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Anja's Artblog

Showing posts with label Illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illustration. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Commission: Fox Lady


 
Hello, :)
This was a tattoo-design commission I finished about two month ago and somehow forgot to upload..
I liked working on this piece - it was very relaxing. :) Looking forward to seeing it turned into a tattoo.

You can buy signed limited edition prints of this if you like: [Prints]

Take care,
Anja

 
 
 
 

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Kafka: Ein Landarzt




"Doktor, laß mich sterben!"


For the narrative workshop at Uni we had to create a couple of illustrations for either an extract of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' or a shortstory by Kafka.
Easy decision!
I've always been a big admirer of Kafka's writing and loved doing the verbal interpretations back in those German lessons. Interpreting them visually is even more intriguing so I just had to have a go.

I'm quite pleased with the outcomes. What do you think? :)


 (I do like Alice too but for me it's just one of those narratives where illustrations are almost redundant...besides it has been illustrated so many times that I'd feel unable to come up with something refreshing.)


Thursday, 3 October 2013

Swan Lake


I have been to see a performance of the Moscow Ballet the other day. They performed Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky.
Everything about it was very enchanting and so inspiring that I wished it would have been a bit brighter so I'd actually be able to sketch right there in the audience..
Anyway I did these pencil drawings once I came home and they turned out pretty close to what I wanted them to look like so I'm very pleased. :)
Hope you like them too.

w.i.p.

 
 

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Commission: ZODIAC Series - sketches and lines


 Someone was crazy enough to commission a series of all twelve zodiac sign paintings.
So I'm very happy to announce that I'll continue what I startet last year. (if some of you still remember..)
Researching them and discovering so many shared traits of friends and family members is so much fun. :3


 Aries - the Ram

Symbol of unrestrained energy, indicative of a love of action for its own sake.


 Thaurus - the Bull

The calm, nature-loving sign associated with music and fertility.

 

 Gemini - the Twins.

Associated with opposites and duality.
Originally one of them was mortal, the other immortal - reflecting something of the basic nature of all human beings.

 

 Cancer - the Crab

All armour on the outside, yet soft inside.

 

 Leo - the Lion

Symbolic of controlled energy, used methodically.

 

 Virgo - the Virgin

..in the sense of independent woman.

'Symbolic of perfectionism attained through meticulous attention to detail'
..this most certainly is true in my case...:,)

 

Libra - the Scales

Linked with equilibrium, well-balanced outlook on life, instinct for identifying with one's environment.

 

 Scorpio - the Scorpion

Associated with death and decay as well as intense sexual energy and passion, although inclined to jealousy.


 Sagittarius - the Archer

'Represents the 'perfect human' - a combination of animal & spiritual power & divine potential.'

paha..I shouldn't let my boyfriend know this.....:,)


 Capricorn - the Goat (-fish)

Duality expressed between the water-loving fish and the mountain goat which spurns the water and longs to climb upwards to the clouds.


 Aquarius - sketch

It's the sign of my beloved sister (and my mum♥). I have though a lot about you while designing him and hope he appeals to you...:D

 


 Pisces - the Fish

'United Duality' - Sign which unites spirit with soul in a form that encourages artistic activity and sensitivity.



Sketches and lineart done for all of them - now I can finally start to use some colour. :)

Monday, 1 July 2013

New Businesscards


 I have new businesscards!! *-* And I love them very much..(I almost don't want to give them away..)
They're foldable ones and look well pretty.
If you want one just order anything in my DaWanda-Shop and you'll get one for free. You probably need to hurry though, I only made a few and at the Arts Fair last weekend they were flying off the table...

Also a note for my lovely German followers:
Ich werde bald wieder in Deutschland sein - wenn ihr also bis einschließlich Montag nächster Woche etwas in meinem Onlineshop bestellt und bezahlt, kann ich es von dort abschicken, was die Versandkosten drastisch reduziert. :) Überlegt es euch!

Outside and inside design.

 

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Commission - Ophelia - Step by Step



Hello everyone!
I was commissioned to create a painting based on the 'Ophelia' theme and finished it last week.
Some people have asked for some kind of 'step-by-step' explanation of the colouring so I've taken more photographs than usual and try to explain my way of working now. :>
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Hallo ihr Lieben!
Ich wurde damit beauftragt, eine Malerei zum Thema 'Ophelia' zu kreieren und konnte es letzte Woche fertig stellen. Einige haben um eine Schritt-für-Schritt Erklärung der Koloration gebeten, weshalb ich mehr Fotos als gewöhnlich geschossen habe und nun versuche, meine Vorgehensweise etwas zu erläutern. :>
Ausnahmsweise sogar in Deutsch, obwohl der Eintrag dadurch leider sehr textlastig wird, was ich etwas schade finde. Lasst mich bitte wissen, wenn ihr dies hilfreich/nützlich findet, damit ich sehen kann, ob sich das zweisprachige für weitere Einträge lohnt. :)


From the sketch to the finished paiting | Von der Skizze zur fertigen Malerei


The first sketch I showed the client. We decided to get rid of the fish and replace them with flowing ribbons.
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Die anfängliche Skizze, die ich der Klientin zeigte. Wir entschieden uns dafür, die Fische durch Bänder zu ersetzen.

