Ink

July 30, 2017 By Thomo

Painting On Water!!

This is a very interesting way to paint wouldn’t you say? At his workstation an artist has in front of him a large tray of water which is surrounded by various jars of different colored paint/ink.

I believe the technique is called�Suminagashi as is the ancient Japanese art of painting with inks onto water to create a marbled pattern in a whole manner of swirls, shapes and colors. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution, and then carefully transferred to an clean absorbent surface, such as fabric or paper.

With the right equipment anybody can have a go at this and you can be sure that every painting you do will be different from the last one.

July 24, 2017 By Thomo

Tattooing On Fake Skin

Where do you start when you are new to tattooing? How can you perfect your line work and shading without scratching around on your mate’s arm or taking on your own skin like often people do?

Well one answer for this is to use ‘fake skins’ which are a synthetic rubber type composition which is obviously not as good as human skin but can offer you a good surface to practice on to build your confidence when using the tattoo gun. Unlike human skin, the fake skin does not retain any moisture and so the lines created by the varieties of needles are more apparent on the skin. You can still shade on the fake skin and follow all the normal procedures which are undergone when tattooing a person so it is always good practice to use the likes of vaseline on the fake skin which would normally be used to keep the skin lubricated and minimize irritation.

The fake skin is not as smooth as real skin so when you wipe down the excess ink during the tattooing process you will find that it smudges more on the surface and can look very messy if you don’t use enough cleaner. When the needle goes into the fake skin there is more resistance than when you go into real skin which is naturally more supple and moist.

I would recommend the use of fake skins when tattooing to help you achieve more accurate line work but also to help familiarize yourself with the correct setup of the tattoo gun and voltage speed settings on the DC machine. Don’t go expecting beautiful works of art with the fake skin but do expect to gather experience from them. It sounds gross but a better way to practice tattooing is to use pig’s skin as it is very close in genetic makeup to human skin. It is much easier to shade on and you can notice a huge difference in the ease at which the needle moves through it.

Above all else though, have fun when you’re tattooing and become confident with your technique. There is no right or wrong way to hold the gun but there are certain guidelines you must follow in order to not injure yourself or anybody else.

January 23, 2017 By Thomo

Indian Ink Drawing Techniques

In this Indian ink drawing tutorial you will learn through a time lapse video accompanied by real time voice over narrative how to draw trees, grass and clouds using a variety of tips and techniques.

The first step is to get a large sheet of cold press watercolor paper which you can find online or in any decent arts and crafts store. This paper should be fully wetted with clean water using a large brush before then being gum taped all the way around the edges. This enables the paper to dry flat, smooth and free from warping and creases and provides an excellent surface for you to commence with your Indian ink painting.

This artist explains how in this art tutorial he will be using the ink as a watercolor and offers you great advice on tools to use and techniques to apply to maximise your painting’s full potential. He uses Higgins black Indian ink throughout the demonstration and begins by using a large round sable brush to paint a light wash which is gray in appearance due to its dilution with water. This wash is applied liberally and sporadically and forms the basis of the high and low background clouds and allow the focal point, in this case being the tree, to come forward and stand more prominently within the painting.

As a general rule within watercolor painting the higher the clouds are then the darker they should be and vice versa for the lower and more faint clouds. The tree outline is loosely painted with a smaller round sable brush in a light gray again and is reworked with a fountain pen to allow greater detailing and definition to its edges and outlines. A stipple technique is used next when painting the leaves to create a sense of volume rather than meticulously trying to pick out individual leaves which is a sure fire way to over complicate and potential ruin a painting.

Once the cluster of leaves have been established you can then use the likes of a small round sable brush to softly blend creating further volume and a sense of depth bring the tree further to the foreground. At this point in the tutorial the artist regresses back to the clouds adding further adding more natural detailing with the ink to the clouds and surrounding areas to further emphasise the impression of realism. The grass mound where the tree is situated is painted using a sable fan brush but as with the leaves he uses a stippling technique to highlight and give the impression of certain areas rather than trying to tackle each individual blade of grass. It is because of the shape and style of this fan brush which makes this an invaluable tool for the type of ink painting.

