Following on from my last post, I’ve continued to experiment with illustrations for Angela Carter’s ‘The Company of Wolves’ a short story from her collection ‘The Bloody Chamber’. Having completed @Redolaf’s Domestika course, I was keen to see if I could reapproach this story, but create illustrations that felt more like my own style. I’ve omitted my initial attempts (which were fairly disastrous) but I stuck with it and eventually something started to work and feel right.
Initially I was trying to work in colour and use pastels, watercolour and pencil but I couldn’t convey the moody darkness of the story as I imagined it. At that point I decided to try and make it a bit easier for myself by removing colour from the equation and working in a more monotone palette. I also switched to experimenting with a new brush pen that I’d picked up in Japan.
In the Domestika course, I’d been drawing entirely from my imagination without reference, which was a really good experiment. But I realised that I was craving some reference images to get me inspired and help conjure up the mood I was seeking. Images of snowy forests, cloaked figures and photographs of real wolves. For me, It’s part of my enjoyment of creating a new project, doing visual research and finding the puzzle pieces that will inform the work I make.
Having made my Pinterest board, I started to sketch with the brush pen and play. Somehow, a style started to develop and I began instinctively pulling together the different ingredients I wanted for each image. I added a grey felt tip, fat black marker, a dark and a white pencil to my materials pile and was suddenly having a lot of fun layering these to try and emulate banks of snow and shadowy, dense forest.
I had a sense of the characters as I imagined them from the book. The wolfishly handsome huntsman with a sinister secret and the pale, innocent maiden. Looking at my references helped me bridge the gap from my imagination – to the page. So that I wasn’t laboriously copying references but neither drawing so heavily from my mind (which I still find harder for poses or anatomy). Once things were working, I felt so enthused and elated that I was keen to create further images to tell more scenes from the story!
As a final step, and just for fun, I added some of Carter’s text to the images. To have a go at styling them as if they were pages from a published book.
I’m actually really pleased and proud of the final images. They may not be perfect, but it really felt like I’d made a breakthrough with my personal style. They were much closer to how I’d imagined them in my head (compared to my previous attempts) and seemed to evoke the vibe of the story as I saw it. Not to say all of my drawings will be monotone and brush pen from now on, but there’s something about the mark making and textures I’d like to carry forwards into the next project. It was also gratifying to get to this stage having worked through several walls of self doubt, confusion and disappointing attempts!
I’ve set myself a new mini project to explore landscapes and environments over the coming months, so hopefully there will be more learning and breakthroughs to come 🤞 Sending good luck and encouraging vibes to all of you working on personal projects right now, I’d love to hear how you’re getting on in the comments! 😊
I want to try and dedicate more time this year to making. To developing my drawing skills, particularly in regard to illustrating and telling stories. Whether that’s a sequence of images that tell a particular tale, or a single image that’s rich with meaning and suggestion. As such, I felt it was time to ‘go back to school’. To seek out courses, teachers and lessons that might help me with this.
I realised that an illustrator whose work I’ve long admired, had a short course on Domestika; Alfredo Cáceres aka @Redolaf. He creates beautiful, magical, dark illustrations that feel alive with narrative. It’s been a while since I was in any kind of education, so getting a bit of guidance and structure from an online course felt like exactly what I needed.
In the course Alfredo began by talking about how he developed his style and shared some of his influences, encouraging me to think about my own. From Lord of the Rings to Ghibli, to Tove Jansson, Ravilious and Wocco to name a small few. I loved the reference materials and links he shared, including an animation of The Tell Tale Heart and Walt Peregoy’s background art for Disney.
He shared some simple exercises to help quickly generate and explore narrative ideas, focussing on the importance of keeping initial sketches rough and not adding unnecessary detail at that stage. Another task was to take a famous painting and try to reimagine it in my own style. I had fun playing around with Raphael’s ‘Young Woman with Unicorn’ to create my own version.
He encouraged me to choose a story to create an illustration for. I decided to use Angela Carter’s ‘The Company of Wolves’ a darker, sexier twist on the traditional ‘Red Riding Hood’. I reread the story and decided the three elements I wanted to focus on were the wolves surrounding the cabin ‘howling as if their hearts would break’, Grannie’s bones rattling under the bed and the girl ‘sleeping between the paws of the tender wolf’.
I used Alfredo’s techniques to play with ideas and composition. Once I’d settled on a version I liked, he explained how to enlarge the drawing and then, use tracing paper and a lightbox (I didn’t have one so improvised!) to transfer the sketch onto the final, larger piece of paper. He explained how he uses watercolour in stages and shared useful tips and videos for how to paint effectively. I worked back into the piece with a black fineliner to add detail and learned how to embrace mistakes.
