Exhibition of the Drawing Course - my first exhibition?

Then, after (practically) 3 years of drawing course with Professor Micael , we had our first exhibition. As I said in older posts, practically all my life I took drawing courses . However, it was only when I was finishing college in 2013 that it started to get clear to me how much I wanted to work with, specifically. From this, I have taken courses in drawing techniques every year, determined to always improve. And exactly where I decided that drawing would truly be part of my life, was the place my teacher chose for our exhibition: at the University of Caxias do Sul (UCS) here in our city (CARVI), exactly in the Design in which I studied.

I had participated in some exhibitions before, with the other drawing courses I did. But, I want to consider this as the first one in fact, because it is the first time that I expose works that are my creations , not just reproductions of photographs. These are works that, although I have used photographic references, or have been inspired by the photos themselves, such as the Swan Queen and the portraits - Andressa Damiani , Emilie Autmun and Zakk Wylde , were the first to be able to leave my face "With some particular expression of mine.

The exhibition would be about the first three techniques studied - graphite, crayons and watercolor . So, with the help of my teacher, I chose 7 designs developed over the last two years, which we believe would sum up my production so far. Not that there was so much content to summarize, but I only put on the exhibition those who really made me proud and completely satisfied - all well known to those who have been with me for some time.

Of course I did a few records of my exposed works, as well as those of my colleagues. It's all in this little gallery ^ _ ^:

Finally! The return of the blog and news for 2017

First, my sincere apologies for the endless days when this blog got into maintenance mode. Of course, thousands of apologies will not go far for Google searches that ended up nowhere, but it was all for a good cause.

For those who are already a blog reader, you will notice some differences in functionality. I had been bothering enough for a long time, and, perfectionist as I am, I could not post posts until I adjusted all the details of the layout, usability, mobile view and even the new illustrations I wanted to add on the pages. Besides, I have a very important news for this year: our team has GROWN! : D

Now, in addition to my assistant Blank Infinity, her trainee (the white bat John Michael), we have a second intern: Sharon a lovely female vampire bat.

But of course I, dividing myself into 3 other personifications of myself, are not truly an increase in team. I was referring, in fact, to the new collaborator of the blog, Gabi: D

Introducing Gabi Xavier

Our newest and probably most valuable blog contributor will fill the Infinite Labyrinth with artistic, mystical, apocalyptic, or inspirational content (or all of that together).

Gabi is from Natal - RN (that is, we live in exactly opposite corners of Brazil), and graduated in Visual Arts from UFRN. He works in a public school, and when he is not in the classroom anarchizing the current teaching system, he likes to paint, draw, create stories and make handicrafts. Now she will also add content here on the blog.

His works reflect his taste for esotericism, astronomy, animals, mysticism and cinema. Also in love with sci fi, steampunk and cyberpunk. He loves all subjects involving art and human subjectivity.

Gabi, just like Emmy, is concerned about sharing relevant content on the internet. So together, we will present our projects, our inspirations, tips and techniques for those who love art and also want to participate in our artistic world in which our creativity dictates all the rules.

For those who want to know a little more about Gabi's work, there are wonderful creations to admire, while our true first post of the year is ready: D

How to apply gold leaf in watercolor - Tutorial

Hi people! Today I brought a tutorial pro blog that was in my head for a long time. At Instagram, I follow many gringo artists and realized that many of them use golden leaf in the illustrations . It caught my attention because I use a very mixed technique in my paintings.

I have researched YouTube on the technique of gold leafing and I have listed all the material needed to perform it. The gold foliage was used in sculptures (gilded carving) much used in the time of the baroque , where the sculptor carved the wood and later covered the piece with gold films. It was widely used inside churches in altars and ornamental pieces .

For this tutorial you will need: mordant varnish, gold leaves, and some other varnish to finish the illustration , as the gilding can oxidize with time and the varnish will preserve its work. In my case, I bought a varnish for the Talens watercolor. Another observation: I used imitation gold leaves because the originals are very expensive. The effect is basically the same. The 14 × 14 cm 25-note pad yields a lot since I use it only in detail in the paintings. The links where I bought the material are at the end of the post.