Sable brushes are more valuable to use with inks than their counterpart synthetic versions due to their ability to hold in a lot more ink meaning less trips to ink pot and more concentration on the painting itself. This video is very thorough and ideal for the beginner inks and watercolor painter and harbours some great tips and techniques for you to further your paintings and learn how to use Indian ink.

February 23, 2014 By Annie

Year Of The Horse: Chinese Black Ink Painting

In celebration of the Chinese new year, here we have a painting created from memory and using only black ink.� The painting represents the� horse which is the zodiac sign for the Chinese new year 2014.

What is the Chinese new year?

Chinese New Year, also known as the spring festival, is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The spring festival celebrates the start of new life and the season of ploughing and sowing.

Chinese New Year is the oldest Chinese festival and has many traditions. Before the start of the festivities, Chinese people spring clean their houses to sweep away any bad luck. On New Year’s Eve, all brooms, dustpan and brushes are put away so that good luck can not be swept away. Houses are decorated with paper scrolls with good luck phrases such as ‘Happiness’ and ‘Wealth’.

On New Year’s Eve, families gather together and have a large, traditional meal. There are different types of food depending on which region of China people come from. in the north, people eat djiaozi – a steamed dumpling and in the south nian gao – a sticky, sweet rice pudding.

People will stay up until midnight setting off fireworks to frighten away evil spirits. Red symbolises fire which will scare away evil spirits, so people dress head to foot in new red clothing.

On New Year’s Day children will wake up to find a red envelope filled with money and sweets under their pillows left by their parents and grandparents.

Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival on the fifteenth day of the month. The lanterns are often hand painted with scenes from history or legend. People hang glowing lanterns at the windows of their houses and carry, lanterns under the light of the full moon. A dragon dance often takes places with a dragon made of paper, silk and bamboo held aloft by young men dancing and guiding it around to collect money.

Do the Chinese people follow the same calendar as us?

No. The Chinese follow their own calendar, based on the moon

What is the Chinese zodiac?

The Chinese Zodiac has 12 animal signs. They are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog�and pig. The year you were born stipulates which animal you are.

Here is a table to help find yours and a description about each animal

Happy Chinese New Year x

December 2, 2013 By Annie

Little Bird Zentangle

The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.

It was developed by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts of Zentangle, Inc

One day, Maria told Rick what she experienced as she drew background patterns on a manuscript she was creating. She described her feelings of timelessness, freedom and well-being and complete focus on what she was doing with no thought or worry about anything else.

“You’re describing meditation,” Rick said.

Rick and Maria wondered if they could create a simple system so others might enjoy a similar experience. And so began the journey towards discovering this simple and elegant system called the Zentangle Method.

Little did they know then that it would grow this quickly and touch as many lives in as many ways as it has.

Here is another example of Zentangle

Remember its relaxing, creative and anyone can draw them. Even is you are not a budding artist.� Besides everyone has doodled at some point in their life

May 25, 2013 By Annie

How To Apply A Henna Tattoo For Beginners

A simple and easy Henna Tattoo design for you to create.

Henna tattoos are a fun and safe way to explore body art without pain or commitment. Henna is a natural substance that’s been used for centuries to create beautiful, temporary designs on the body – an art form that is called Mehndi (or Mehandi). Mehndi has been a long-standing tradition stemming from many ancient cultures dating back as far as about 5,000 years, but is most known today for its history in India. Today, henna tattoos are still used in religious and wedding ceremonies in India, but has also gained appreciation in other countries as a beautiful art to be appreciated at any time.

Most who are familiar with henna have seen the traditional designs. These beautifully intricate patterns are similar to those used for the marriage ceremonies and other rituals. They usually adorn the hands and feet of the wearer, and require that they remain still for many hours to apply the paste and then allow it to dry. Henna color has been known to take best to the hands and feet due to their dry properties which soak up and hold the color better, but henna can be applied anywhere. How well your skin takes to the henna will depend on each individual’s skin properties.

