Having fun with color mixing on the paper

One way to mix acrylic inks is to mix two colors on your palette. Another way is to use a semi opaque color like yellow to put it on top of a dried darker color. Here I used yellow on burgundy red in order to create various hues of orange. I painted the background with a very dark blue alcoholmarker. I varied the direction of the strokes of the marker and this produced some kind of a texture. 
 

How to create Mockups for my Zazzle store with Dynamic Mockups

 

Zazzle offers some mockup images for certain products, but not for every product. If you want to present your Iphone case design, for example, you better look somewhere else for a nice mockup. 

Now there is a platform called placeit which offers free phone case mockups, but you don't want your Iphone design mockup look like many others, do you?

Well, I found a solution for this. There is a platform called "Dynamic mockups". There are several ways to create a product mockup, but I use it the following way:

1. I upload the product in question to the platform.
2. I click on the "scene" button. A lot of scenes are offered now, I tried some of them but wasn't very pleased with the result. So I go to the bottom of this category. There you can insert your own scene prompt.
3. Now you can just insert a description of your scenery, or you can ask AI for it, copy the text you get and insert it. 
4. As a free user you have three images daily. Once it happened to me that I wasn't satisfied with the three results at all and had to try the day after. 
5. In case you are satisfied with the result you can download the image and upload it to Zazzle. 

Vintage Red Rose Watercolor I Phone case
by ullahennig

Acrylic inks and alcohol markers

There are several ways I have been combining acrylic inks and alcohol markers:

1. I have been using a black marker for painting the background. 
   
   
2. While painting with acrylic inks I left several spots blank and filled up the blank space with a marker when the acrylic ink had dried. In this painting I used markers in several shades of green and a yellow marker.
   
   
3. I found out that markers go very nicely over dried acrylic inks. In the painting you can see several spots of orange - here I went over washed out red acrylic ink with a yellow marker. 

 

Acrylic Inks Watered down

 

This abstract painting was done with acrylic inks mostly. The yellow patches and the black background were painted with alcohol markers. The surface I used was watercolor paper. 

First I did a rough sketch with a pencil and a ruler. Then I added two drops of olympic blue into a small plastic container. I applied the paint on some spots. After that I added more and more drops of water in order to get a watercolor like effect. I did the same with Indigo blue acrylic ink: first I used the ink as it came out of the bottle, then I watered it down. In some spots I applied a second layer of watered down indigo.

I am quite satisfied with the result and will play some more with my acrylic inks.

How I use AI for my Zazzle Shop

 

There are several ways I use AI for my Zazzle shop. Here are three of them:

1. I am an AI artist, so I create images with several AI Art generators. Often I use my own prompts; but in some cases I let AI help me to refine my prompt ideas.
2. I use google.gemini to help me select the products which are most apt for my images. Not every image looks good on every product. So I upload my image to Google Gemini and ask which products it would look good on. Sometimes it will mention products I had not even thought of.
3. A good title, description and good tags are essential for the product to be found in search. So I save my design, take a screenshot of it and upload it again to Google Gemini. I review the result before publishing the product in my Zazzle shop. Sometimes I change something. Then I hit the "Sell" button.

 

Art Deco Tulips
by ullahennig

Abstract Mixed Media Art

When I am painting with acrylics acrylic inks are my favorite medium. 

I got acrylic inks from several companies: Royal Talens offers a broad range of hues in its Amsterdam Acrylic ink series. In the image on the left I used Phthalo Blue Amsterdam acrylic ink. I also found out that the molotow oneforall refills can be used very nicely to paint with a brush - I used their lilac pastel 30ml refill. And not to forget Schmincke's Akademie Acryl Color ink! Mixed with white you can get very nice blue shades. They all work great on paper, either watercolor paper or mixed media paper.

I also love to paint with alcoholbased markers. In the painting on the left you can see the black background - that has been done with a black alcoholbased marker. The light yellow spots were also done with a marker.

Breaking Rules / The Distorted Face

 A face is supposed to make sense—eyes aligned, proportions balanced, features predictable. So when a face doesn’t follow those rules, it can feel unsettling… or strangely compelling.

That tension is exactly why I choose to distort the face in my painting.

In this piece, I didn’t set out to create a realistic portrait. Instead, I broke the face into fragments—angular shapes, shifting planes, exaggerated features. The result is something that exists between recognition and abstraction. You can still tell it’s a face, but it resists being fully understood at a glance. That is what I wanted to achieve.

The color choices play into this as well. The purples, reds, and blues aren’t meant to mimic skin tones—they’re emotional tones. They create contrast, tension, and movement across the face.

Distortion also gives me freedom.

When I’m not tied to realism, I can experiment more. I can let shapes overlap in unexpected ways, push proportions beyond what’s “correct,” and respond intuitively to the piece as it evolves. There’s a sense of play in that process—of discovering rather than replicating. Sometimes the most interesting parts of the work come from moments where things don’t go as planned.