So I first completed my painting (it is an illustration for my constellation series, Cassiopeia) and left blank the space where I would like to apply the film. The mordant varnish, if applied over the paint, clears the watercolor, so it is important to leave unpainted spaces where you want to apply it .

Application

With a thin brush, apply the varnish to the desired area . To do this, separate a brush just to use with it , as the bristles stick together over time.The mordant varnish has a very liquid consistency, so I usually put a little of it in the cap to help the application.

For the application of the sheets, close the windows where you are, as a slight wind doubles the entire sheet. They are very thin and rip easily . As they stick to anything that has a trace of fat, apply talcum powder at your fingertips to make it easier to handle - but since there was no talc here at home and I was too lazy to go out and buy it, I was in the same race. I scraped the small pieces with the scissors and waited for the glue point of the varnish (while you cut the pieces you want to use, the varnish is sticky and ready to receive the sheet, which takes only a few minutes).

With a soft brush, attach the leaves to the varnish and then gently rub the brush across the area. The parts of the sheet that have not been glued detach, leaving only the shape of the drawing . Apply the varnish to the watercolor, thus finalizing the process. As with the handling of the mordant varnish, the watercolor varnish requires a brush only for the applique because the bristles become hard after use.

The final result of the application is this below. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Any questions leave in the comments that I will answer :)

Artist's Alley on 27th Animextreme, I'm going to participate!

The event is in October (1 month !!) in Porto Alegre, FIERGS. It's the first Artist's Alley I play , although I've been to NerdLand twice here in Bento - which is an event with a similar theme, only minor. And it was precisely because of NerLand that I decided to go into it and book the table at Animextreme: my experience with this year's event was VERY cool, people responded very positively to my work, and to the Sailors project I'm doing with to Gabi . So, I thought, who knows, I might risk a slightly bigger event ?

I think maybe this is a great opportunity for me to be in a bigger event, with more people, and personally showing my art (and all my love for Sailor Moon ♥) . I can not help saying that I'm a bit nervous about this; I really hope that the audience of the event likes Sailor Moon (ideally, more than they like the crowd of invited Youtubers ), since the one who had the childhood after the years 90 is not exactly familiar to this anime. But I'm positive, and who knows, I convince some young people that Sailor Moon is incredible (♥♥).

Of course I have a little cold in the belly with the whole situation, and I'm running to finish all the Sailors and prepare some wonderful prints to launch there. My goal is to finish a few more for the Sailor Drops Project , and as soon as the prints are ready, I'm going to publish some photos here to advertise:

If you have questions, suggestions and TIPS FOR ME (!) About the event, please put all that there in the comments. Thank you so much ♥♥♥

Polychromos - Faber Castell- Conclusions and present for download

For months now I have been planning to publish this review regarding Fabrick Castell's Polychromos line, and finally, now, I have managed to finish it. In a way, I think it was good even my little ( small ? / Laughs) delay, since I have already been able to use my palette in many works and I am absolutely sure that they are the best crayons there are. Want to know why? So come on.

Polychromos is Faber Castell's professional color pencil line. They come with the proposition of being permanent, resistant to water, not to vanish and have very resistant tips. After a year of use, I can confirm all this. In fact, the tips are so sturdy, that they never broke when falling to the floor (and unfortunately I let that happen often). This also makes them very easy to aim with a stylus, since, along with soft wood, it is not necessary to apply force that could cause the tip to break.

Polychromos x Albrecht Dürer

The colors are the same, by nomenclature, as the pallets Albrecht Dürer (AD). As of the latter I have only 36, I can not compare all, but I can already have a concrete idea of ​​the comparison between colors. Polychromoshave very vibrant colors, easy to apply, but they are not as pigmented as AD watercolors. The following image has some examples:

Still, Polychromos offer excellent coverage, especially from the second layer of color . And my favorite part: it accepts infinite layers , and the color continues to merge perfectly with the ones below. Of courseinfinite is a figurative way of speaking, but so far, in all my works, I have been able to apply many layers myself .Even when the area seems saturated, in which a school pencil would have no more effect, it is possible to apply colors with traces in medium pressure.

