experimentalmedia

Experimental Media : weeks 3 & 4

experimental Media3

Experimental Media

 

Week 3 : noodles

Yoon Chang, from Fashion123, suggested my next medium: ramen noodles! I thought it was fitting for Lunar New Year (I’m a bit behind on my posts).

My doodles were inspired by the noodles themselves. . .

Noodles look a bit like curly blonde hair

goldilocks_3_bears

Or a squirrel’s fluffy tail

squirrel

Or a solicitor’s wig

solicitorswig

Or waves in the sea. The flavor packet resembled a sail on a boat, and it’s the Year of the Fire Monkey.

monkey_in_a_boat

 

Week 4 : candy

This is a throwback to our Lollygadoodling gallery show last year, a term I coined for doodling with candy. Since it was nearly Valentine’s Day, I thought it was a perfect excuse to visit our neighborhood candy store (Little Dude’s favorite).

butterfly

speakoflove

cat_and_kitties

kissingfish

lovestruck

Little Dude joined me and contributed a couple — can you tell which ones?

Have we inspired you to try doodling with food yet? It’s actually a very popular medium, which I hope to feature in a future post!

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Experimental Media : markers

marker_exp_media

Experimental Media

 

Drawing with markers

Did I tell you we just recently moved all the way from Australia to England? Which means that at the moment our drawing implements are pretty basic since we haven’t received our shipping container yet. But last week, my sister-in-law gifted me a collection of markers. They naturally became my second media experiment.

Markers and pens have never been my favorite drawing tools because I find that the consistent line width means they are are less forgiving; that any mistakes are easily seen, and you can’t erase them! You either have to be pretty confident with the marks you make, or not worry too much if they aren’t exactly perfect. The beauty of this experiment is that I’m trying new things and learning how to use them.

I first tried incorporating the markers in my doodles.

fox_marker

uggs_marker

sloth_marker

 

Then I just doodled with them, trying monkeys for upcoming Lunar New Year:

gee_golden_langur

 

What I learned

Since you can’t really blend with markers,  the best way to shade is by using different colors. I grouped similar colors together, limiting my palette with each drawing, using the light colors as highlights and darker hues for the shadows.

marker_sets

And while the line widths are uniform, you can be expressive with the strokes, as I tried to be with the animal fur, and in the hash marks for shading too.

chimney_marker

The one bummer is that when the markers have been used awhile or if you forget to put the lid on, they do dry out, and may affect the quality of your drawing.

trythisHave you tried using markers? I bet you have some lying around the house. Give them a go! The more you use them, the less likely you are to be concerned with mistakes, because you can’t erase! It’s actually freeing!

 

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Experimental Media : Ikea bits

experimental_media

Experimental Media

 

Drawing with IKEA bits

This year, I thought I’d challenge myself to doodle with a different medium each week. Some materials will be traditional drawing implements, such as markers or crayons, but others will be more experimental.

We’ve featured artists who have played with unusual ingredients: Claudi Kessels (nature), Javier Pérez (corn chips) or Justin Garnsworthy (plastic), so it’s not new, but it’s fun to try new things, mix it up, and see things in a different way.

For my first try, I happened to have many IKEA bits lying around (we just moved across the planet, from Australia to England), so here’s how I used them in my drawings:

dog drawing with IKEA bits

drawing of boy sneezing made with IKEA bits

drawing with IKEA bits of a man juggling

drawing of a bee with IKEA bits

drawing with IKEA bits of a whistler

This last one is by Little Dude:

cat in a car doodle with IKEA bits

What I learned

I enjoyed doodling with the bits — they instantly add character and liven up drawings. I was less precious with technique and creating something realistic, especially because the screws tend to roll around, so it’s a bit more spontaneous and fresh.

trythisNext time you draw, think of ways to add the pencils or eraser to your drawing. How about combining your toys to complement your art? Lego pieces or doll clothes would be great! Have fun and check back to see what we play with next week.

 

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