also hatching, and I use pigment waterproof pens for that purpose. I can use different numbers in the same sketch, mainly 0.2 and 0.4. Nowadays I am happy with the Pigma Micron pens I am using, although I have also used Staedtler ones before.

For everyday sketches (mainly people sketches) with no colour I use a Lamy Safari fountain pen. There is also an Uni Posca white ink pen that is useful in some situations for the shines (sea waves, metal details) and a Deleter Neopiko marker with brush tip. Drawing quick portraits with this last one is great fun!

Qn: What sketchbooks or watercolour paper do you use?

I work mainly on sketchbooks, and Stillman & Birn’s ones are my workhorse since I discovered them. I really appreciate their solid binding that makes them hard enough to stand months of outdoor sketching and traveling. The paper in Alpha and Gamma series, although is not heavy, is of high quality, gets washes very well and I like its touch very much. That lightness makes them also very handy.

In other cases, like for special events or subjects, I use sketchbooks manufactured in Spain by Choni NaudínM. You can order them custom made and their finishing make them unique pieces.

I also use small Moleskines for quick situations; you can keep them in your pocket and draw on them with your Lamy pen when, let’s say, you are waiting for the bus.

Qn: There's a very long piece of paper in the picture above. What's that?

It is an accordion or Japanese sketchbook. It is the kind of book I was thinking of in the last paragraph of the previous question. As you can unfold it and see all the content in just one sight, it is a good choice in my opinion when the subject is an homogeneous one; you can go on linking one sketch with the following one as you draw, without taking into account what the limits of the page is. In this case, it describes a series of visits to the botanic gardens in my city. It is a nice memory from the experience and you can show the whole of it at once.

Qn: It seems that most of your sketchbooks are portrait oriented. Why do you prefer that format over landscape format?

At the beginning I used landscape sketchbooks, but later I found that portrait oriented ones are much more versatile and better suited for the narrative character I like to give to my books. In landscape books the drawings are too “isolated” one to the other, while in the other case you have much more possibilities of composing a nice page with different drawings and texts. And, last but not least, they are easier to handle which is important for me as I usually draw while standing.

Qn: How long do you typically take to fill a sketchbook? How many sketchbooks have you used so far? Are they sorted by any category, such as by places or date?

There are some books running at the same time, as each one has a different purpose.

I have a regular chronological sketchbook with city sketches. It is typically a Stillman & Birn that contains 62 spreads, and usually last some months to be finished.

At the same time, I have an everyday small book, just for ink, where I do quick sketches in the waiting time, usually people in them.

Then I use other books – like the accordions- for special events or sketchcrawls, and then I sometimes might finish them in one day.

Qn: Do you sketch and colour while standing up? Isn't that very difficult?

I really appreciate the freedom of choosing a vantage point even where there is no room for setting a portable chair.

I like sketching in crowded places, and in them looking above parked cars, or having the chance to move a bit if something or somebody suddenly blocks your view, is definitely not a minor point.

The condition is having a light gear and avoiding too big sketchbooks, the rest is just a matter of balance. I have a side pack hanging from my shoulder containing everything I need.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature for the interview? Why?

I have always been interested in Rolf Schroeter’s work. I love his drawings but I am also very interested in his creative way of mixing different media, and I would definitely love to learn more about his way of choosing materials and tools.

You can check out more art from Luiz Ruis at http://www.luisrpadron.blogspot.com

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Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Today we have Singapore watercolour artist Aaron for this interview. He was previously a businessman and now a fulltime artist.

You can see his paintings at http://aarongan.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/aaron.gan.355

Qn: That's quite a huge collection of brushes. Let's go over them starting with the 5 above. What are the characteristics of these brushes? The brush hair for the 3 brushes on the right are quite interesting.

From left to right, I use the Escoda 6014 (no. 6) and Escoda Ultimo (no. 18) for painting large areas such as skies and putting in washes. The centre brush is Colorpro 2803 (no.5) which I used to use for skies but half the hair has dropped out since and I now use it only occasionally for painting foliage.

My main work brush is the Colorpro 2710 (no.10). It’s a mixed goat hair brush. The black one is a Colorpro 2250 (no. 8) red sable.

One thing to pay attention to is the ferrule of the brush you’re painting with. The bigger the ferrule, the more water (and paint) it can hold. For example, whenever I’m using the Escoda 6014 (the first brush) I need to make sure I load extra paint on the brush or the skies will fade to nothing when the painting dries.

Qn: These look like the smaller brushes. They seem to be in a series? What are they and what are they used for?

These are my brushes from Daiso (a $2 Japanese Store). You can buy a pack of 4-5 brushes for just $2. From left to right, the first group of brushes is used mainly for scrubbing (removing paint). I use the centre group for painting gouache and acrylic. The last group is used to paint unusual or uneven marks such as rocks or branches.

Qn: What are these two flat brushes? Is the handle of the top brush made of plastic? How does that handle differ from wooden handles?

The top brush is Colorpro 180 TSF (½”). The handle is made of plastic and the tip is pointed so that you can use it to scrap out marks (such as branches or fences etc). The red brush is Colorpro 2885 (1’’). I use this brush mainly to remove paint. I personally find it very hard to paint with flat brushes so these 2 are usually used to remove paint rather than apply paint.

I used to have a lot of trouble with scraping so I hope these few pointers will help:

• You can’t scrap if the paper is too wet.
• It is easier to scrap if the paint is thick.
• You can’t see the scrape line if you use a light color. I usually scrape in the dark areas.
• You can scrape with any round-edged objects. I use the scraper brush above, my fingernails and my old credit cards.

Qn: What are the characteristics of these brushes? They look like Chinese brushes, especially the ones on the right.

These are my fun brushes. They are an assortment of Chinese brushes and brushes from children sets.

I use them to make unusual marks or lines such as rocks, tree trunks, branches etc. Sometimes they are used to splatter paint. I also use them to paint water because they produce unpredictable lines, which is the essence of water.

I’ve also used them to add to speckles to the beach or to paint the stars in the skies.

Qn: And what are these 3 round brushes?

These are Escoda Perla Z series. They are my “pointed” brushes. I use them when I want my paintings to have sharp points. Given a same painting, simply using a different brush will give it a different feeling.

I find painting with a pointed brush gives it a more “realism” feel (see Quietude below). While painting with a round brush gives it a more “painterly” feel (See Pomegranates below)

Qn: What watercolour paints do you use? I see several brands that you're using. Which brands do you prefer?

The top row is VanGogh. The second row is Schmincke. And the third row is Holbein.

I also use the occasional tubes of Winston & Newton (which are not in the photo because I’ve used up the tubes and haven’t bought new ones yet)

I like these brands because they are established brands with high pigment content and good range of colours.

Keep in mind that the names of the colours are only a guide. A Cobalt blue from Schmincke is different from a cobalt blue from Holbein.

Qn: I notice that those brands that you're using. They aren't sold in Singapore as far as I know. Where do you buy them from?

95% of my art materials (brushes, paints and paper) are bought from Straits Art (in Singapore). I make it a habit to buy something from there every time one of my painting is sold as a treat to myself.

Qn: What are your favourite colours?

Yellow Ochre, Lemon Yellow, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ceruleun Blue, Paynes Grey

I particularly like Yellow Ochre and Cerulean Blue because they’re opaque and extremely hard to use. There’s a much higher than usual chance that they will mess up your painting because they will simply overpower all the other colours and they get “muddy” easily. (I learnt this the hard way-I have torn up my fair share of unsuccessful paintings)

The difficulty of use keeps me on my toes and prevents me from overpainting.

Qn: What type of watercolour paper do you use? The piece on the easel in the picture above looks huge. Where did you get it from?

I paint mainly on Saunders (Rough) and Fabiano (Rough). I buy them in packets of 10 “Imperial size” pieces. The piece on the easel is “Imperial size”, meaning it is 22x30”. For big commission pieces, I use Arches Rough (because it comes in a roll and the dimension is bigger). I use Schut occasionally but the paper is not easy to handle. I do not soak, stretch or prep my paper in any way before painting. I just take them out of the packet and start painting.

Qn: What sketchbooks do you use? What do you use them for? These do not look like they are suited for watercolour.

These are NOT for watercolours. They’re just normal sketchbooks that I get from Popular (a Bookstore chain in Singapore). I do mainly ink drawings and sketches in them. I try to get interesting compositions and ideas that can translate into a watercolour painting. I draw with a Staedtler pigment liner 0.8 for line drawings. For tonal sketches, I use a 2B lead mechanical pencil.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

Mr Chan Chang How. One of Singapore’s top watercolour artists.

Quietude, 38x56cm

Pomegranates, 33x52cm

Less is more, 56x76cm

Rowing ashore, 56x76cm

Thanks. That's all from Aaron Gan.

You can see more of his artworks at
http://aarongan.com
https://www.facebook.com/aaron.gan.355

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We're glad to have with us Ivica Stevanovic for this interview. He's an illustrator, comic artist and graphic designer from Serbia.

His artworks are very textural, character designs are more towards to the dark side and are wonderful, and he has works published in several books. He uses pen and ink, watercolour and digital painting.

Qn: Let's talk about the pens you use. What are the two pens above? What are their characteristics?

These are pencils with ink gel, one black and the other blue.

When I do a line drawing (without gray tones) usually combines gel ink pens of different colors. In that way I can suggest plans or accents of certain elements in the drawing.