In my paintings with crayons, I like to completely erase (or as much as possible) the texture of the paper .The most efficient way to do this is obviously using a plain paper. But still, depending on the pressure used, the characteristic texture of painting with pencil appears. Therefore, I always try to use more than one layer in all areas of the drawing, and, as I get closer to the result I want, I apply the last layer with greater pressure, to completely close all the small white spaces that could still be there.

esistance to light

The lightfastness classification of Faber-Castell pencils is as follows:

*** = Maximum resistance. It means that the color of the painting lasts 100 years or more without fading.
** = Very good resistance. Lasts 25 years or more without fading.
* = Good resistance. Lasts 5 years or more without fading.

The vast majority of Polychromos are classified with maximum resistance (***), which are 102 of them.Only 2 are rated with resistance of only 5 years or more, which are the colors # 119 Light Magenta , and # 155 Manganese Violet .

Next, I put Faber Castell's entire table in pdf, from the original site of the brand , with the spaces to paint the table of colors (this makes it much easier to paint the drawings).

Conclusions and present for download

I will reaffirm what I said at the beginning of this review: Polychromos are the best colored pencils in the world . I've tested several brands, and those are undoubtedly the ones that made me more satisfied with the result (and I'm a boring person). I bought the 60 color palette and maybe one day I won as a gift invest in one of 120. But, at the moment, the 60 colors are more than enough; even because it contains some nuances that I do not use (and I think I'll never use it), and I even replaced them with single colors that I ordered from the palette of 120.

As I use them VERY much, my favorite colors are already very small, but for this very reason I took the opportunity to order 3 to 5 units of each one. I even recommend buying single pencils on international websites, because the price here in BR is exorbitant.

And also, I changed the color chart pattern I introduced in my first reviews. I did something more functionalnow, which can be downloaded, printed and painted according to the colors you have. They were small, but it's just a quick reference that should fit in the box (it has to fold once).

A great experience on my first Artist's Alley, and first Animextreme not even that great

On the weekend of days 7 and 8 (2 weeks or so), I attended the first Artist's Alley of my life . I will tell you here why I found the experience so cool, and at the same time, not so much .

I had already participated in Anime / Nerd events here in the city (Bento Gonçalves), which is an interior and people are still slightly more closed to these things (I thought). But as the public response here to my work was very positive, I figured that in a larger event it would be even better . You know nothing, Jon Snow.

I'll start by saying what was good about the event. Why, despite my final criticisms, I loved having participated!And I might even say that I intend to go again. But let's leave the conclusions to the end.

Great # 1: There are amazing artists very close to me

Yes! I met many incredible talented artists , with great initiatives and ideas, that are right here in RS and had never seen anything about them. So regardless of any result, I met new art buds , more experienced people in the artistic life who shared many tips with me.

The first one was Camila Raposa , who had the table right next to ours - yes, of course: I took my squire, Pauline (best sister) to help me with that. Camila does some wonderful watercolors, and is almost the human printer of the characters. She does everything so beautiful and produces SO MUCH that I found it extremely positive to talk to her about it.

Another artist I met there, with a job that I loved VERY, went to Nanda Passos . In fact, I have already saved the references for a future inspirational post.This post on Thiago Krening's Instagram on the event, which I left here, is a great summary of the coolest things about Artist's Alley.

At the end of Sunday, it was my favorite part of the whole experience, in which we exchanged gear with one another. This contributed very positively to my magnetic wall. Now it's getting wonderful:

Blank Infinity and Gabi's Jupiter now have these wonderful prints of Carol and Nanda . I found it very wasteful to stick the stickers somewhere, so I left Thiago , Camila and Capivarinha on the mural as well. There are also the cards of Bruna and Jakie , which I found valid to use as decoration. Was not it beautiful? (I.e.

Great # 2: Many new people got to know my work

This, undoubtedly, was one of the best things, and I can count on the finished goal. This contact with new people has already given me great partnerships, as well as a very positive result after the event - I was so happy with who scored me in the sotries with the prints! ♥

I was also very happy that Blank Infinity pleased so many people . This, of course, brought me many new project ideas with her, as well as other characters of mine that I still want to work on. As for the audience that actually stopped at my desk and was interested in the work, it was really a director for me.

Great # 3: These cosplays

The cosplayers are Liadan Soul (Super Sailor Moon), Dryade (Venus) and Slyth Salaz (Pluto).