 I then roughly transfered this sketch onto water colour paper and applied several loose washes of water colour and coloured ink to create an overall colour sheme. Some salt was sprinkled above everyting and I left it to dry - watching how beuatiful pattern and textures emerged. It requires some patience but it's important not to try and speed up the drying process.
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Danach habe ich die Skizze grob auf Aquarellpapier übertragen und einige stark verdünnte Ladungen Wasserfarbe und gefärbte Tinte großzügig darauf verteilt, um ein grundlegendes Farbschema zu kreieren.
Darüber wurde ein wenig Salz gestreut und zum Trocknen beiseite gelegt - man kann regelrecht zusehen, wie sich wundervolle Farbverläufe und Texturen bilden. Es erfordert ein wenig Geduld aber es ist sehr wichtig, genug Zeit zum Trocknen zu lassen und nicht zu versuchen, den Prozess zu beschleunigen.



This loose mix of colours and textures is usually the foundation of each of my paintings.
Only then I pay attention to the single objects of which the motif is made up.
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Dieser grobe Mix aus Farben und Texturen ist in der Regel die Grundlage jeder meiner Malereien.
Erst danach konzentriere ich mich auf die einzelnen Objekte, die das Motiv ausmachen.

 

 The secret of soft skin

I start outlining the shapes with a reddish-brown, non-waterproof 'pilot' pen.
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Das Geheimnis weicher Haut

Ich beginne damit, die Formen mit einem rötlich braunen, wasserlöslichen 'Pilot' Fineliner nachzuziehen.
 

 I then smudge those lines using a fine brush loaded with water.
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Dann verwische ich diese Linien mit einem feinen Pinsel und viel Wasser.


I create shadow using acrylic paint or in this case marker. Purple was an obvious choice since the body is supposed to look cold and dead. I also added some green for the parts that are under water.
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Ich setze Schatten mit Acrylfarbe oder in diesem Fall Marker. Violett war eine naheliegende Wahl, da der Körper kalt und tod wirken soll. Außerdem etwas grün für die Teile unter Wasser.

 After this I apply a wash of thinned down titanium white acrylic paint over the whole body part. This will look quite bad at first but don't worry (and don't try to imediately scrape it off the paper-like I did at first...) once it dries it'll get more see-through and adds a soft shine to the skin.
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Danach trage ich stark verdünnte titanium weiße Acrylfarbe auf den kompletten Körperteil. Zu Beginn wird das ziemlich schlimm aussehen aber keine Sorge (versucht bloß nicht, es sofort wieder vom Papier zu kratzen-wie ich es zu Anfang gemacht hab'...) wenn die Farbe erst einmal trocken ist, ist sie durchsichtiger und gibt der Haut einen schönen sanften Schein.

 Then I once again add some shadow to the very dark areas.
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Dann füge ich den sehr dunklen Flächen wieder ein wenig mehr Schatten hinzu.


And finally I add some highlights using titaniu white acrylic paint again - not quite as much thinned down this time.
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Zum Schluss setze ich die Lichtpunkte mit diesmal nicht ganz so sehr verdünnter titanium weißer Acrylfarbe.


 After this it's pretty straightforward - some ochre for the hair, some white for the dress, some darker areas to create depth around her body. But no more defined outlines in order to create a flowing effect.
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Alles danach ist ziemlich selbsterklärend - ein wenig ocker für die Haare, ein wenig weiß für's Kleid, ein paar dunkle Flächen, um die Tiefe des Gewässers anzudeuten. Nur klare Outlines habe ich vermieden, um dem Ganzen einen fließenden Effekt zu verleihen und den Hauptfokus auf ihr Gesicht zu lenken.

 
Now some finishing touches like the wild flowers and some highlights of the water and it's done. :)
I hope this was helpful - If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask me anytime. :)
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Zum Schluss ein paar letzte Feinheiten, wie die Blüten und Lichtreflexe des Wassers und es ist vollbracht.:)
Ich hoffe, das war hilfreich - wenn ihr noch Fragen habt, nur zu! :)



Vielen Dank für diesen Auftrag. Es war dir reinste Freude, daran zu arbeiten! :)