Skull and cherry blossoms

For a few days now I have been changing the way I create prompts for my AI images. I got a nice little notebook with colored pages from one of my friends, and I sit down and manually write my prompts in this notebook. I do this in the morning while sipping my first cups of tea. 

The image on the left is one of my first results I got while using this method. I wanted to combine an object with cherry blossoms twigs. While a skull stands for death or the end of life, those cherry blossoms represent spring. 

 

Painting with Liquid Watercolor and Markers

 Colorex is Pebeos liquid watercolor brand. The range of hues is amazing, as well as the intensitiy of the color with out thinning down with water. And it is also amazing how many shades you get when you add one, two and even three drops of water. 

What you can do also is to wait till the watercolor marks have dried and then apply an alcoholbased markers. These markers are more or less transparent, and you can get very nice color effects doing it this way. Of course you can also do it the other way: first apply the markers and then add a bit of liquid watercolor to them. 

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that both - markers and liquid watercolors from Pebeo - are not lightfast. They both use dyes and not pigments. What I do is to scan the artwork, put it into a binder and have made prints out of the scans. 

From Scrawls to Sketches: Why Your Stationery Should Be as Bold as Your Ideas

 We’ve all been there: staring at a crisp, white, empty page, waiting for the "Big Idea" to strike. Sometimes, a plain notebook just doesn't cut it. To catch a spark of inspiration, you need an environment that feels alive. That was the driving force behind one of my latest creations: the Colorful Flowers and Leaves Spiral Photo Notebook.

The Power of Visual Energy

In the world of creativity, color is more than just decoration—it’s fuel. This design uses a high-contrast palette of electric oranges, sun-drenched yellows, and cool teals set against a deep, midnight-blue backdrop. The 3D-layered effect of the petals and leaves creates a sense of depth that feels like the garden is literally popping off the cover.

When your tools look this vibrant, your morning pages, brain-dump sessions, and midnight sketches feel a little less like "work" and a lot more like play.

Designed for Your Process

As an artist, I know that functionality matters as much as the cover. I chose the spiral-bound format for a reason: it lays perfectly flat. Whether you’re sketching a new character or mapping out a business plan, you shouldn't have to fight with the spine of your book.

Make It Uniquely Yours
The best part about this piece? It isn't just a notebook; it’s your notebook. Through my Zazzle store, you can personalize the sleek blue nameplate with your own name or a title like "My Big Ideas" or "2026 Dream Journal."

Stop settling for "office beige." Give your thoughts a home that matches the vibrance of your imagination.

Colorful flowers and leaves Spiral Photo Notebook
by ullahennig

Variations of a mermaid

 Quite often using the same prompt with different AI Generators will result in getting images which are very different from another. 

This image rendering a cute mermaid was created with Nightcafe Studio. Quite a happy-go-lucky mermaid, with pointed leaves as a kind of hairdress.

The second image was created with Leonardo AI. Take a look at the leaves coming out of her back! And the long strands of hair which were added by the AI Generator. 

By the way, this was the only image out of four which were created - due to moral restrictions.

The last image, created with Google Gemini, shows not only a different pose but also a different headdress. 

From a vector drawing to an AI 3D illustration

 Quite some time ago - actually in 2022 - I did some vector drawings using Inkscape. Here is an example: 

I must admit, it is not very good vector art. I should have spent way more time working on the image. But it is as it is.

Now I was wondering what I could do with it with an AI image Generator. 

The first step was to upload the file to imageprompt.org in order to get a reasonable prompt which I could copy and paste.

The second step was to go to Nightcafe Studio and create an image with it.

And here is the result. I had added "wearing a red scarf" in the prompt and changed the colors given in the prompt.

As Nightcafe Studio offers to remove the background of the created images for free, I could easily do that and use the owl as a design element in my Zazzle store. 

Markers and Stabilo 68 pens #2

January is almost finished and I got two paintings done with alcoholmarkers during this month. More than in December (no traditional artwork at all in this month) and less than in some months in 2025. 

But most important of all is that I actually enjoyed sitting down and spending time with making marks on the paper with my markers. This time I used real watercolor paper which allowed dissolving the stabilo pens far more easily than with the mixed media paper I had used before. It is called "Aquapad" and belong to the Clairfontaine line.

Markers and felt pens

After a month long break from painting with alcohol markers I decided to grab my markers again and continue with painting i an abstract style. I tried one new thing however: instead of shading with inktense pencils I used watersoluble felt pens to add some dimension to the shapes. I kept on using mixed media paper and noticed that I had to be very quick with my waterbrush to dissolve the marks of the felt pens (in the end I had the felt pen in one hand and the waterbrush in the other hand). 

Regarding the quality of the alcohol markers I have to admit that I am not that satisfied with the Einhorn Markers I bought at TEDI. One marker actually went dry almost on the spot. Yes, they were cheap. But I also use Decotime markers from ACTION. These are also very cheap, but up to now I had no problem whatsoever with them!