These pens are of medium quality, in the level of office supplies. I prefer Office Point by German producers, because beginning use of this pen gives a very fine and slender line. Over the time, pen's gel ink melts and lines become thicker and greasier, but the pen is still very useful (especially for expressive drawing)...

When I draw on a smooth paper, the traces/lines that remain can be washed by water, but when it dries is a pretty waterproof (especially when it draws on some absorbent paper).

Qn: And how about these two? What's the difference between this pen and the one you mentioned earlier? Is the drawing beneath drawn with the pen? The ink does not look very black.

This pen is of little lower quality. Gel ink is not so intense, and the lines are dashed - it is difficult to achieve uniform continuity of the drawn line. But I love art supplies with disabilities, because I always give them a specific purpose ;)

Qn: What's that brush pen or water brush? What's the ink inside? Do you like working with it?

I use brush pens (water brushes) sometimes. They are very helpful for the sketching trips. I usually use two brush pens, which I filled with diluted ink to get two shades of gray tones – one lighter, the other darker.

Czech school ink (Koh-I-Noor) is quite good for using in the water brush tank – I do mix it with water in order to get shades of gray. Although it is a school ink, it is very good, and waterproof. Lately, more and more I draw with Dutch Indian ink (Talens).

At the start of work, I first use this brush pens for basic setting drawings, combining lighter and darker gray values​​. Then I draw precise and delicate lines with gel ink liners or nibs over the gray tones, so I get the impression of fullness and volume of shapes and forms in the drawing ...

Qn: Can you tell us about the dip pens that you're using? When do you choose to use these nibs versus the normal pens? Do you usually use one dip pen for the job or several for one job?

I've used dip pens for a long time. I love to draw with nibs. Earlier, as a kid I used Rapidograph pens. But multiliners and gel ink pens cannot create such tactile, adorable, velvety and rich line compared to nib pens.

Dip pens possess sensitivity, flexibility, softness, firmness... everything that can wish for an artist.

Nibs are a powerful weapon in the hands of artists and illustrators, it can express poetic and dramatic lines at the same time. That's why I love them so much.

Qn: What should one take note of when using dips pens?

I think it's very typical to artists who like the details, they often use nibs as a drawing kits.

In my arsenal you can find a wide variety dip pens — from softest and thinnest pens that give thin lines like cobwebs, to hard and firm pens that give thicker and strong lines. Using different nibs can create fantastic richness lines in the drawing.

Qn: What watercolours do you use? Do they work well with your line art?

I use French watercolors Louvre (Lefranc & Bourgeois) for their reasonable price and solid quality. They have a nice color intensity — not too strong (as the Russian colors that I had a chance to use). The colors are fine for me, since I rarely use intensive colored tones in my illustrations.

Qn: In your mixing palette, I see a well that has a lot of deposits and the one next to it is spotless clean. What's going on there?

This white spot is actually a hole in the palette. It can be useful – to below the hole you can set a different colored backgrounds in order to better determine the intensity of mixed colors.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown on the brushes you use? I see two brushes with sprayed hair. The middle brush is quite interesting with the big handle. Are there some brushes for inking?

Brushes with sprayed hair are very nice for watercolor painting. They can be made very spontaneous for creating transparent colored surfaces because of the messy and sprayed hair.

Spontaneity gives a specific impression of exempted forms and freshness in the watercolor painting. The spontaneous and free surfaces that I get, I reshape them with fine lines, and for that I use a brush-liners (brushes with pointed hair - for inking good as well).

Qn: I found this artwork on your blog. What did you use to create it?

My illustration Frankenstein's monster is the result of experimentation with artistic techniques (digital collage). Basic drawing was crated by pen and Indian watered ink, and then upgraded with various textures and parts of old engravings (similar to Dore's graphics).

Qn: Do you do digital painting often? What do you use?

It depends on what I'm doing. Some projects inspire me to illustrate using the technique of digital painting. A picture of the subject in my head guides me — If I imagine a digitally painted picture, then it will be so.

Most often, I make a drawing in a classical way with pen and ink. Then I scan it and paint digitally. When I digitally paint, I like to use a Photoshop brushes with a dry texture or Corel Painter brushes that imitate oil painting. And when I want my illustrations to have a weird photographic and "ready-made" atmosphere, I use the technique of digital collage, and image manipulation.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

I would recommend two of my friends and colleagues – Dragan Bibin and Petar Meseldžija. Also, I think it would be a very interesting interview with talented artist Joao Ruas about his artistic tools.

Thanks. That's all from Ivica Stevanovic.

You can see more of his artworks at
http://ivicastevanovicart.blogspot.com
http://www.behance.net/IvicaStevanovic

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Shari Blaukopf is an artist who strives to create a painting every day on her blog The Sketchbook.

She paints with watercolours predominately. Her use of colours, and the play with shapes are wonderful.

You should check out her many paintings at on her Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/70010386@N08

Let's see what her drawings tools are.

Qn: Alright, the first thing that grabbed my attention is the watercolour box because I've a variation of that box. What watercolour box is this? How do you like it? Do you use that integrated water bottle much? And, of course, where did you buy it?

That box is a modified Daniel Smith travel palette and it’s a hand-me down from my mother who originally bought it but doesn’t paint any more. It comes with space for 16 half-pans and room in the middle for a travel brush.

As you can see I added some pans so I can have a broader selection of pigments. I love this box because of the enamel mixing surface. I have a plastic palette too but it’s just not as nice to mix colours in. This box has been in my painting bag for over two years, so it’s starting to rust a bit and it doesn’t close properly but I won’t give it up.

The water reservoir on the palette is useless because you can fill it but the water doesn't come out. And the water cup always fall off!

Qn: What watercolours do you use? It looks to me like you fill the pans with watercolour tube paints?

I do use tube paints and try to freshen up the colours every week. If they get dry I give them a little spray of water from a tiny bottle I carry in my bag. Believe it or not I cleaned the box before taking the photo! When I’m painting a lot the little pans get a bit mucked up around the edges but every so often I give the whole box a good scrubbing to get rid of the dried bits of paint.

Pan colours are good too if they are fresh I have seen too many sketchers with dried and cracked colours that they try to reconstitute. After adding all that water you just can’t get good saturated washes any more.

I am not loyal to one brand of watercolour although I do stick to artist quality pigments. If I find a good sale I stock up on Winsor Newton, Holbein or Daniel Smith, although this past summer I discovered M. Graham paints. They are honey-based, and although I love their creaminess, some of the colours (such as Cerulean blue) can get very runny if you don’t give them enough time to air-dry before leaving the house. Two to three days is ideal but I don’t always do that. There’s too much sketching to be done!

Qn: Is there any particular way to your arrangement to your colour palette? And what's that thing in the middle row just beside the orange colour?

The colours on the outside are the ones I use most often. I guess I have a classic arrangement of colour. Starting from the top right I have the earth colours like Burnt and Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre and then cool and warm yellows and reds. On the left side I have the cool and warm blues and greens. The middle is reserved for the colours I use less frequently, such as purples and pinks, although my favourite yellow (M. Graham’s Azo Yellow) is in the middle too.

I modified the box by adding those half pans in the middle and just to make sure everything stays in there nice and tight I added a few popsicle sticks and a small piece of wooden dowel shaved down to the right size. That’s what’s next to the orange colour.

Alternate view of selected brushes

Qn: That's a lot of brushes. Rather than going through all of them, why not tell use which ones are your favourites or the more commonly used ones?

I always leave the house with too much equipment in my bag, including a redundancy of brushes! My favourites are the ones I selected for the photo with the palette and pens.

I have a great big Raphael #14 Kolinsky sable (with the orange end) that I use to start off most paintings. It holds tons of wash and can come to a good, fine point. It costs a bomb but I found it on sale at Pearl Paint in New York so I bought it. Last year I lost it while giving a workshop and that just killed me so I replaced it with a new one. Nothing else in my kit is that expensive. My other favourites are the Escoda Perla synthetic brushes. I use these for all the fine work and details. They have a wonderful spring to them and never seem to lose their points. I think I’ve made many converts to these brushes at workshops.

The other brushes that I always use are fine riggers, although I probably use them more for power lines than boat rigging.

I also love big flat brushes, although I use them more in large paintings than in small sketchbooks. I have a 2-inch flat and a 1.5-inch flat as well as an assortment of smaller flats.

Qn: I see several rather similar brushes. For example there quite a few thin round brushes, and several flat brushes on the right. What are the differences between the similar looking brushes?

They mostly all serve the same purpose as what I described above: Extra riggers, a few scraggy brushes for making tree branches and an assortment of flats. I guess my brush holder is too big and I just expand my brush collection to fill the space.

Qn: What watercolour paper do you use?

I love trying out new papers and my current favourites are Fabriano soft press and Saunders Waterford cold press. I used Arches for years but it doesn’t really work for me anymore. I find it too stiff and textured. I prefer a softer and less textured paper like Fabriano.

Qn: Do you use sketchbooks? From your Flickr page, it seems like you prefer drawing on loose sheets?

When I started my daily sketch blog a few years ago I worked almost exclusively in a Moleskine watercolour book (5” x 8”) but I recently switched to loose sheets.

I exhibit and sell my work as part of an artists group in my community and I don’t want to cut work out of books so I started working on loose sheets.

Of course it’s always preferable to work with 100% cotton rag paper and that is hard to find in a book. Recently I have tried out the Stillman & Birn Beta series and have been having a lot of success with those.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown of the pens you use? Do they work well with watercolour sketches?