But what was so bad, then?

I think I can sum it up in one word: YOUTUBERS .

Yeah, and I'll explain.

It is undeniable that Youtubers are now the "new celebrities" and that they attract crowds. I myself very much like to follow channels of countless themes - from supernatural news to beauty tips, going through, of course, the many artist channels I like. So what could go wrong in inviting only Youtubers with over 5 million subscribers each?

The answer is: CONTEXT . In an event that is defined as the largest GEEK event in southern Brazil, called ANIME XTREME, we want to see what? Nerdices and Japanese culture, maybe? Everything related to anime and series, maybe? Scribes and writers, yes or no? Yeah.

I identified only 2 voice actors at the event's "line up," and they were still scheduled for a timetable that was basically only the exhibitors and themselves on the spot (1pm). Most of the guests I saw listed on the schedule were Youtubers I had never heard of - and for an obvious reason. In a quick search on each of them, I saw that some of them even were on the subject, like Haru and Satty. So, we get into the final balance of official photographs, and what do we have?

My art, a few years and now

In the last months of 2017 I finally got as close to the result I always imagined for my drawings. I finally start to get things done that really are how I wish they were. The ideas, the composition, the colors, the drawing and the painting. I am fully aware that this is not the end of my studies in drawing - since it is impossible for us to stop studying something in which we want to improve forever - but it is the beginning of a stage in which I dreamed my whole life to achieve: my own artistic style .

Yes, the very dreamed style itself . Now that I really know what I'm doing, I no longer feel that absurd fear of blank paper, nor that constant dread of not being able to trace what I'm imagining, or, even worse, having the perfect reference and not being able to use it (this is awful, anyone who has gone through this tastes very well), I can finally work to shape the style of my art . But this post is not about that.

I want to share, in this first post of the year, my evolution in drawing and painting. Many people admire things I do, and some sometimes (unfortunately it happens a lot) feel bad to see works that they consider very good, mine or even of other artists, usually summarizing the situation with phrases like "I will never get there". My goal in showing what comes next is that there is no magic gift , there is no novena, astral map, request to shooting star to accomplish this. The right word is dedication , hard work , persistence - I think the latter fits perfectly. Persistence.

Artists who are better, more experienced, more creative than we should be a source of inspiration, not frustration ! Because everyone drew ill one day, and persisting we can improve noticeably . And this post will prove it! LET'S GO.

When I thought I already knew how to draw (2010)

This drawing I did in second year of college. We should do human figure sketches or something, so I chose Alissa White-Gluz. All in graphite 2b, 6b, something else darker and crayons in some parts.

So I decided that I SHOULD know how to draw, once and for all (2013)

It was my senior year of college, and I had some free time because I had quit my job. I decided I would draw something every day, every day, and who knows, I would learn to draw better and faster. I still had a hard time with a human figure, and I could not always reproduce the reference images. This project was inspiring at first, but in the end it became a complete frustration . I left before the end of the year.

I resumed drawing courses (2014 until 2016)

I was still pretty frustrated with my slow or non-existent design development. The college was over, and now I would have time to spend my evenings on some course. It was by indicating a friend that I arrived at the course of Micael (my current teacher) . I really thought I knew all the principles of good design, but I thought that taking the course from the most basic level would not hurt anyone. And that's what I did.

At the end of 2014 I managed to reproduce perfectly, without suffering, this Emilie here, and this motivated meto continue drawing 

From then on, I began to work with new references, but always trying to modify or create something over the images that I drew to study. My favorites of 2015 and 2016 are the first 3 "bird women" (this series has never been given a decent name). I also made an illustration that would be the first of my series of signs; I tell you, in my first review on watercolor papers , why I take so long to continue this series. In the meantime, my way of drawing and painting also evolved, so I rephrased what I intended for this series, and that Pisces image will also be redone later.

NOW GOING (2017 and 2018)

In 2017, I produced 7 Sailor Moon character arts for the Sailor Moon Drops project with Gabi Xavier . From the first to the last Sailor I drew, I think I've had a remarkable improvement, although my favorite art so far is, without any comparison, the Aries painting.

