Markers and colored pencils again

This is the second piece done with alcoholbased markers and colored pencils, the latter blended with baby oil. After having finished it I noticed that actually quite a lot of thinking went into it: Which markers to choose for a pleasing underpainting? Which pencils go well with which markers? Which colors go where? And not to forget: Which shapes please the eye? 

I also realized that the process of creating such a piece is a slow one and it has to be a slow one. Trying to rush things can lead to an absolute failure. 

I also notice that I am still focussing on doing this kind of art. I still create art using AI Art Generators, but I am spending way less time doing it. 

Alcoholbased markers, colored pencils and a bit of baby oil

I like to try out new things. There are tons of videos on YouTube concerning drawing with colored pencils and / or alcoholbased markers. However, I didn't find any video about painting abstract art with markers and pencils, and I didn't find any video about blending the pencils on top of the markers with baby oil. 

That is what I did. I first applied the markers and then, in order to create some shading, applied colored pencils and blended them with baby oil using a q-tip. 

The painting on the left side was an experimental one from the beginning to the end. This also means that I did not do any line drawing first; I just added one shape to the other. I was happy that I could finally use my very light markers. They are ideal for underpainting. 
 

Traditional art and AI Art

 I do not see traditional art and AI Art as matters which exclude each other. I think there are several ways to combine them. 

Create AI versions out of traditional art pieces
As you might know if you follow my blogposts I have been focussing lately on creating art with colored pencils. Or, to say it more precisely, I have been creating abstract art with colored pencils (which, by the way, seems to be quite unusual). My latest painting done with this medium however ia the illustration of a mask.

A long time ago, I had done a line drawing of a mask and colored it markers, Now I decided to color it with colored pencils, changing the drawing a bit in the process.

I used drawing cardboard as a surface. It is not as smooth as Bristol paper, but much smoother than watercolor paper. 

I then used the colored pencil piece as a so called starter image with an AI Art Generator. 

And this is what Mage Space made out of it. There are a few changes, but the color combination is more or less the same. I feel that it is still "my painting".

Colored Pencils with a bit more planning

I must admit - I mostly do not plan my paintings. I've got an image in my mind - often a blurred one - and then I grab my medium - be it pencils, acrylic inks or whatnot - and begin to paint. However I've got the feeling that I might be more satisfied with my paintings if I invest more time in planning. 

So I drew out the lines with a graphite pencil first with this painting. Then I thought about which color might fit at what place best. Then I grabbed my colored pencils. 

This way of painting with colored pencils is one thing I'd like to do more in 2025. And there is a second thing I'd like to do: weed out my reference binder. Up to now I haven't used my AI images as reference images at all. I've got some of them printed out in the size of postcards; but it might be better to have them printed out in a bigger size. So I pasted one of my latest AI images on an Office Writer page, transformed that into a pdf file and will have it printed out at the beginning of the new year.
 

Colored Pencils painting No 2

This painting was done with colored pencils. I used mostly Polychromos from Faber-Castell, but also some Pablos from Caran d'Ache. Here in Germany it is easy to buy single colored pencils from Faber-Castell and Caran d'Ache. Derwent colorsoft pencils are more difficult to get, but you can get them online. I haven't seen Prismacolor pencils yet, neither in a shop or even online.
The surface here is watercolor paper. The blending is done with Baby oil. 

I am still creating AI Art, but I notice that there is a certain shift of focus. I spend at least an equal amount of time painting with my colored pencils, and there is even a tendency at the moment to spend more time experimenting with my pencils. 

Playing with colored pencils

 

Colored pencils were one of my first art mediums. I used them for a few paintings, but then I had the feeling that I did not like them. Yesterday I suddenly felt like painting with them, so I grabbed them and a tiny container with baby oil and began to paint (I know, that many artists say "draw with colored pencils", but I definitely paint with them, as you can see on the image on the left hand side.).

I used watercolor paper, and I deeply enjoyed the process. So I think that colored pencils will be my art medium for the time coming - of course in addition to creating images with Artificial Intelligence!

Polar bear and cub

 

During the last weeks I have focussed on creating images with AI Art Generators. I had problems with my heating, and the only room which could be heated sufficiently by an electric heater was the room with my desk and the laptop standing on it.

I am not paying any money for creating with AI Art generators, and in the meantime I do this with Nightcafe Studio, Mage Space, Dreamlike AI, Civitai and Bing. Limewire cannot be used for free anymore, and Playground AI does only design anymore. However I am absolutely content with the AI Generators I can still use for free. 

The results you can get with Bing are amazing. I used one prompt:
"Polar bear and cub are walking over the ice, watercolor style, Daniel Merriam."

As you can see, Bing created two images, showing different interactions between the polar bear and the cub. It would be easy to use these two illustrations in a story telling about the polar bear mother and its cub.