My favourite pen is the Micron 005. I just can’t find another pen that has that fine a tip, but they wear down really quickly so I do carry other brands in my bag. I know a lot of sketchers use the Lamy pens but I find them too thick and not flexible enough. I love writing with them but for drawing they just don’t have enough give.

Qn: Where are there two different 0.05 multiliner pens? The Staedtler and the Micron.

The Staedtler and the Sharpies are my substitutes if I run out of Microns, but I just don’t love them as much as that Micron.

Qn: I noticed there are no pencils. Do you use pencils for drafting before you add in the watercolours or line art?

I do have a pencil in the mix. It is just to the left of the palette in the group shot. Again, a very favourite tool that I always make sure is in my bag. It is a mechanical pencil that I bought at the MOMA shop in New York City. It is from MUJI, a Japanese store that has a little boutique in New York. The pencil feels perfect in my hand and for a while I had just one that I was always afraid to lose but I bought a few more last time I visited New York.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

I think you should feature Paul Wang. I love his playful sense of colour.

Ian Sidaway creates magic with really fine lines in his work. I wonder what pens he uses.

And lastly I would love a look into Wil Freeborn’s sketch kit.

Check out more art from Shari Blaukopf at http://shariblaukopf.com

Comments?

Send them to http://shariblaukopf.com/2014/01/30/art-tools-and-a-little-demo/

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We have Omar Jaramillo with us today to talk about the tools he uses.

Qn: How about giving our readers an introduction? What do you do for work?

I was born in Ecuador, South America. I have an architectural background. My work as an architect allowed me to travel to many places in the past. However I am currently working as an artist and illustrator in Berlin. I sell watercolors, offer drawing and painting courses, and work on commissioned illustrations for magazines and other publications. I also get hired to do graphic recording for talks and meetings.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown on the pens and brushes you use?

I use mostly Faber Castell Pitt Pens, in Sepia and Sanguina. Small Size. I like them because Sepia is a middle value. Also Sepia and Sanguina are the colors that artists and travellers used to sketch in the past. The pens are waterproof, so I can also work with watercolors.

I use a Pentel black brush pen, usually at the end, since it is not waterproof. I always have a white pen, like the Signo Uniball.

I have a Pentel water brush, but I prefer to use my Petit Gris Da Vinci brush made with squirrel hair. It holds a lot of water and when new, you can draw very thin lines.

Qn: That travel brush set looks interesting. Where did you buy them?

I got the travel watercolor brush set in Boesner. It is a big art supply store in Germany.

Qn: Do you use fountain pens? I don't see them in the pictures.

I use a Super5 fountain pen. It is a new brand in Germany. I am still playing with it. I use it mostly to do fast portraits.

Qn: How are the colours in this Winsor & Newton watercolour box?

It is actually a Cotman case, there is a rubber band that allows you to hold it with just a thumb. I have been replacing the pans with Windsor & Newton professional quality paints.

I don't really care about remembering the colors in my palette. But the first thing I did was taking out the white and the black and replace it with an empty pan that I always fill with fresh Sepia color from Shin Han. I use Shin Han artists watercolor for doing large watercolors. What I am describing here is what I carry with me every day in my bag.

Qn: Why did you add the Shin Han Sepia to your palette?

I think is important to have a fresh sepia. Almost dry you get a very dark color, if you use a normal black pan, you will need to add water and the result is a dull grey.

Qn: Please tell us what you use those items for in the picture above, especially the rubber? Are these all part of your outdoor sketching kit?

The water cup from Faber Castell is practical because in can be folded and doesn't fill much space in my bag or pocket.

The spray bottle allows me to wet the page or create some effects.

The wristband with the Australian kangaroo was a present from Liz Steel, and I use it to clean my brush before using a different color.

The rubber is for holding the pages on windy days, but it has a nice color and a space in between. I can fit cards on it.

Qn: Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbooks. What sizes do you use? What do you think about them? Have you tried sketchbooks from their other series?

I have tried all products from Stillman & Birn. They are great for mix media.

Currently I am using the landscape one, and the smallest when I draw people in the metro. Both are Alpha, 150 GSM but I can work in them like watercolor paper, have more pages and it is cheaper than a watercolor sketchbook.

Watercolor on Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook

Qn: What watercolour paper do you use? Do you draw on loose sheets?

When I do big watercolors I use big sheets. I love Fabriano, extra white satin paper, and Hahnemuhle.

Qn: What tools do you predominantly use? Pens? Watercolours?

I like to combine pen and watercolor. I will start with the pen and will continue with the watercolor.

Qn: Which artists do you think we should feature next?

Bo Soremsky, Marina Greschanik and Rolf Schroeter.

That's all from Omar Jaramillo.

See more of his artworks at http://omar-paint.blogspot.com

Comments?

Send them to http://omar-paint.blogspot.de/2014/02/interview-by-parka-blogs.html

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

By some stroke of luck, I got to see some of Jorge Royan's sketches on facebook and knew I had to interview him for the Art Tools and Gears series.

He's an architect, photographer and sketcher from Argentina. Man of many talents.

His sketches have a strong architectural rendering style with the form mixed with details and nice composition. You can see more of his sketches at sketchesjr.blogspot.com and other works at www.royan.com.ar.

Alright, let's see what are his drawing tools.

Qn: Let's talk about your pens first since I notice that most of the sketches you have on your blog are ink and watercolour sketches. I recognise the Lamy fountain pens. What's the difference between those three that you have?

I've tried a couple pens. Hero, Montblanc, Parker. But (as what one might expect) German pens are the most precise. What I like more about Lamys is that all Lamy nibs fit any Lamy body. There are MANY Lamy nibs and you can change them very easily.

Sample of LAMY nibs available in the market

I have quite a few: M (Medium) F (Fine) and EF (Extrafine). Also I have the three calligraphy nibs (1.1, 1,6 and 1,9). And I have a B nib, meaning 'broad'. Now I carry three nibs: EF, B and Calligraphic 1,1 (The thinner one). Combined, these three give me all the widths and variations I want for.

I don't use M and F anymore, and neither the two broader calligraphic 1.5 and 1.9.

Now how do I choose among these three (EF, B and Calligraphic 1,1)? It depends on the subject and the time available.

The B is is the one I use less. It has a rough, broad trace that's specially good for cartoonish imagination sketches (Moleskine classic). I draw in ink and finish in Prismacolor pencil and white marker, no watercolor or wet media added.

The Cal 1.1 is very expressive, but it does not deliver good detail work. I mostly use it for my watercolor moleskine. Some drawings I do only with it, but mostly I finish it with the EF. I seldom do bigger work in the 24x17 sheets with it. It's more for faster work.

The EF is very precise, and if you turn it 180º delivers a really thin line. I tested it against a 0.1 pen and its not far. maybe between a 0.1 and a 0.2. Used in a normal position it gives you a 0.3 or 0.4 mm line. I do all my 17x24 work with it, but also do the hatching (I do a lot of it) in my Moleskine. I use this pen in any position possible, and try my best to squeeze its worth out of it.

Lately what I like best is to begin a sketch there with the Cal 1.1 and finish hatching and details with the EF. That gives me a really wide range of lined widths to play with.

On watercolor paper I use Noodler's black bulletproof ink. It needs some care because it takes some 5 min to dry, and has to be erased with a kneaded eraser to remain really black.

Noodler's ink does not relate well to the classic yellowish Moleskine paper, so there I need to use normal black ink.

So, to answer that question, I carry 6 Lamys, three with Noodler's and three with Black Lamy ink.

Qn: What are those 4 tools on the left? Brush pens? How are they different from one another?

I use four brush pens when I work outside and four standard round brushes #4 at home. If I'm applying watercolor, I change from brush to brush between colors, so one is for greens, other for blues and so on. It's faster that way.

These on the photo are two kinds. The greenish are fine tipped and the greyish medium. But now I'm using 4 medium and the greenish fine tipped are stored away.

Qn: Did you combine the colour pencils together? Why do you do that? And how do you do that?

Color pencils get shortened up to a stub difficult to hold and store. With a standard Starbucks straw you can join two short pencil stubs.

When I use this I hold all the pencils on my left hand and I want to see the color tips together to make a choice. So I combined them like this so if I'm using blue I can have all the blues together facing me, or the reds, etc. So having, say, a pencil with two blues or two reds would give no benefit.

Qn: I don't see a lot of colour pencil works on your blog, or maybe I missed them. When do you use coloured pencils?

Color pencils have concentrated color in a way difficult to achieve with watercolor.

Click for a larger view

You've chosen here a sketch of a french square by me. if you have a closer look you'll see a lot of color lines and points on the sky, the lamp, a red and green sign and in the texture of the walls. it's subtle but it makes a difference.

Qn: What's this set? A pencil case and watercolour box two-in-one?

Yes, exactly that. I'd say a pencil case and watercolor box, plus a mixing palette. Three-in-one.

I just came my last trip to Vietnam, where all I did was on a 13x21 cm Moleskine. I seldom had more that 60-90 min to work (I was with my teen daughter) and my bigger size (17x24cm) sketches take average 3 hours.

There I realized that when one is on a busy Saigon (or Buenos Aires) street, keeping the equipment handy and small is paramount. Very seldom I've had the chance to spread around paper, watercolor box, pen box, piece of cloth, whatever. Instead I discovered if I have the chance to sit in my Coleman stool (below), I have two hands left. One to hold the paper and the other to pick a pencil or a pen.