What I learned…
This was a great, short course for helping me think about my style and how to shape my ideas to tell the stories I want to tell. It was really effective at helping me draw straight from my imagination rather than reference, something I’m still getting used to and felt excited to explore this. I was pleased with the final piece and learning more about Alfredo’s techniques and process was really helpful.
However…
The piece I created felt too much like it was in Alfredo’s style and not my own. Like trying on somebody else’s clothes, they look cool and I like them a lot, but they’re not mine! SO, I set myself a new challenge. Could I re-approach the same story, but create a series of illustrations for it that really feel like they are from me and in my style? Spoilers…I’ve already embarked on this quest 😄 and I will share the results soon.
What’s next?
I’ve been taking on more freelance work of late so have had less time for documenting, but other than bringing you ‘The Company of Wolves’ part 2, I’m super keen to bring you the second instalment from our Japan Adventure. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere I hope you’re enjoying the first knockings of Spring. Southern friends, I hope you’re keeping cosy as the days get cooler. See you soon! 👋
Happy New Year friends! I hope you had restorative festive breaks. Here’s a sketch made on location at one of my favourite forests, just off Selsley Common near Stroud and the Cotswolds. It’s a little while since I’ve been there but I remember it feeling like being in a cathedral of trees! Such a peaceful and magical spot.
I love drawing trees. Being in a forest or woodland, hearing birdsong, being outside = bliss. Also the beautiful natural lines that trees allow you to draw and the subtle colour variations from one tree to the next are fascinating. Some trees are covered in moss, lichen or ivy. All trees are home to a myriad of insects and often birds and larger creatures too. If someone would like to pay me to draw trees for a living, that would be just great! 😉
This year, on September 27th, my boyfriend Adam and I set off on our much anticipated trip of a lifetime to Japan! If you want the quick version: Japan is INCREDIBLE, we absolutely loved it, didn’t want to leave and MUST RETURN 🇯🇵 ❤️ 🌸 If however you have a bit of time and would like to join me as I share some of my photos and illustrations from the trip, please…make a brew, pull up a chair and let me regale you with a few stories.
Back alley near Senso Ji Temple
Tokyo
Though we were lucky enough to have a whole month in Japan, our time in Tokyo was relatively short. In a way, this was a good thing as it meant we had to hit the ground running, ignore the jetlag and get out and explore. Though I know the bustle and size of the city isn’t to everyone’s taste, I found Tokyo to be everything I hoped it would be and more.
Peaceful parks nestled in amongst towering skyscrapers, swathes of neon and futuristic architecture, as well as narrow back alleys packed with charming bars and restaurants. Criss crossing electricity cables, manga, fashion, ancient temples and mega stores all mixed together.
The City seen from Harajuku
It reflected back to me all of the culture I’ve adored and craved growing up in such a pleasing way. We loved traipsing through the city, spotting buildings that could be straight out of Midgar in Final Fantasy VII. Flavours of Ghibli and other animes everywhere we looked. And there was something new for us to take in at every corner; characterful tiny trucks or construction workers wearing puffed up vests with built in air conditioning units! Posters and designs on every surface, and I don’t think I saw one piece of media that didn’t have at least one, adorable illustrated mascot present.
The first couple of days we visited Senso Ji temple; a great ancient spot smack bang in the centre of the city. We tried our first Okonomiyaki pancakes at a small restaurant nearby and enjoyed sketching as day turned to dusk and lanterns started to flicker on. We returned to the temple to see it illuminated in the darkness before shooting up the enormous Tokyo Skytree where we saw the city stretching out into the distance and twinkling in the dark.
Koi Carp at Senso Ji Temple
We explored Harajuku, enjoying the fashionable crowds and quirky shops. We did check out a cat cafe – we promised ourselves we’d leave if the cats seemed in any way unhappy, but they were healthy and relaxed. We sketched in a beautiful little cafe that was all dark mahogany wood, vintage crockery and jazz piano…I felt like a Ghibli heroine and not for the last time on the trip.
At the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing we must have crossed at least 5 times, just for the thrill of it! After that I had possibly the best ramen of the whole trip, super garlicky and delicious. The bar was small and sticky and I enjoyed sketching the patrons as the chefs prepared our meal less than a metre away.
Shibuya Scramble Crossing, TokyoRamen dinner in Shibuya
If Tokyo seems otherworldy in the daytime, at nighttime it’s a whole realm of its own. I wanted to stare at/draw everyone, we saw so many cool customers! And we were lucky to meet so many friendly and warm people. Though we are a very long way from being able to speak Japanese, the little that we had tried to commit to memory really seemed to help us have some special connections.
