birds

Eowing Gouache & cape struggle

| Dïne

I’ve just finished my next illustration from the Lords of the Wings collection! I was pretty excited about that one, the most badass of the very few female characters.

I went for a Takahē, a rare flightless native bird of Aotearoa New Zealand. Takahē looks a bit like another of our natives, the more common Pūkeko. So we had a pretty good quote going here!

“I am no Pūkeko”

Thanks to my friend for the super fun idea. Please send me yours if you want to see it painted!

Again, this illustration gave me some opportunity to learn more. First super dumb thing I’ve done: I thought that if I was working on the colors schemes on my Ipad it would be faster. (spoiler: NO NO NO. You’ll see why later).

Here is the color rough on my Ipad, working on the bright lights.

Once the drawing done, I used the masking gum to cover the main drawings, so I can work easily on the background.

I love the texture of the dried masking gum!

Big gradient area with gouache = super scary to work! So I started by making sure the whole paper will be wet.

This article has been originally posted for free on my Patreon page. Check it out to see the rest of the pics!

to see the full article and photos check out the patreon original post!

READ THE ARTICLE

Boromir the Kākā – photos of the making of !

| Dïne

I’ve finished this one last week, so it’s time to share the process and the questions that did hit me on the way of the making! I learn more after each painting. Today’s lesson’s at the end of this article…

“I am still learning.”— Michelangelo (age 87)

This is the second painting the series, I want to play with lotr references with enough freedom so it does not seems like quoting but rings a bell to any connoisseur. I am having a lot of fun painting those characters. For this one I chose Boromir and the bacons of Gondor.

After working on my composition and draft, I made the drawing straight on my Ipad. I use Procreate here.

After working on my composition and draft, I made the drawing straight on my Ipad. I use Procreate here.

Once I'm happy with my sketch, I ink it so I keep clean lines before printing it. This allow me to draw on my paper without damage.

Once I’m happy with my sketch, I ink it so I keep clean lines before printing it. This allow me to draw on my paper without damage.

As always my first step is the masking gum. Then this time I did'nt quite start with the background but with this tricky burning pan.

As always my first step is the masking gum. Then this time I did’nt quite start with the background but with this tricky burning pan.

Once the fire done, I did a background that reminds of a forest. I used salt on watercolor, creating the effet of the light through leaves.

Once the fire done, I did a background that reminds of a forest. I used salt on watercolor, creating the effet of the light through leaves.

This article has been originally posted for free on my Patreon page. Check it out to see the rest of the pics!

to see the full article and photos check out the patreon original post!
READ THE ARTICLE

Free note sheet

freebie note sheet illustrated to download
| Dïne

It is time for a little gift for you my friend.
If like me most of your days are made of to-do-lists, grocery-lists, book-wish-list, etc…
Then you will love this little freebie here!

A cute note sheet decorated with a Miromiro on a teapot, and surrounded by golden autumn leaves 🥰

You can download it and print it as many times as you need, to write all your favorite lists or just to make your everyday to-do a bit more romantic.

This post is originally posted on my Patreon page. Click on the link to see it and download your sheet!

FREEBIE HERE 🥰

A little Gandalf vibe

| Dïne

A little sneak peek at one of my current project:

Southern-Earth
The Lords of the Wings


For my very first illustration of the series, I chose the most obvious one: my Kākādalf. I had lot of demands for this one and after finishing all my previous projects, decided that it was time to put this one as my main work for the next few months.

illustration studio gouache winter
Studio time


Winter is a perfect time to lock myself in the studio surrounded by my gouache and watercolors, with a movie I watched thousand times in the background (I let you guess which one)
I spent a bit of time on the prep for this one: doddles, composition, color roughs. And then 10h on the painting itself. I used mainly Talens gouache.

Hope you’ll enjoy this little commented photo dump. FULL DUMP HERE

kakapo illustration gouache heroic fantasy
Here is my final draft, the composition I chose out of a few ideas
sketch before painting
I sketched the whole thing on basic printer paper, before reporting is with my light-table on the expensive watercolor paper
drawing gum I use
As usual, one of my first step is to cover some areas with masking gum. Here I want to be able to paint the background largely and fast, so I cover all the borders of the characters
taking the drawing gum out is so satisfying
taking the masking gum away is so satisfying. Looks very sharp, I’m happy!
to see the full article and photos check out the patreon original post!
To see more photos please jump on my free patreon!
HERE

I’m very please with this illustration (which does not happen as often as you think!)
It seems like not rushing the process and really taking the time to work on the composition and color choices pays off—who would have known? 😆
Let me know what you thing of it!

My first pottery. And no surprise here, I made it a quail haha

| Dïne

Hello my favourite forest people, I need to tell you about this little adventure.

We went to a kids pottery session.
The plan was simple. Let the kids play with clay.

But then… the parents got invited to have a go too!!

And you know me: give me a creative tool and a bad idea, and I will run with it.

So of course… I decided to make a quail bowl. There are a few families living in my garden, and I watch them all the time. Tiny, round, chaotic little creatures. Absolute perfection. I’m so in love with their silly military march in the lawn. Even got a couple tattooed on my arm haha.

Now. Important detail.
I have almost no experience with pottery.

And I had a very specific vision.
I wanted the bowl shape… but with the quail’s head popping out of it. Including the tiny feather on top. At this point, it already felt like a questionable life choice.

I was not sure it would hold.
I was not sure it would survive.
I was not sure it would not just collapse into a sad clay pancake.

When the kiln time arrived, my potter friend warned me: things can crack, things can fall… Things can betray you.

So when she put it in for the first firing… I was slightly stressed! but somehow it survived. 😆

Then came the painting stage.

We had these special ceramic paints, and I had so much fun bringing it to life. Colours, patterns, tiny details…

And then… the varnish. If you have never used ceramic glaze before, let me tell you: it is terrifying. You carefully paint your piece. You love it. You are proud.
And then you cover it entirely with this thick, milky, slightly fluo-looking varnish that hides EVERYTHING!!!!!! 😬😬😬

Hours of work gone invisible: I had a small internal panic. But we trusted the process (or at least tried not to show the panic)

And after the final firing… magic! The colours came back! And my little quail bowl turned out so, so good.

I am honestly so happy with it.

Also, my son made an incredible lion bowl. Truly iconic. (Already eating his autumn soup in it. look at this tiny lion’s tail going out of it!)
And all the kids’ pieces were absolutely stunning. So much creativity 😍

I already cannot wait for the next session.

Let me know what you think of this little quail 🐦✨