Coleman stool with modified fabric

Up to here, great. I have right hand and left hand. TWO. But if I need to PAINT, things get messy. Too much stuff to hold or put in your knees.

If I use the W&N Field box I have a notebook, field-box and tools in another box. THREE.

Something has to go to have 2-2.

So I planned to have all in one pack. And this, to be the same size of a Moleskine noteboox: 13,2 x 21, 22 mm thick, so I can slip both in an envelope (the pouch below) and I'm ready.

All of it is made out of very easily cut 1 mm high impact plastic and glued with plastic model glue. It has some reinforcements here and there.

The box has 4 spaces. A (130 x 32 mm), B (90 x 25 mm) C (178 x 39 mm), D (152 x 90 mm).

• Space A: the 14 watercolor 'Godets' I had before in my W&N field box, 28 color in total. Some Montval strips for WC color sampling are stored over this, as there is room left over the Godets.
• Space B: A cotton cloth to clean the brushes. Below the cloth there is a W&N detail brush (Just in case) and spare pencil 7 mm HB leads
• Space C: I store here 10 double tipped Prismacolor sets. 20 colors in total. That's enough for the use I give them. If the pencils are not new (long!), I can store a kneaded eraser too, with a rubber divider to also protect pencil tips
• Space D: 2 Lamys, 1 pencil, 4 waterbrushes. All I need. Below them (separated by a piece of plastic sheet) is the palette mixer. It has the same structure as the one I use at home: 5 x 2. When I have to mix color, the brushes are always out, so I keep the Lamys and the pencil on my pocket and I'm ready to go.

Qn: What's the pouch for?

If you are going to throw your sketch gear in a backpack among cameras, a chess board, food and whatnot, you want to protect not only the — somewhat fragile if you hit it — but also the notebook. I don't like battered Moleskine covers. And if you carry a water bottle, there is always the chance of a loose bottle lid, and of spilled water ruining the notebook you love that much.

I prefer protecting the whole thing with a pouch and If I go out and I'm riding a bike just a mile to sit somewhere, I can hang this pouch from my shoulder, and that's it. I need nothing else.

This is custom made in a heavy duty fabric, with a Velcro strip. The rings, to slip a shoulder strap.

Qn: How do you use the chart on the right? Why is there a list names of the paint on the right?

It's not a chart. you have 4 borders with scales on them, two long, two short.

If you want to gauge proportions on a far away subject you can use the scales in the same manner as the Da Vinci Frame I showed you, or the way an old fashioned artist sees through his pencil at arm's length. And divide the subject accordingly.

Sometimes you need thirds to set important points in a subject and translate them to paper. Other times, halves. There is a scale divided by thirds and another by halves. Of both, there is a short and a long one.

About the names, it's the 28 watercolors in the box. Sometimes I forget if that paint there is Olive green or Phtalo green. Paint can be very dark when dry. It's very easy confounding Indigo with Payne's Grey, or Ivory Black with Neutral Tint. When in doubt, I can look at that lid.

The graded scale of values looks nice, but has no purpose whatsoever other than looking good and avoid having a white lid easily dirty.

There are two rubber bands. This way, when I take the lid off, I can use its borders to gauge distances and proportions of the subjects in front of me.

Qn: You seem to have a few watercolour sets. Is the one above your main set? I see that you have made some modifications to the pans. Can you explain?

I am using two sets. one at home and the other on the road.

This Winsor & Newton travel set I used up to a while ago set has 14 'godets'. But if you pay attention, most of its surface is white empty plastic. Only half of this is really useful, and I hate to carry too much stuff. As you noticed, I try to limit my equipment as much as possible, and to make it small.

The way I use watercolor, I don't need so much paint for a sketch, just a touch. So I took out the original 'godets' or plastic trays (with which all W&N watercolor paint cubes come), and divided each one with a small plastic 1 mm piece. Nothing fancy.

I refilled them with W&N Artist plus some Rembrandt tube paint, combining similar colors, so if there is a water spill it does not affect the other half. It works quite well.

Lately, when I made a new box, I took all the godets and placed them there. It took quite less space, and I have the same mixing surface. See below.

Qn: These two watercolour boxes look like they are custom made. How did you make them?

I'm a tinkerer, so I like building stuff. I have many tools and I like to use them. I made this two boxes a couple years ago when I began sketching.

The bigger Altoids box is made with a 1 cm thick rubber foam, cut with the plastic tubes.The small tubes in the perimeter are cut off Starbucks straws, and the 14 bigger ones are made with the plastic tube that comes to protect the tip of bigger round paintbrushes. Any art store has these, and usually they throw them away as there's no use for them after the brush is sold, so if you ask they'll save them for you.

Holding this Altoids box was not that easy, and the mixing surface was too limited. A friend gave me the W&N Fieldbox as a gift and now this one comes along only as a backup.

The smaller one is built with a Starbucks mint box. The divisions are made out of 1 mm high impact plastic. It was supposed to be used to carry paint in my pocket. I wanted to carry only this, a pen and a paintbrush, and it worked. Mixing was made in the saucer that comes with an expresso in any cafe in Buenos Aires worth its name.

And about buying them, these boxes carry far more colors than anything you can buy. And they are more fun.

Qn: This watercolour box looks really small. Why do you have such a small set? Isn't it inconvenient to use it, such as the mixing area that looks too small.

Again, it was the pleasure of building it and the idea of carrying only this, a pen and a paintbrush. Mixing is made on a saucer or a table top.

It has 8 colors. The 4 neuters I use most (Sepia, Indigo, Payne's gray and Neutral Tint) and 4 saturated: a basic blue, red, green and yellow.

Qn: What is this? Looks interesting.

When I work at home, I use these 4 classic round brushes #4, not 'water brushes'. I don't like to have much stuff around. I try to limit my tools at a minimum, and then try to get the best out of them.

The standard scheme when one works in a desk is 1) paint box and 2) mixing palette. Unless one keeps on mixing in the watercolor box, but that mixing space is always limited. So I decided to have all together, and set 10 color areas, with the paint I use to get there real close around each 'mixing well'.

The whole setup measures 45 x 21, and each mixing well is 8 x 8 cm, which is all I need.

It's all built in high impact plastic 2 mm thick, with a transparent cover. I added some plastic pieces here and there so the round brushes don't roll freely and fall in the mixing wells.One of the wells is only for Noodler's ink, as I use that for shadows quite.

Qn: What's the circular thing at the bottom left, and the stuff in the container at the top left?

The circular thing is a box with 4 extra hues I use and have to mix every time (Bronze, Skin, etc). I prefer having it premixed.

Qn: What do you use the dropper and pocket knife for?

The pocket knife is needed to tear out pages off the homemade blocks of 17x24 Canson Montval I work with. This 17x24 paper is the biggest I use. I want to jump to A4, but have not made it yet.

The dropper is for me very important, as the technique I use with watercolor entails using just a drop of water. When I'm on the road I do the same with the water brushes: I only put a brush in the water to clean it, not to bring water to the mix.

Also, my first pass is VERY watery, so I need to have a diluted paint. Also, I try not to put a brush that has paint on it in water, as I lose paint. So I bring water in the palette with the eye dropper instead. That keeps the water clean, and the water supply quite controlled.

I put a drop of clear water on the mixer. With the tip of the brush I pick just a touch of that water and get the surface of the paint wet. And this I carry back to the mixing palette to begin getting a hue.

Qn: What's that pen at the top?

It is a white marker. I only use it for the yellowish 13x21 classic Moleskine, as it brings points of pure white to the sketch and makes it lively, since the paper is not white at all.

Qn: What are the brushes that you use?

Four round watercolor #4 brushes when on my desk, or four water brushes if I'm on the road.

Qn: What equipment is that at the top?

This is a heat gun. It heats up with a standard lighter inside. I use it to quicken watercolor paint get dry. When the weather is cold or damp it can take forever between passes. Watercolor demands to WAIT until it's wet before the next pass, at least the way I like it.

Qn: Is that a viewfinder at the bottom? Did you make it yourself? Do you find it useful?

This is a Da Vinci frame. I view everything as through a viewfinder, as I've spent many years doing photo work. I need to render 3D into 2D. Then, after that, create again a 3D impression with some tricks.

This frame helps me find some strategic points in a scene, that I can translate to my paper. I use it with my 17x24cm sketches, not with a Moleskine

Qn: What sketchbooks and paper do you use? I suppose the paper size must be quite big for the type of detailed sketches you draw?

I use three different papers:

On one hand, two Moleskine notebooks same size (13x21 cm). One for watercolor and the other a classic yellowish one. Both are to be used on the street. I use the watercolor Moleskine to work from life. And the classic to draw from imagination.

Besides, when I work at home — and when there's time, when I travel — I use home made blocks of Canson Montval 300g Watercolor paper. I buy the paper in rolls (10 x 1,50 m) and cut them into 24x17 sheets after a long process of flattening it back.

Then I glue the sides leaving a free corner (above) to tear the sheet out free. I use that knife for this.

Working in this kind of 'blockish' paper has many advantages. It's hard as wood. You can turn it around freely, using the borders as guides to make straight lines, and shortly after it gets wet with watercolor it gets back 10% to the original shape if you allow it to dry properly.

That's why I don't have gutters. I prefer by far working on this paper, but sometimes it's too big — for my sketching style — to make a fast drawing, and then I jump to the Moleskines.