Nighttime Tokyo
Nihon Minka-en Museum & Pork Tonkatsu
Conte sketch of traditional, thatched house
We were very lucky to have a magical day out planned by our talented friends; the Illustrator Yukina Tokumoto and Violinist Tact Yamada and their beautiful baby Soaky! Together we visited Nihon Minka-en aka the Japan Open Air Folk Museum in Kawasaki, which is home to a collection of 20 traditional Minka houses from all over Japan. It was a very hot and sunny October day as we explored the beautiful thatched houses and learned about their carefully planned architecture reflecting social status and very different ways of life.
Our delicious lunch of traditional cold, soba noodles helped us cool down, and Yukina, Adam and myself did a spot of sketching. After exploring, we walked through the suburbs to Yukina’s friend’s restaurant Higuchi. I loved seeing the local neighbourhoods and imagining how daily life in a Tokyo town might be. Higuchi’s pork tonkatsu was utterly delicious…the memory of eating that meal sat at a low table on a tatami mat floor, with cold beer, good friends and the occasional commuter train rattling past is one I will treasure forever!
Drawing at Nihon Minka-en Museum, photo by Tact YamadaShirakawagou Soba Restaurant at Nihon Minka-en
The Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
I could write an essay on how magical the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is. As huge fans of Miyazaki’s films and as artists ourselves, visiting the Museum felt like some sort of spiritual pilgrimage for us. Seeing original concept sketches, paintings, models, miniatures…it lit me up inside and I was moved to tears a couple of times by the magic of it. As photography is banned inside the museum building, we didn’t really know what to expect on arrival. This is a master move as it really does give a mystery to the museum and force you to be in the moment when inside.
I don’t want to detail too much what we saw so that you can discover for yourself if you visit, but I will say that it is a very carefully thought out experience. The building and architecture is perfect, it feels like an extension of the films and with many corners to get lost in. It is designed with children in mind and seeing the joy and wonder on their little faces as they explored was very moving.
Laputan Robot Trooper, drawn on the Ghibli Museum Roof
We spent hours pouring over concept sketches and inching through exhibits about how the animations are created. We stopped at the Straw Hat Cafe for refreshment, feeling like extras in Porco Rosso. We devoured (and spent too much money) in the bookshop and ‘Mama Auto’ the souvenir shop. We were there from 10am right through to closing time, leaving speechless with happiness at what a special time it had been.
Totoro in the Ticket Booth, Ghibli Museum Mitaka
Kagoshima
Tiny Trucks at Haneda Airport
After an incredible few days in Tokyo, we flew to Kagoshima on the Southern Island of Kyushu. We had a couple of days here to catch our breath and explore at a more leisurely pace. We spent several hours at the ferry port enjoying the sun and boats. I attempted my first painting of the trip here (with mixed success!). All the while, the volcano Sakurajima loomed up at us across the bay and gently puffed out smoke.
Kagoshima PortMy first painting of the trip, Kagoshima Port
After the bustle of Tokyo, it was nice to be somewhere less touristy. A normal city, with people going about their daily business. We saw our first LARGE spiders of the trip on a steep, jungley walk up to the volcano observation point. We enjoyed a couple of quiet nights in at our apartment watching Ghost in the Shell and tingling with the fact that we were actually IN Japan! We grabbed packed lunches from the 7 Elevens, delicious Onigiri rice triangles and matcha flavoured ice creams.
Kagoshima Schoolgirls
We did a spot of shopping, finding a gorgeous vintage store ‘Grapefruit Moon‘ where we picked up a few threads. We got carried away with mall toy vending machines, spending ages pouring over all the options. From the more well known likes of Pokemon toys to miniature bento boxes, bizarre ‘bread people’ and even miniature vending machines (within a vending machine…mind blown!).
Adam’s favourite Kagoshima Restaurant
Reenergised and restored, we were ready to begin the next leg of our journey and caught the ferry to the mystical island of Yakushima. I stole a quick sketch of Sakurajima from the deck as she shrank into the distance.
Sakurajima Volcano, Kagoshima
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed Part 1 of our Japan Adventure do stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3, coming your way in the New Year. Wishing you a fantastic and restorative festive season in the meantime, Alice 🗾🎌👋🎄
Here’s the last one I want to share from before my Japan Adventure. This was another piece to help me loosen up before going. A little, Eastern inspired study made in watercolour and worked back into with pencil and pastels, referencing a photo from Pinterest. Though I felt like the distant, detailed buildings were a complete muddle at the time, looking back I’m pleased to see that I managed to convey a bit more structure than I realised! And I’m glad the two little figures on the bridge have some character to them despite being small.