I am positive that in 2018 I will be able to solve small things in which I still have difficulties, such as certain positions of face and hands, I want to lose the fear of adding contrast in the paintings, and who knows how to learn a new painting technique! But for this post, is the final summary of my evolution:

I hope, with this post, to have inspired new artists in the arts of persistence while learning drawing. I hope my next post on this topic is how I learned human figure to the point of drawing any hand pose without needing reference (!). And feel free to ask and comment on any stage of these learning years: D

Coloring pencils: Sailor Chibi Moon

Last year, I and Gabi Xavier (collaborator here on the blog) worked on the project Sailor Drops. Anyone who is already a blog reader should probably have decorated the whole story, but if you are new here, welcome and get to know the entire Sailors project starting with the first post . All my Sailors were painted with crayons, and in the last six I used watercolor in the background. Sailor Chibi Moon was the one I used to record my entire painting process.

Since my skills in video addition are somewhat limited (and there is no resource available to pay for the publisher), it took me a while to make this material available. But today, finally, I will be able to show how I painted the 5 main Sailors of the series, and also to Chibi, using traditional techniques .

In the image above we have the sketch that I passed for the definitive paper using decal from my own sketch (could be table light). I usually sketch in smaller paper weights, until I get into the composition that pleases me, and then I move the basic shapes to the final paper. From there, I redesign everything in detail, still with very light traces, and adjust everything that possibly lacked in the previous studies.

First step: crayons

I like to start with the main drawing , which in this case is the face, the hair (♥), going to the skin and the clothes. I always set the color palette before I start , and I try to use only the selected colors throughout the painting.

I supposed to leave to add sparkles at the end, but, it bothers me a bit to see unfinished eyes. So, I already got the white Posca and made some sparkles in my eyes and accessories here (before I even started the background):

Second stage: background with watercolor

The background is the funniest part, although I did not feel very safe doing it in this role (totally unsuitable for watercolor, a completely smooth double-face, like the sulfite texture). As the paint dried very fast, staining easily, I had to beat my records of quick watering. Thankfully, afterwards some little stars in the background help a lot to disguise the spots.

The most important finding I have made with this work is that if the colored pencil parts are sufficiently saturated (when you pass so many layers of pencils that nothing else on the paper is visible through this painting), the watercolor does not normally stick to them . That is, I can pass my water over the hair of Chibi, quietly, and then remove the watercolor with a handkerchief.

Knowing this has almost changed my life ! For now I can make the funds without fear of overlapping parts of what I have already painted with pencils, and without the need for a mask, or of "deflecting" these elements at the risk of leaving that dark fillet between the figure and the bottom (I have nothing against this in paintings in general, but to the result that I usually look for, it really does not do).

With the background dry, I take the tape I used on the edges (just to make that white frame), and I went around the moon (in the sky) and the other moon (symbol behind) to make them more evident. I was not sure if this yellow would work for this pink palette, but in the end, I liked the result, it was a good complement.

At the end, the table is not very organized, or clean (picture below). Especially with the last stage of the background, which is the white paint splattered with a toothbrush to make the stars. It is good to protect everything that should not have stars before doing this (in the video of the end you can see better).

Draw {shut down} and wallpapers available!

Finally we have online store ! That's right, I, Blank and the trainees have been working incessantly since the beginning of the year to leave our store a pleasant and magical environment for you. We are still adjusting small details, and adding new gear.

Of course the set of prints of the most beautiful assistant owl in the world is already available, as well as allprints of the Sailor Drops project .

We are so happy with the launch of our store that we want to give you a gift:

♦ Prints of Blank Infinity and its trainees, that set with 6 mini arts ♦

e will make a draw in our (my '-') Instagram profile , and to participate is very simple:

 Follow @emmydalas on Instagram

 Download 1 wallpaper below to your choice

 Use it as wallpaper on your cell phone - it was so cute, right ?!

 Make a print of your screen and post in the Instagram stories , and mark my profile @emmydalas(remember to scratch everything that is confidential, please)

 That done, it's competing!