Also, Moleskines are not sold in Argentina, while these Montval 300g rolls do.

Qn: When you're using sketchbooks, do you draw across the gutter? I don't see a lot of sketchbook pages on your blog or maybe there are but I don't know that.

I abhor having the gutter in the middle of a sketch. I see most people act as it's not there, but for me it's like 'the emperor's new clothes'. The gutter is there, and it sucks.

Besides:

• In my 17 x 24 cm Home made Montval blocks there are no gutters.
• In the Watercolor 13x21 Moleskine I use for life sketches I work only one page at a time, since the format is, in my eyes, a marketing mistake. Not many people do panoramas or want to do a sketch measuring 13 x 42 with a 1:3 proportion. Me, I use separate pages and never cross along the gutter.
• In the classic 13x21 yellowish Moleskine there is a gutter, but as I use it to draw from imagination anywhere I have to wait, I prefer doing smaller sketches (as this one here). This is 13 x 21. I don't need double that space. 26 x 21 is too big for this kind of 'on the go' things I can leave halfway and retake later in another doctor or bank line.

Qn: Which other artists do you think should be featured next?

Nina Johansson, Paul Heaston and Miguel Herranz

Click for a larger view

Thanks. That's all from Jorge Royan.

Check out his work at http://sketchesjr.blogspot.com and other works at http://www.royan.com.ar

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We have with us Elsa Chang for this interview today. She's a character designer working at Paramount, and has previously worked for Sony Pictures Animation and Disney Feature Animation.

Check out her work at http://elsasketch.blogspot.com

Qn: Can you give our readers an introduction to what you do for a living?

I'm a character designer and visual development artist for feature animation.

As a character designer you do anything from designing the first rough concept to tightening up a model sheet. I communicate with the director and art director about the color and style, I make sure what I'm designing matches up to the world it exists in.

Qn: I see that you use watercolour and gouache. When do you decide which to use for your artworks?

It depends on the size of the piece. If I'm working really small I like to use gouache, I feel I have more control over it when I'm working small in gouache. For larger pieces I just feel it's more fun to work in watercolor. You can see the effects of it better too, the way the water bleeds and mixes with water on the paper.

Qn: Why do you have two small almost identical brushes?

One is a size 1 brush, the other is size 2. It's a very subtle difference but one is also an older brush so when it's wet the point is not as fine as the newer brush.

Qn: Blackwing pencils. Are they nice to draw with?

They're pretty good, I only just started drawing with them but they're a lot of fun to sketch with in my Moleskine sketchbook.

Qn: Are there any difference between the tools you use in your job compared to your personal artworks?

I mainly work digitally at my job. At work I have deadlines I have to meet so making corrections on the computer is faster and easier than having to re-paint over something in gouache or watercolor. I work digitally with my personal work as well but I also sketch in my sketchbook in my free time.

Qn: What did you use to create these two drawings? There's some nice textures for the fabric, and just about the everything in the second piece is textured.

I usually limit myself to using 3 brushes or less in Photoshop. I have a chalk brush with a rough hard edge, a chalk brush with a soft edge and a texture brush. The hard edge chalk brush is for making the shapes or outline of a subject. The soft brush is for highlights, shadows or to soften an edge of something. I use the texture brush to mask highlights and textures as well or to make a gradient effect on the edge of a subject.

Qn: Do you use any sketchbooks for your drawings? Or any special paper for your watercolour or gouache works?

I have a couple of Moleskines I sketch in with pen and graphite. My favorite paper to use for watercolor is Arches cold press 140Lb, the watercolor blocks are great because the paper doesn't buckle or curl at the corners. I've used different surfaces for gouache including illustration board, cardboard and a middle tone card stock paper. Gouache can hold up on most surfaces if it's not too diluted.

Qn: Which other artists do you think should be featured next?

Clio Chang, Natalie Hall and Claire Keane.

I follow the work of my friends on Instagram and the ones that are always the most striking and fascinating to me are the pieces done by Clio Chang and Natalie Hall.

For this interview today, we have with us self-taught, multifaceted illustrator Dacosta!. He works at a design studio called Chocolate Soop that specializes in character IP development.

On 1 March 2014, he launched a Kickstarter campaign for his artbook called MARCH of ROBOTS! As the name suggest, it features robots, all designed by him and they are also appeared on his blog.

Check out his campaign at http://kck.st/Ng3Xyx

The campaign ends on 15 April 2014. There’s only a couple of days left to snag a signed copy of his artbook.

Qn: I read that you're very much influenced by Japanese culture, graffiti and industrial design. Can you elaborate a bit more about your influence? Did they in anyway contribute to your love for drawing robots?

Japanese culture: I grew up in the 80’s watching a LOT of Japanese animation. I spent countless hours in front of the TV absorbing it all. So many great shows to fuel the imagination. I so badly wanted a robot for a friend, someone like Astro Boy. I love the story lines and the way the Japanese structure narrative. Very different from Western story telling.

Industrial/product design opened my eyes to really thinking about purpose of form. Thinking in 3D ‘shaped’ my ideas, always pushing for the line that felt right. Syd Mead was and still is a huge pillar in my foundation. I could never tire of looking at his work.

…and Graffiti was all about the colour and the bold lines. Seeing the way different artist controlled letters, words is another form of expression that never fails to inspire.

Qn: Can you tell us about your design process?

For my personal stuff it’s really looking around at what I like. I look for inspiration online. Pinterest is my best friend these days. You have your choice of a myriad of rabbit holes to explore. I love discovering artist there, especially artist that have a drastically different style from mine. Studying the shape language they use. It’s like examining dialectic shifts from region to region.

Once I’ve had my momentary fill of inspiration it’s pretty much as simple as sitting down and scribbling on my Cintiq while listening to music which can be anything from classical - mainly Baroque, Jazz, DnB, Chiptune, Dubstep or Atmospheric Downtempo. It all depends on the mood and tone I’m feeling.

I work digitally so my process is flexible. I work through a piece in stages. Very loose forms first to get a feel for composition. Drop the opacity on that to 10%, add a new layer and refine the previous elements with each pass. I usually take a breaks at the between inking and colour.

Qn: What's the most challenging part to designing a robot?

Getting the right blend of cool with personality.

I’m not really into the hyper aggressive mecha laden with ordinance. My designs tend to land on the fun side of things. I think my stuff can live in the world’s of folks like Ishinomori Shotaro - (Cyborg009), Tezuka Osamu - Astro Boy) or anywhere in the multiverse of Mario, Sonic or Megaman Zero.

Qn: What are some of your favourite robots from popular culture? Why?

Hands down my top picks would have to be

Astro Boy - His passion, for life and desire for robots and humans to live and work together in equality is inspiring.

R2D2 - His personality is fantastic. He’s feisty, headstrong, a bit of a smart ass and loyal to the end.

WALL-E and Johnny 5 for their sense of wonder.

Qn: You have been in the creative industry for more than 18 years. What keeps you going? What advice do you have for new illustrators?

Build a picture of where you want to go with your life/art. It doesn’t have to be crystal clear, it’s more important you have an idea of what you want it to feel like. Always make moves that allow you to bring that feeling into focus.

Be relentless in your pursuits and work hard. Learning to use the tools is “easy”, but learning to use those tools to express your individual voice is where the real challenge lays. Make the art that makes you happiest.

Thanks. That's all from Dacosta! You can check out his artworks on his many websites:
https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateSoop
https://twitter.com/chocolatesoop
http://chocolatesoop.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/DacostaBayley/
http://instagram.com/chocolatesoop

It's great to have Indonesian architect and sketcher Darman Angir for this interview. Check out his art on Flickr page and his Facebook page

Qn: Can you give us an introduction of yourself to our readers? And what do you do for a living?

I'm a self employed architect of 20 years practice. I started sketching in November 2011 around the same time as my wife's pregnancy.

When I was graduated, I sketched for about 2 years (1994-1996), then hibernated from sketching almost 15 years.

Starting sketching can't be more exciting after those long non-active years.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown of the pens you use in this picture? Are they your more commonly used pens?

1. Rotring artpen EF and Broad.
2. Hero 578 fude nib.
3. Sailor Fude nib pen, 40 and 55 degree nib slant.
4. Rotring rapidograph. 0.3 and 0.8
5. Pilot eye dropper fountain pen.
6. Lamy safary. EF and F nibs.
7. Pilot scribe calligraphy pen.
8. Hero 330 and 332.
9. Pilot 78G medium and Pilot paralel pen 0.38.
10. Sailor (?) Preppy pen bonus of noodler's ink 4.5 oz bottle.
11. Platinum carbon desk pen extra fine.
12. Noodler's Ahab flex pen.

#1 one of my oldest sketching pens, very stiff nib, nice for fine lines (EF nib)
#3 mostly for just ink drawings, because of the special Fude nib
#5 for sketching ink lines and watercolour wash
#6 generic sketcher fountain pen, very versatile for various sketching techniques
#10 for traveling, because of huge ink capacity as eye dropper

Qn: These pens look good. There's sculpting in the nibs. What are these pens?

These are HERO Fude nibs pens, namely M-86 and 169. These has stiff Fude nib compared to sailor Fude nib pen (previous picture no.3).

Fude nibs are specially designed to produce various ink line thickness by the difference of writing angles.

Qn: That's a fancy looking dip pen on the right. What's that?

