Mushrooms

Black and White Ink, My Artworks & Process of Drawing

Hello Friends! I hope you’re enjoying bright and colorful autumn days. And the Inktober, of course! How is it going?

Today I’d like to show you an artwork that was inspired by the forest walks in the summer months.

This year, we went to gather mushrooms quite many times. I saw all kinds of mushrooms; they were different in size, form, texture, and colors. It was simply mind-blowing! I’m so grateful for this experience.

Then an idea came to my mind. What if I create several artworks with mushrooms as the main theme, or subject, or even characters? (Yes, today’s drawing is only a starting point for the whole new series.)

I use the word “characters” deliberately because every mushroom is truly unique. Any of them has some kind of personality. It’s up to the artist to reveal and convey those fascinating features.

Then I started the work 🙂

I’ll say it upfront that I’m going to write a long post and show you the whole process, including reference photos, inspirations, sketches, and steps of drawing in detail. I was documenting everything! But I need some time for it because the post is expected to become quite lengthy. I’ll do my best to make it both interesting and full of value for everyone who learns to draw with ink.

So please be patient – and for now, take a look at the completed artwork.

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The New Video

Moments of My Life

Hello, Friends! Let me present you a new video. It is dedicated to one of my favorite themes – drawing textures with ink.

This topic is extremely important for any artist that uses black ink as their primary medium. In this case, we can’t rely on color. The ability to design a form, convey the light and shadow pattern, and create a credible illusion of texture is (almost) everything we have in our set of options.

Yes, it is a challenge – but also a fun and inspiring thing to deal with.

In the video, I’m talking about principles that allow grasping the most important features of a material. I’m sharing a list of questions that always help me to analyze a texture. Also, there you can see how I approach practice. Two kinds of drawing exercises are here to help you level-up your skills.

To be honest, making this video took a lot of time and effort. I’m happy that it is finally complete 🙂 The topic of textures in ink is endless; the more I explore it, the more this becomes obvious.

Of course, it’s impossible to cover all the details in one video, but it may be a good starting point for some people.

As you may know, my native language is Russian, so I speak that language on the video. There are English subtitles that I prepared for your convenience.

I hope this video will be helpful. Happy watching!

 

Forest Treasures, or How to Find Your Theme

Inspirational Posts, Moments of My Life

Hello, dear Friend. What is your place of power? Mine definitely is forest—or something that has much water with a forest around it.

In a forest, I feel free and curious. My mind is resting; there is no need to rush anything. Also, I like the abundance of colors, especially the variations of greens.

Being in a forest allows seeing things at a real scale. What was important an hour ago, becomes insignificant; all the illusions fade and disappear.

Thoughts disappear, too. Then, the new, wiser and more conscious thoughts come, giving the answers to questions I didn’t know I had.

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I Don’t Want to See the Truth (The Wanderings, Part 1)

Black and White Ink, My Artworks & Process of Drawing

Last year I started a new series of drawings; it is monumental in a way.

To be honest, I was thinking about this series for a year or even longer. In my mind, I was constantly gathering pieces of ideas, associations, stories, personal experience, and observations. This process was painful in a way; I knew I had to start the work—but, at the same time, it never felt quite ready.

Also, I was afraid to tell this story. Where will it bring me? Will it be truly useful for anybody in this world? Is it worth investing hundreds of hours and an enormous amount of effort to complete this project?

This back and forth process continued until one day in October. Then I just took some sheets of ordinary printer paper and started sketching the miniatures of the first three artworks. I drafted everything I had to say, presenting the story as a collection of symbols. Finally, it felt ready enough.

This series is like a living creature. It changes, gets new features and details. I still don’t know how many artworks it will contain. The working title of the series is “The Wanderings”, and it will be divided into “Dark” and “Light” parts, describing our life from different angles.

The first artwork of this series is called “I Don’t Want to See the Truth” and is an autobiographical piece. However, I’m sure that many people will recognize themselves in this story.

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Fish in the Forest

Colored Pencils, Moments of My Life, My Artworks & Process of Drawing

Spring is somewhere close – it feels in the air, in the brightness of the blue sky and in the timidness of the sunbeams.

This winter was tough for me in some way; I constantly felt weak and tired. The work on the personal projects was almost impossible; I couldn’t even predict when I’d be able to advance at any of the things that were in progress.

That’s why I hope that the coming spring months will bring more joy and freedom, especially in the physical sense. However, any option is wonderful 🙂

Today I’d like to show you a series of photos. It was made in last October – needed to say that it was an incredibly warm month, t-shirts instead of jackets or coats. We with my husband took some drawings from my “Colored Pencils Fish” collection and photographed them in a forest.

Just take a look at this beauty 🙂

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My Tutorials Published on The Virtual Instructor

Articles & Drawing Tutorials

Here is the list of step-by-step drawing tutorials that I wrote for The Virtual Instructor – the great place to grow the skills and become inspired!

Drawing With Ink Liners: Natural Textures

An in-depth master class showing the whole process of working on a complex ink illustration:

  • choosing the idea and developing it into a concept;
  • using the method of associations;
  • creating a pencil underdrawing;
  • analyzing and studying a texture;
  • the nuts and bolts of drawing with ink liners.

Go to the tutorial

Continue reading →

Hello!

Moments of My Life

It seems I didn’t post anything for a while… but now am ready to fix this.

This year was very contradictory for me: there were some noteworthy doings, a lot of enjoyable moments, but also some issues, particularly health related. I had weeks when I couldn’t get upright, let alone work. This is kind of sad, but also life-changing in all of senses: I had the chance to rethink all my goals, plans, attitude to myself and my art. This crisis left me bared and cleaned.

Unfortunately, I still can’t be as active and effective as I was before the issues emerged. I can’t work as much, but my desire to draw and become a better artist is much stronger now.

I’m grateful that you follow this journey with me. There are big plans, and we’ll see if I can fulfill them. I hope so!

If you’re interested in seeing more of my current work – sketches and drawings – please check out my Instagram page. I’m posting quite frequently now 🙂

The following post here on the blog will be about all the wonderful in-depth tutorials that I’ve created in recent times.

An In Depth Turorial on Drawing Natural Textures with Ink Liners

Articles & Drawing Tutorials, Drawing With Ink

It seems like I didn’t write here for some time 🙂 Actually, there are reasons for that, but I’ll tell you about them in another post, next time.

Today I have a news that is truly wonderful; it may be interesting for those who want to deepen their skills in drawing with ink.

I was honored to create an in-depth tutorial on drawing natural textures with ink liners. It is published at The Virtual Instructor – an educational website I personally admire. (If you are serious about your intention to learn drawing from the fundamentals, advance your skills or find inspiration, I highly recommend checking this site. I learned a lot there and am still learning!)

My article contains the information on finding ideas for a multiple object drawing, analyzing and depicting various textures with ink, creating an underdrawing of a complex artwork and full step-by-step process of inking it.

Drawing this hedgehog in a natural environment and systematizing the knowledge for this tutorial was a true pleasure. I hope that my experience and explanations will be useful for you 😉

I’d be happy to know if this material is helpful for you – feel free to drop me a line via the Contact page. 🙂

What is your biggest struggle in drawing with ink or ink liners? Your answer can be a starting point for a new tutorial or article!