I’ve nearly finished prepping my Part 1 Japan blog post, so watch this space as I’ve got photos and illustrations from the trip that I’m really looking forward to sharing with you 🇯🇵 ❤️ ✏️
Here’s another warm up painting/sketch that I did before Japan. I was trying to get as loosened up as possible before the trip, hoping that when I arrived I’d be primed and ready to draw. It definitely helped! However I am starting to learn about how long it takes me to make different types of illustration, and the conditions I need for it…
This Paris piece was created at home, at my desk, from reference imagery. I had time to do it, I was warm and comfortable, sitting down and with all my different mediums within hand’s reach. In Japan I attempted to do similar, mixed media pieces on location. Though I had as much time as I wanted to dedicate to painting whilst there, the desire to keep moving and exploring often won out over the desire to sit still painting for any longer than 2 hours. Especially when it was chilly!
This wasn’t a problem by any means, I did lots of quicker sketches and studies, and often these have much more life than pieces I’ve spent longer on. It was just a useful learning for me, that when I set out to paint or draw on location, I need to manage my expectations of what I can reasonably create within a given time frame. Anyway, I’m quite happy with this Paris painting sketch. Another one exploring watercolour plus dry media. 🇫🇷 🥐
So…since I last posted, I have actually been on my much anticipated adventure of a lifetime trip to Japan! There is a LOT that I want to share, art, stories, vibes…but being an Ent by nature, it’s going to take me quite some time to piece together all the photographs and sketches into the story I want to tell (‘don’t be hasty Meriadoc!’). Meanwhile, I still have a few illustrative and painting experiments that I want to share from before Japan.
As you may remember, I was taking some time to just ‘make’ again, after a long period of putting together my new website. I’d been trying to explore my use of watercolour a little further, getting to grips with how I move the paint on the paper and the sort of marks I want to make. I really like to work back into my watercolour paintings with drawing utensils, so that the end result is probably more of a drawing than a painting. But I’m still working on how I balance that.
Can the way that I lay down the initial paint feel more expressive and confident, the way that I feel when using chalks or pencils? How long does it take me to get the paint down before I move onto dry materials? Which dry materials do I want to use and how do I want to use them? All questions that I’m still exploring.
Coming back from Japan, and feeling very inspired, I’m trying to take some time to think about what I want to do next creatively. In personal projects and with paid work. A period of ship steering if you will. I’ve not figured it out yet, but I know that I definitely want to keep developing my painting and drawing skills.
Recent painting of a local rooftop. Further exploring how I work with watercolour. Though it’s a little wonky there’s something about it I quite like. I’ve always enjoyed chimneys, rooftops, wires and tiny roof windows. I think it’s the way the peek out, almost hidden at the very top of a building and seem to have some mystery to them – what’s in the attic? 👀 🕵🏻
Some more painting and drawing practice from Pinterest. I loved the pastel colours 💛🧡🩷 in this fountain scene. Also the ornate sculpted details, the crumbling walls and just a touch of foliage. 🌿
I’m trying to think more about the sorts of things I enjoy drawing and why…Definitely capturing little moments where it feels like a story is taking place, something has happened or is about to happen, a bit of mystery. I’d like to think more about how I could bring those types of scenes from my imagination and not just from reference materials or direct observation.
Good to be practicing with my watercolours and exploring how I can bring out detail with pencils and pastels.
As finishing the new website (Owlstation.com!) took up a lot of time and effort, I hadn’t had the chance to do much making until recently…and I’d really missed it! Now I’ve got a bit of time and brain space back, I’m really eager to do as much making as possible i.e. drawing, painting and sketching.
I’ve also got a BIG adventure coming up…I’m going to Japan for a month 🇯🇵 ! So I’m trying to get as loosened up as possible beforehand so I can hit the ground drawing when I get there. In preparation, I’m drawing interesting places and spaces from Pinterest (like this one!) as well as a bit of painting local spots and views, to get my observational eye warmed up.
As I’ve usually got some sort of personal project in the works that will have a specific outcome in mind, it felt a bit strange having this relatively unstructured drawing playtime at first. But I’m getting into the swing of it now and I can feel my skills and awareness developing again…which is nice! I think it will be important for me to add a bit more structure to my practice after Japan, but this seems like the right thing to do for now.
Fellow artists, do you set yourself specific goals when you want to develop your skills, or do you just go freestyle? 😄
Owlstation 