That's Murano glass pen of Venice. In this photo, the glass part is just aesthetic in pen design. I have another Murano glass pen that all made of glass, including the nib. they are nice & exquisite for writing, but too risky for sketching.

Qn: So do these nibs go with that dip pen above?

Yes, it can, but it can also be put on wooden nib holder like in the most left photo.

But those nibs in the tackle compartment are mostly calligraphy nibs. it is one of my hobby.

Qn: Which are your favourite pens? Why?

For sketching I always use my fountain pens as described in my rundown (your 2nd question). I use dip pens for calligraphy.

Qn: How about these? Are they ruling pens? What are they used for?

These are ruling pens, I use them them. I bought them from the art material store's closing clearance at a very cheap price.

They are used for adding liquid masking fluid or some gouache highlight on my watercolours.

Qn: These are interesting cases. What are they?

They are cigar's boxes, from my friends. I modified them by adding paper compartments to accommodate pens. Very nice isn't it? =)

Qn: Why do you have so many ink bottles? Which one is your favourite ink?

My town only sell the 2 inks on the left. So I bought the others when I'm going abroad, and online.

It seems too many for some, but they are far more superior quality compared to the ink that is sold in my town.

Another reason is they have different colours, so I can intermix them to make new colours.

My favourites are Noodler's ink lexington grey and Platinum carbon ink.

Qn: Wow. That's a lot of tools! It will take days to cover all the items. Can you pick a few interesting items to talk about from this picture?

One of my interest lately is experimenting with twigs, quills, bones, etc, which i got inspired by the works of Ch'ng Kiah Kiean.

I crafted my own experimental sketching tools using the knives in the far upper left.

Qn: These look like your watercolour sets. What brand do you use? Looks like tube paints.

Actually these are my tools for water-based media sketching. Mostly I use Winsor and Newton, Grumbacher.

Qn: What are those three black items in between all the circular stuff? Ink pads? They look like the items in this picture below:

Those are ink stones (in japanese: suzuri), used for grinding ink sticks. They are eastern calligraphy material, but I use them with my dip pens for western calligraphy.

Qn: A finger brush? How does it compare to normal brushes? Why buy a finger brush? And where did you buy them? What's the brand?

Finger brush is funny to use. It is very awkward brush, I bought it in Nara, Japan. It's just as a novelty. The brand is Popcorn Yubi Fude

Qn: I read that you sewn those bands yourself. Are they helpful?

Very helpful indeed. But those 5 to 6 slots is never enough for urban sketcher.

Qn: What watercolour paper do you use?

Mostly I use Canson C-grain 200 GSM, which is not watercolour paper. that's the only one that's available in my local store. After that is Montval 300 GSM, which I bought mostly from Singapore.

Qn: What sketchbooks do you use?

Daler Rowney Ebony sketch book, in the picture above are Stillman & Birn sketch books that I haven't opened yet.

Qn: Are these self made sketchbooks? Why did you make them?

Yes, as I described before, my town has limited art material store & supply, so I cut and bind some sketch books myself.

The papers: Canson C-grain, Montval, lithographic papers, craft papers, etc.

It's liberating for me to choose the size and the kind of papers for my sketch book.

The cover made of genuine leather/cow hide.

Qn: Can you talk about your setup above?

This is my generic set up for sketching on location. Modified tripod with wood laminated flooring waste as tray for my tools. I use 16mm Multiplex as drawing board and folding fishing stool.

Main parameter: all can be carried in my backpack.

Qn: Which artists do you think we should feature next?

Ch'ng Kiah Kiean, James Richards, Pochou Chang.

That's all from Darman Angir. Thanks!

Check out his art on Flickr page and his Facebook page

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Our interviewee today is artist Gabby Malpas. She's from New Zealand, a long time resident of UK and now staying in Sydney.

She was trained as a potter in New Zealand, but has since moved to using watercolours and ink to create her artworks. Her artworks are images of mainly of still life, things that are bought, eaten and picked around Sydney.

You can check out more of her works at
http://www.mangofrooty.blogspot.com
http://gabbymalpas.com/
Facebook
Flickr

Qn: Can you tell us what you do for a living? I read on your blog that you're a digital project manager?

I project manage and account manage online and design projects for corporate clients. Much of the work was spent in agencies in London then Sydney but for the last 8 or so years in Sydney (and 2 in London), I've been freelance and working remotely, from home for a number of clients. I have 20+ year experience in this field and it's funny that I am considered senior but with art, I have been practising for over 25 years and would be considered: 'emerging'.

Believe it or not - although I did get lucky and "fell" into the digital world, being in the right place at the right time - this does fit in with my life plan of working part-time and painting part time. One day I would like to be painting full time but the reality is that I'm still working on getting to be known and bills need to be paid.

I figured very early on that I needed to be able to pay for what I wanted to and casual/unskilled jobs wouldn't really allow me to do that in the long run.

In the last couple of years I completed a training qualification and have started running small art classes locally for adults and children.

Qn: Why did you switch from pottery to painted media?

Ahahaha. Quite frankly I was breaking more than I completed, I was planning to travel and it's prohibitively expensive to practise.

I have the greatest respect for ceramicists out of most art forms because really, I know how heartbreaking it can be to see an entire kiln-load get ruined.

If I am also truthful - to my shame I was a very bad student and did not ground myself properly in the technical skills to continue alone. I have promised myself I will return to it one day.

When I started travelling, paper and paints were a much more viable option.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown of the tools in the picture above?

OK, the picture above (not the one with the glue in it) contains the following:

Kraft knife - this must be a lucky knife. I think it cost me about 50p 15 years or so ago and I still have it. Although when I work on paper I generally tear the pieces into the sizes I want because I like the rough edges, I use the knife to score and help cut paper from large rolls for bigger pieces.

Plastic paint trays - I buy cheap plastic paint trays from $2 shops and supplies shops anywhere I see them. Being small, they are easy to hold and with a small number of wells you can limit the colours to one per tray then mix colours of that hue within each.

Erasers - When I paint with watercolours I work quite quickly to achieve that watery effect in my work even though it is so detailed. This means I can't be thinking about where to put a colour or guess the detail so everything - absolutely everything is drawn in pencil first, right down to veins in the leaves and stamens. Then I fill it in with paint. Once everything is finished and dry I will rub out the pencil lines so you are left with a pure watercolour image. The eraser needs to be good quality. Staedtler ones are best for me

Pencils - Pencils are found everywhere - I've collected pencils from hotels, IKEA, kids' pencil cases etc. 2B are nice but quite often I will only have an HB on hand

Fine ink markers - I use these for some fine detail on insect legs/wings and to sign my images with silver poster paint: As much as I love the look of pristine white paper, I am a bit messy when it comes to painting - spots, splotches and spills are common. I can generally clean these up but the paper is then a little less than pristine. I am a big fan of paint spatter - the silver paint generally goes on as the final touch. I find it pulls the image together and is very forgiving on splotch marks.

Paints - I use a mixture of brands but generally Cotman or Lukas watercolours as the quality is good and is within my price range.

What I try and instil into my students is it's not about the tools but what you do with them - however, good quality paper and paints are a must.

Qn: And what about these above, the tube of UHU and the small cups? What do you use them for?

When I work on larger pieces I tend to work through the colours one by one. For example, I will put down yellow first, then move onto pinks and so on. While I move around a large area I hold the pot in one hand and paint with the other.

These tiny pots have been bought from many places in SE Asia. They are offering bowls, teacups or sake/wine cups. I do have to keep replenishing as I break a few every now and then.

The UHU glue is used to stick collage items such as stamps/bus tickets/found items onto the work. Quite often I will use a sewing machine and actually sew paper onto paper or stitch two pieces together. The glue also comes in handy to stick down any corners or pieces that stand off the painting.

Qn: What are the tools in the picture above? You told me in email that these are for canvas work while the ones before are for paper.

I started working on canvas a few years ago but was trying acrylics and oils. The effects weren't great - because I lost the recognisable and standout feature of my work: that watery and delicate goodness of watercolour. So I started experimenting with other mediums to see how I can retain that watercolour feel but actually have the paint stay on the canvas.

For canvas, I mix ink with watercolour and draw/paint in the same way as I would on paper. I prime the canvas first with house paint.

The work needs to be varnished afterwards to fix the paint. Although ink allows the colour to stay (watercolour alone brushes right off when dry), it can still be rubbed off with a wet finger so it needs to be protected. I've found a spray much better than anything that has to be brushed on - plus I'd worry that I would smear the work with that method.

Oh yes, a key tool is an old hairdryer - very handy for drying things quickly.

Qn: What are the differences between working on canvas and paper? What's your preference of the surface to work on?

I prefer to work on paper. I love the look, the texture and excitement of paper (I have a background in publishing!) and the way liquid colour rolls around and dries on it. However, there is a lot of snobbery I feel in the art world about paper - to be taken seriously, a lot of people tell me I need to work on canvas.

It did take me a while to work up to canvas (about 25 years) and this is my first year working properly on it so maybe I will come to like that better in time.

What I have tried to do is use my way of working and adapt the tools I use, not the style to achieve the results I want. The result is recognisable 'Gabby Malpas' work but on canvas.

Qn: Take this piece of work for example. What kind of paper or surface is it? What kind of paper or canvas do you generally use?

These two images are painted on Indian Khadi rage paper. I first came across this paper in London and I have loved it ever since. The other paper I use is Arches.

I generally use Arches 300gsm rough and for the Khadi paper the same for larger pieces but lesser gsm for smaller works.