Today, henna has been done in many forms including more contemporary designs. Some contemplating a permanent tattoo might apply henna first to see if they like the look before making a permanent decision. Some just enjoy having a temporary design they know will wash off in a few weeks. Whatever your reasons might be for being interested in henna, you are delving into a beautiful form of art rich in culture.

November 8, 2012 By Thomo

Mark Crilley: Adding Watercolor To Your Pen And Ink Drawings (Manga Too)

By pre drawing a futuristic two point perspective rendering in pen and pencil, allowing him to concentrate his efforts on presenting a watercolor wash art tutorial which highlights the keys areas you need to know to further your artistic skills in the manga arena.

By using a variety of paint brushes and some sienna watercolors amongst other brown and yellow paints like ochre Mark Crilley highlights which areas need to be shaded to create more of a shadowed area as opposed to the areas which are cast in light by an imaginary light source.

The pen which has been used previously to draw out the futuristic perspective landscape are bleed proof and water resistant so it is no problem for the watercolor paints to be laid directly over the top of this. The method of using watercolors within your manga drawings and creations is at times a very quick technique to add quick amounts of color to your drawing and create instant improvements.

With this video it is a landscape rendering and can be a much quicker example of watercolor rendering within anime/manga compositions. It is when you start to watercolor render your characters that the intricacies involved with watercolors can become much more technical. You will be using more colors and at times more brushes than is used in the likes of this video tutorial.

This drawing/painting tutorial is ideal for manga fans everywhere and is professionally edited and adapted to help the novice artist with their art abilities. Be sure to use the social buttons on the side and spread the word in order to help others benefit.

October 29, 2012 By Thomo

Young Guy’s First Tattoo

The tattoo undertaken in this video appears to be of an underwater animal, possibly a squid. It has the wave detailing found in a lot of Japanese style tattooing. The tattoo artist is very skillful and quite funny actually but is the young lad’s lip giving away just how painful he is finding it. A great video to watch to show the true gritty nature of the tattoo business.

October 25, 2012 By Thomo

Justin Burnout: Roses And Skull Tattoo

This video shows a time lapse effort of an amazing tattoo by Midlands (UK) tattoo artist Justin burnout. Designed and completed by Burnout is a skull with roses inked up in a popular greyscale style. The finished result as I’m sure you would agree is beautifully styled and finished to a very professional standard. Be sure to pass your comments.

October 24, 2012 By Thomo

Fernando (Darkside Tattoo):Full Sleeve Dragon Tattoo In Stages

This tattoo video shows the tattooist Fernando from Darkside Tattoo studio inking up a full sleeve dragon tattoo on a young male customer.

The opening scene is of the full arm already with the transferred pen tattoo image in place to guide him through his design but he has already begun inking him up with the outline starting from the wrist up to the elbow. You can see just how close up he has to work with the tattoo machine and how intricate some of the patterns are within �the tattoo design of the Japanese dragon.

The video offers a variety of angles with the way the camera work is edited but is also a time lapsed video so offers the viewer a brief demonstration and finished result for each process of the tattoo design. You can see how Fernando takes on the shading of the waves in his design with different colored varieties of reds and the technique which he adopts with the tattoo machine to do this. The video also offers a great insight into the order in which certain techniques must be done in to firstly make it easier for the tattooist and second of all to make the tattoo flow properly and also be created within a certain time frame.

If ever you were thinking of going straight in for a full sleeve tattoo then you have to consider just how complex certain designs can be, a lot of people don’t realise just how many stages there are like filling in, line work, color work etc and so think it is a case of go in and come out within a few hours. If anything this art video shows you just how complex tattoo work can be and that it should be fully admired as an art form mainly through the tattooist’s creativity to conjure up a design and then the full technical abilities and aspects that surrounds tattooing.