We’re often taught—directly or indirectly—that there’s a “right” way to create art. Stay within the lines. Follow the rules of proportion. Make things look accurate. But art doesn’t have to be accurate to be meaningful. In fact, breaking those rules can open up entirely new ways of seeing and feeling.

Distorted faces challenge us. They ask us to look longer, to question what we’re seeing, to sit with a bit of discomfort. And in that space, something deeper can emerge—curiosity, empathy, even recognition.

The dinosaur roars

I actually created my first AI video with Meta AI. It shows a roaring dinosaur. The video is based on a ballpoint sketch of a crocodile which AI interpreted as a dinosaur. Meta AI offers to animate your images, and so I accepted this offer and here it is:

 

Mixed media abstract painting

Actually I used three media in this piece:

• liquid watercolors, also called watercolor ink
• acrylic inks
• a black alcohol marker.
  
  This piece is a typical "what does happen when I do that and that" piece. I wanted to experiment with color mixing regarding the acrylic inks, and I wanted to experiment with mark making using a black alcohol marker. All this was done on mixed media paper DIN A 5 size. 

The acrylic inks I used were all kinds of inks: I mostly used Molotow refills and a tube of Titan White from a One Euro shop. 

Some weeks ago I had tried out something with watercolor inks and watercolor brush pens. Then I had stopped working on the painting. A few days ago I was considering throwing the sheet into the bin, but then I felt the urge to try and do something with it. I grabbed some molotow refills, a container with water, a plastic container which once had served as a joghurt container for color mixing and a brush. The result you can see in the image above.
 

Liquid Watercolors

I managed to create five paintings done with markers and liquid watercolors in the month of March. In each of the paintings markers and liquid watercolors play a different part. In my last painting, which you can see on the left I only used one marker for the background and on one or two tiny spots. The rest of the painting is done with liquid watercolors. I absolutely enjoyed color mixing, although I find it much more difficult than mixing with tube paints. 

Abstract landscape

This time I wanted to do something different and painted a landscape in a very abstract and stylized style. I mostly used liquid watercolors with some touches of alcoholbased markers here and there.

Regarding the selection of colors: I had some paint left from a previous painting and wanted to use it up. This is definitely an advantage to acrylic paints!

The Joy of painting with a real Brush

This is the second painting with markers and liquid watercolor I've done in the month of March up to now. Painting with a brush takes way more time than creating AI images. I have to think about the composition, the choice of hues, the relationship between markers and liquid watercolors. And the actual painting process of course takes its time. But: I so enjoy creating art in this traditional way! 

The Man in the Fern

I like to create images with AI which tell a story. 
Looking at the image on the left with a man's face is embedded in a huge fern growing out of a bucket I wonder whether a human has been turned into the fern maybe because he participated in destroying nature and now nature is fighting back? 

Or we see an anthropomorphic fern crying out loud because of all the damage humans brought on nature?

You, the reader, are kindly invited to write your own story when looking at the image.

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!
 

How to create AI versions of your Traditional Art

 Actually there are two ways of creating AI versions of your traditional art - with some AI Generators you can upload your scanned painting and then write a prompt like "create a digital painting using this image

There is however a second way to do it, by using imageprompt.org first. Go on this website and upload your painting, drawing, sketch or whatsoever. I uploaded the image on the left. It is a scan of a mixedmedia painting I did a long time ago. 

After having uploaded the image you can choose the AI Model you want to use the prompt with and then click on "Generate prompt".

The prompt I got was:

"An abstract acrylic painting of a stylized mask, centered in the frame. The mask features a symmetrical design with a cream-colored face, framed by vibrant red and pink elements.  Large, curved green horns adorned with yellow accents extend upwards from the top. Black almond-shaped eyes are set above a stylized nose. The lower face is green with a large red oval shape for the mouth.  Details include a small diamond shape on the forehead and the mouth, as well as red spots on the face.  The overall color palette is bold and contrasting, with greens, reds, yellows, and pinks dominating. The background is a mottled mix of dark brown and olive green, providing a textured backdrop. The painting style is flat and graphic, with thick brushstrokes, evoking a tribal or folk art aesthetic. The lighting is even, with no discernible shadows, highlighting the geometric forms."

Now you can copy the prompt and head over to your favorite AI Art Generator. I am using various AI platforms and in this case selected piclumen.com. You can see the result on the left. 

Of course you can always change the prompt, for example change the colors or the painting style.

Lionfish Puzzle

 The days are still short, and it is nice to sit inside and do a puzzle. Now this one here is really hard to do because of low number of colors - several shades of blue and a lot of red and white puzzle pieces! So if you are looking for a puzzle challenge or know someone who loves more complicated puzzles - this is the one for you!

Beautiful lionfish
by ullahennig