I don't stretch my paper because I like the rough, deckled edges Because I tend to colour every part of the paper this generally works out OK. The heaviness of the paper helps here too.

Qn: Do you use any masking fluid for your paintings? I noticed that they colours have very clear edges and the main colours never overlap.

Ahahahaha. So many people ask me that.

I do not use masking fluid.

A lot of the tonal effects are achieved by mixing a large puddle of colour within a drawn boundary. Once that puddle dries you get very definitive edges because the paint pools in the middle and the colour concentrates at the edge.

So many people ask me abut the veins in a leaf or petal too - no masking fluid there either it's all painted freehand but around pencil lines. Once the pencil is rubbed out it looks very finely detailed.

Qn: What brushes do you use for your paintings?

I use brushes from all over. I don't spend a lot on brushes and have found acrylic ones are fine. Most of my brushes have been bought in SE Asia at art supply stores of the equivalent of the $2 shop. Though I have been bought some lovely sable brushes as gifts and these are lovely to use.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?

Jean E Loomis, a painter in New Zealand. Jean was my high school art teacher, my very first mentor.

Items mentioned may be available at Dick Blick Art Materials (USA) and Jackson's Art Supplies (UK), Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

We have with us Katya Katkova from UK for this short interview today. She one of the co-authors for a cool art guide called East London Mornings. The guide features quaint, independent and lesser known breakfast and cafes around East London. It includes illustrations by UK and international artists, poems and hand-drawn maps.

East London Mornings is a project that she's been running since 2011 and there's already a first edition book out. Now she has put up the second edition on Kickstarter to get it published again. You can check out more details at http://kck.st/1pgiyJd

Alright here are the 5 questions for Katya Katkova.

Qn: Can you tell our readers the origin or inspiration for such East London Mornings?

Hackney is our home and it has a very unique atmosphere. It is most experienced on the early afternoon when borough’s creative residents having a late breakfast, arranging a working meeting over the cup of coffee or sharing a wooden table with other freelancers. All these places are hidden from tourists and are known only by a very limited amount of locals. I was very exited every time I used to unexpectedly find places like these.

At that time, about five years ago I was new to London and had an idea that a huge city can’t be cosy or welcoming. Hackney broke this stereotype and I wanted to share the experience. I’ve started a blog and very soon many artists and poets joined the project.

Qn: What do you think is the charm of these independent coffee shops?

Every little spot has its own character. Some are cosy, some are fancy and some are very simple. Every day is different and you can choose what you want to experience that particular morning.

Qn: Are there any memorable experience while you or the artists were out looking for coffee shops or ideas?

The best memory was when I bought a bicycle. I started to explore East London’s every little street and it held so many coffee surprises! All of them are now on the map.

Qn: Which is your favourite coffee shop? Why?

Depends on the mood. For example, The Counter is an absolute winner for a hot sunny day, Tina, we salute you is the best for watching people passing by on sad days. Cozy Cooper & Wolf is for rainy afternoons and The Hackney Pearl is for dreaming over the cup of their amazing iced latte. All the places featured in the guide are my favourite in a way.

Qn: What are the challenges for coming with such a book?

I believe everything always works easily and smoothly if you do it from your heart.

We had a wonderful feedback about the project and published the first limited edition of the book. It was sold out in a week and we’ve decided to publish a large edition. We'll fundraise money and this is the first serious challenge we’ve experienced I guess.

Thank you, Katya Katkova.

Lovely readers, you can check out the details for East London Mornings at http://kck.st/1pgiyJd

Campaign ends 31 Jul 2014.

Robert Mellayne has been creating sculptures on and off throughout his life. Now, he has created a Kickstarter campaign called Shoggoth Shetani to share with his audience his creations. He talks more about his inspiration and campaign in the following interview.

Qn: Can you give us an introduction about yourself?

I am sort of Robert Mellayne, in that it is a pseudonym. I was born and raised in the Acadiana (Cajun) area of Louisiana. I’m 36 and live in New Hampshire now with my wife and daughter. My daughter is much more autistic than I am – that statement and how it was worded is profound regarding my situation but won’t be understood by most.

I am not an artist by profession and I don’t draw or paint or anything. I have never taken any art classes, but I like primitive/outsider art so I haven’t really felt the need to seek out advanced technical knowledge.

My first steps into this area of art were modifying my GI Joe figures as a kid, switching parts or using a knife and/or lighter to inflict injuries on the figures.

I became interested in gaming miniatures (Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40K) at 9 or 10 and painted/modified my figs. This is where I picked up a technique I use on my current project, called drybrushing. I’ll get into that later.

Getting older, I moved on to other interests but came back to toy mods in the early 2000s when I briefly got into a game called Mage Knight, and then started modding a couple Masters of the Universe figures before I found Stikfas DIY action figure kits and designer vinyl toys. I really enjoyed making my own characters and that sort of was a segue into art dolls, which I abruptly quit working on about 3-4 years ago.

I had to deal with some mental/emotional things and reexamine my life. My daughter’s autism diagnosis, reviewing my own level of autism, taking an extended leave from working, reentering the work force in a different field (community support for the disabled). Things were weird and difficult and confusing in many areas. I became focused on the kid, work, gym and video games.

Recently (like within the past 2 months), I decided to get my feet wet with art again after years of downtime. Where in the past I kept focusing on a toy/figure/doll angle, this time I decided to explore other ideas that had been stewing in my head during my hiatus. My grandmother had sent me some art that I wanted from her collection that I had thought about on and off for years. Social media meant a greater opportunity to reach what is really a niche market, and my favorite subject matter (Lovecraftian) is on an upswing. Plus, my daughter is at a stage where she can respect what I’m doing and let me work.

It just seemed like the right time.

I’m kind of a hack, really. I try to overshadow my lack of technical skill with my excessive creativity. (Don’t tell anybody.)

Qn: Tell us more about your Kickstarter project Shoggoth Shetani.

A shoggoth is a creature created by the author H.P. Lovecraft that is a part of the “Cthulhu Mythos”. It is a sentient mass of biological material that can alter its form. They were created by an ancient race for slave labor, and seem to have an issue controlling their ability without a master’s instruction. They are described as constantly shifting with eyes, mouths, and bio-luminescent globes appearing and disappearing as they attempt to mimic their dead masters.

Shetani is a style of carving from the Makonde tribe in Eastern Africa. My grandmother had several sculptures in this style that I remember from childhood but never knew what they were. When she sent them recently, she had looked up that they were Makonde, and I later found that they were Shetani.

Shetani means "little devil" and is an Africanization of Shaitan from Arabic/Muslim influence. They are depictions of spirits that manifest in physical form but do so poorly with misshapen, mis-sized, or missing parts and asymmetrical qualities. The style is mid-20th construct than based on any specific legend.

So I thought I would marry the concepts. Shoggoth Shetani use the concept of something making an attempt to mimic life forms as we know them, but depicted in an abstract/surrealist neo-primitive art piece. The pics of the sculpts on the Kickstarter are a bit more forward-facing as a whole than I foresee the future body of the work.

The Kickstarter is for "Series I" of Shoggoth Shetani in a blind-box format. Collector vinyl toys are produced in limited runs and often sold as "blind-box" items. That means you know you’re going to get a "widget" in the box, but you don’t know if you’re going to get the blue widget, green widget, or black widget. There may be a lot of blues, but the black is hard to get. So when you pledge for Shoggoth Shetani you don’t know which sculpture you’re going to get. You can pick the basic color, and the quantity is based on a "rarity" scale. I think it adds a layer of fun to the whole thing.

The goal with the Kickstarter is to make a fun experience and get a few coins to upgrade that experience. I really need professional photography (which I am doing with this series regardless) because my pics don’t show enough fine detail. I’d like to maybe get a 2d artist and/or a writer to expand the concept/brand. I don’t need to get paid to do this, but it would be nice not to have to pay to do it.

Qn: Your sculptures look really cool. What or who are inspiration sources?

I mentioned my grandmother’s sculpts and Lovecraft above. I really like primitive art – voodoo dolls, the moai of Easter Island, pagan earth-mother idols, etc. Any kind of tribal mask is great. I really like puppets and muppets, which kind of fall into the primitive art category. The Dark Crystal is one of my favorite films and I really enjoy Brian Froud and all things faerie. For the Lovecraftian/horror stuff I like The Thing (Carpenter’s), Pumpkinhead, and old-school rubber monsters.

Qn: Tell us more about your sculptures.

They are polymer clay and epoxy over a wire and foil armature. The base is a CD or DVD that is given "anchors" made of epoxy (made to patch water pipes) that is covered with polymer clay. The epoxy dries very hard but had limited working time so that is used for anything protruding. Everything is done in layers and somewhat random. I start working and eventually a general idea or concept will arise, but that could change multiple times before the piece is done.

I mostly use my hands. I did recently buy an extruder since I have so many tentacles to do, and I have some basic sculpting tools but I only really use a couple of them. Mostly I use my tools for texturing, and sometimes a stiff paint brush works. My paint brushes are cheap, and I usually buy them from the kid’s art section.

The painting done with a technique called drybrushing. The piece is painted with a solid black base coat to begin with. Then I will layer colors by applying paint to a brush and then brushing my hand/arm to remove and dry out most of the paint. Then I sweep back and forth over the piece with varying pressure to catch the texture of the piece. Repeat until done then add detailing. It comes away with a very organic look, in my opinion. My pictures don’t really show the detail as well as I would like. Also, I was using a brush on sealer in the beginning that dulled some of the detail until I asked around and found Mr. Super Clear spray-on.