 Doubts on comments, and good luck ♥

Additional information: When I publish the stories, I'll respond to your story with a number (it's in the order of "arrival"), that's what we'll use in the draw. Shipping is free, on our own. The winner will be contacted by a direct message on Instagram, and should communicate the complete address to send your gift! If the winner has breached any rule or does not return the contact within 15 days (as John and Sharon will find you ?!), the organization reserves the right not to send the prize (we will donate to a shelter for owls). The draw will be on Thursday, the 26th at 7pm.

In total, 6 people participated in the draw. Yes, only six. But considering that in the last one that I realized only two registered ... we had an improvement there, right? Anyway, bad for you that was too lazy to participate. I assigned a number to each participant, and luck got the number 6 ^ _ ^ For those who did not win, good luck in the next (not that I will promote any draw again, frankly)!

3 inspirational and indispensable artistic blogs

Among the best things on the internet, for me, without a doubt is the infinite amount of sources of inspiration and knowledge that we can find in all areas. In this article, I'm going to share three blogs I've recently discovered, from top -level artists who also share a lot of knowledge in their online spaces.

One of the biggest difficulties we face being artists, illustrators and creative professionals in general, is in the commercial part of the thing. I speak for myself, but also for the many cases I have followed closely. A very creative person is not always a good person in sales, self promotion or management of a business. And for our profession to work, we need all that part walking along with our creations.

I've been thinking about that, I've separated these three blogs to indicate here. In them, we can find reports of the experiences that these artists have passed, and we can learn a lot about project management, creative process and the market for artists in general .

 1. Wylie Beckert

Wylie Beckert is an American visual artist, who works with traditional mixed techniques, but also uses digital tools to arrive at the incredible images that are her illustrations.

The first video I saw of her was last year, and it was a video from the end of 2014 - Painting Process: Tam Lin .Very impressed with that painting, method and all the details involved, I accessed her blog to know more. On the blog, she detailed the entire painting process of that image , talking about traditional techniques that I had never seen anyone combine. Browsing the blog, I found a post about independent projects: The Art of Self-directed Project , which marked me a lot. I found it very inspiring and enlightening.

That's where I became aware of all the artist's projects. She was able to create a product with her artwork, and in addition, she managed and launched the project itself ! A deck illustrated with characters from a world imagined by her, in her delicate and detailed technique of traditional painting. In this project, it monetizes everything that is produced through Patreon (platform for artists to manage signatures of their contents, providing differentiated rewards according to the monthly value paid by "Bosses"), and there offers the opportunity for all people - both those who can spend many dollars and those who can only spend $ 5 a month - have access to their art in some way.

At the end of the project, she will have produced several tutorials and step-by-step her painting technique, can sell all the original illustrations, make prints available, and even have the illustrated deck to sell for a very affordable price . I'll leave the link here, for anyone interested in buying the first one, Wicked Kingdom .

Currently, Wylie Beckert works on her second illustrated deck, which will be double. The name of the project is Reign of Sin and Rule of Virtue - with its illustrations inspired by mortal sins and divine virtues . She publishes much of the progress of the project on social networks and on the blog, which already has very consistent articles available for free. To access the complete content, you only have to register for Patreon with values ​​starting at $ 5 per month.

2. Happy D. Artist

This is not a blog, but a vlog ! And it's even one of my all-YouTube favorites . I already knew the work of this artist, but it took me a while to discover her channel. And when I did, I watched practically all the videos in a few days. Firstly, she speaks in a very pleasant way and an English easy to understand for us who are not native English speakers. Afterwards, many of her videos bring important content about the artist profession , and she conveys this in a very positive and inspiring way.

Happy D. Artist is a North American visual artist. She works mainly with oil painting, in the fantasy theme, mixed with pop surrealism . She sells a lot of prints in her online store, but also sells originals and regularly exhibits in the United States. Happy D. also works with the Patreon system, and it is possible to have access to its contents starting at 1 dollar, which includes a "coloring challenge" that she makes every month and then publishes the favorites on the channel.

My favorite video is perhaps what she talks about how she decided to quit her job to be a full-time artist. But all the videos of professional content are very important for those who are in this life and still have doubts (I? Heh ), or thinking about starting to work with visual arts and illustration .

In addition, I also love the vlogs she does showing a little more of her private life, the groom and her pets. She's very charismatic , and very keen to meet her in person (I'm still going to a show in the USA) and I'm sure many - if not all - her fans think so.