Qn: What are the challenges of making such sculptures?

The big challenge is selling them. It’s really a niche market and hard to convince someone to purchase something sight unseen.

But as far as technical challenges? I really have to be careful to avoid breaks or paint loss. If I break a couple of tentacles on a foot, it’s hard to get under the overlapping flesh covering. If I drop a piece and paint comes off, matching the exact layering could be hard especially if I mixed my own colors several days ago. For this series, all pieces in the same paint scheme will be done at the same time. Since this is a fairly new project, I’m sure there will be unforeseen challenges that arise in the future.

Check out more details of Shoggoth Shetani at http://kck.st/1sAg63p

Campaign ends 12 Sep 2014

In August 2014, I wrote about my friend Erwin's Kickstarter campaign for The Perfect Sketchbook. The campaign was successfully funded eventually. I had my doubts back then on whether it would make it past the finishing line and it was quite exciting to see that it did.

I was interested to find out how he did it, how he managed to market and promote his campaign. So I interviewed him to find out more. This interview below might give you some ideas on how to market your own art-related product in the future.

What sort of marketing did you do to promote The Perfect Sketchbook campaign?

Without a marketing budget, I really had no strategy. I reckon the way I went at it was more like cold calling. I canvassed like crazy and approached just about every related source.

For a start, I gathered inspiration from my travel sketches and emailed everyone I met through my travels and also companies that I travelled with. These included the airlines that I flew with, the travel agent (Drukasia) I engaged, and the schools I graduated from and worked at. I branched out from there and approached interest groups on Facebook, Linkedin, Blogspot etc.

I paid special attention to every suggestion along the way and took an active role in approaching relevant recommendations. One day, someone jokingly suggested that I should approach Singapore’s prime minister about my Kickstarter project. Guess what? I did and it didn’t work.

What were the challenges you face after the campaign was made public?

The major ones included ignoring hate comments that surfaced when I first began.

Honestly, I was quite unprepared for some of the derogatory terms that were fired at me. It took me by surprise and affected me quite a bit at the beginning of the campaign.

I was never a wealthy art student and could never afford artist-grade materials when I was in art school. All my materials were student-grade. So, I seriously empathized whenever people criticize about the price of my artist-grade sketchbook. I felt insecure whenever I received criticism from people who didn’t know about the cost of top quality watercolor paper.

Then there were also the folks who didn’t understand what Kickstarter was and thought that I was selling a retail product. That assumption was that I was trying to make a lot of money and it suspended them from understanding the real motive of the project — that it was really a personal project that lacked economy of scale.

Kickstarter’s commission charges, production cost and fulfillment cost were the main determinants of the published price.

You mentioned about hustling. How did you hustle? Who did you hustle?

I used the term hustle as more of slang. In America, hustle means that you do anything to make money, be it selling cars, drugs, or your body. If you are trying to make fast money, you are hustling.

In the case of The Perfect Sketchbook, I wasn’t really trying to make money - I was trying to do everything I could to get this project funded.

I approached the National Arts Council, ministers, the prime minister, various ministries, prominent entrepreneurs, foundations, interest groups, watercolor societies, celebrities, famous artists, airlines, friends, art schools, magazine publications, newspapers & editors. I searched for targeted email addresses and would send personal emails because a mass mail would probably end up in spam folders. Most of my efforts failed but many did respond.

I also wrote articles about the project for a few blogs and magazines. Parka Blogs was a big contributor and more than 4% of our backers were from here. My friend Emily Cheng, who was working in Facebook, extended her help by donating her employee credit for our Facebook ads. Her colleague Yuzhi did the same. The biggest surprise came in when I realized that my biggest backers actually came from my own social media circle. My followers on Instagram and tumblr contributed the most to The Perfect Sketchbook. Conrado Almada who has more than 53,000 instagram followers did two shout-outs on his social media for us during the last two days of the campaign.

The Perfect Sketchbook also received endorsements from many prominent urbansketchers, watercolorists, illustrators and concept artists. These included James Gurney, Nathan Fowler, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Ryan Green, Juan Jr Ramirez, Teoh Yi Chie, Anthony Francisco, Peter Chan, Chin Ko, Art Foo, Marvin Chew, Dalton Muniz,Don Low, Tia Boon Sim, Paul Wang, Jane Blundell, Madhu Kumar, Liz Steel, Namchai Saensupha and many more. I have so many people to thank for this campaign.

What sort of feedback did you get and what's your response?

There was some negative feedback when I first began.

Many didn’t understand what it meant to initiate or Kickstart something. They were eager to inform me that the sketchbook was not their preferred size, price and etc.

Initially, I felt rather handicapped over the various pieces of negative feedback. However, there was little I could change because I have already considered all these factors prior to the launch, as I have mentioned in my previous article on Parka Blogs. The decisions I made included just about every variable that came in with the feedback.

Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently to run the campaign?

I probably would not have done anything differently because I really maxed out my resources for this project. Knowing what I know now, I am not sure if I would have done this. When the fund was at $28,000, I thought that the campaign would fail. I wrote the most emails at that stage but it did not correlate to the funds’ momentum. It was extremely daunting but I kept going at it and even during the last 4 days, I was more than US$10,000 away from target. I thought it was game over.

Miraculously, the funds came in big during the last 4 days and we eventually managed to surpass the target of US$50,000 and landed at US$53,000. It was not easy and I slept less than 5 hours a day during the 45 days of this campaign.

The Project would have never made it without the support of all my backers. Every contribution along the way fueled my motivation, and my conviction in the success of the project increased with the number of backers and increase in contributed funds. I fought harder, and we eventually made it. My backers were the true drivers of The Perfect Sketchbook, as without them, this project would not have taken off. I am truly grateful.

Today we have Clio Chiang for this interview. She's a DreamWorks Animation story artist who currently lives in Los Angeles. She has worked on films like Frozen, Paperman and more.

She likes drawing sketches and caricatures of people around LA. After eight full sketchbooks, she's now compiling her best works to put out her personal artbook called Stranger Danger on Kickstarter. The campaign ends on 4 Oct 2014 and you can see more details at http://kck.st/Z5M8rV

To see more of her works, you can also visit her blog at http://blog.cliochiang.com/

Alright, on with the questions.

Qn: Can you tell us about how you got started in art and your training?

I've always been interested in drawing as a kid, but it wasn't until I watched The Little Mermaid that I discovered that people can do this for a job!

I drew a lot of comics for myself and but didn't study art directly as my parents didn't think it would make a good career. After graduating college I went to Capilano University and took the Commercial Animation program. They have all the typical animation school classes: life drawing, animation, design, layout... as well as a class where we had to shoot a live-action short.

After graduation I worked in Vancouver's TV animation industry for a few years, then applied for Disney Animation's Story Trainee program. I got in and was hired out of training, worked there for 5 years, and then moved to DreamWorks Animation where I currently work also as a story artist.

Qn: Let's talk about your Stranger Danger artbook on Kickstarter. You mentioned the drawings are of people in Los Angeles. What is it about them that attracts you to draw them?

There are a lot of actors and creative people in Los Angeles, and I think that many of them enjoy the attention from strangers — they certainly dress like it!

There are some genuinely unique creatures in LA — different faces, attitudes, emotions that are cranked up to 11 — they've been very inspiring to me to try and capture those features that makes them stand out. I think a lot of LA residents wear their emotions on their faces. My first week after moving here I saw a man driving his pet pig and dog in a sidecar down the Pacific Coast Highway — I think strangeness is relished here and I love drawing it.

Qn: How do you go about finding these people to draw? Do you take a photo and use them as reference or draw on location?

They're everywhere, really... Just about any neighborhood you go to you'll find a flavor to its residents. I live in North Hollywood and it's chock full of dancers, actors, and art students, and more than a few of them dress loudly even on their regular days. I park myself anywhere and I'll find someone to draw — the hipsters in Silverlake, cute yuppies in Pasadena, grungy Melrose ave, bohemians in Venice, and the muscles at Muscle Beach....

I will occasionally take a picture if the person is wearing a pattern I want to recall in detail, but usually just get a quick gesture of them down and fill in the blanks from there. I like getting the first impression down, maybe some strange facial features or a unique piece of clothing, but the rest I fill from my head or memory.

Qn: Do you have weird or interesting stories to share about any particular person that you meet before? Maybe about something that catches your attention?

Haha...nothing particularly weird. Sometimes when people spot me drawing them they'll pop into a more ridiculous pose, and I've even had some burst into dance moves. Sometimes they'll pitch me their movie ideas and talk my ear off... But that's Hollywood for ya.

Qn: What tips do you have for drawing figures and characters?

Try to draw the emotion behind your character, and not necessarily the figure itself. I think it's more engaging to see an emotion captured than a very accurate figure drawing (of course, this is important too and should be practiced through a lot of life drawing!)

It’s helpful to take a mental “snapshot” of the person and quickly get a gestural drawing of them down, and fill in the details as you see fit. Usually you can get a better caricature that way; relying on your memories for capturing the notable details, but not getting the exact likeness of them because that’s what cameras are for. Use just enough time to take down what’s unique about the person and make up the rest!

Special thanks to Clio Chiang for this interview.

Check out more details of his Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/Z5M8rV

Campaign ends 4 Oct 2014.