Sneak Peeks at Patterned Persons

Hello fellow visitors!

Sorry I didn't post anything last week, BUT today I am happy to announce that I've officially wrapped up my share of the work for that secretive,collaborative project I've been mentioning. The results of all the effort will be slowly revealed shortly - with some full images making their appearances in March.

In the meantime, here are some sneak peeks of the characters' design processes and more finalized versions:

A mix of pencil sketches, inked drawings, and finished pieces - all cropped closely for this collage.

Prior to starting on my paintings, I created portraits of all the characters from the story. This step helped me to better contemplate each of their personalities, which were then easier to translate into their "in-scene" presences. And yes, they all wear patterned attire (in the end), because I couldn't resist, and more importantly it's part of the traditional Japanese clothing aesthetic.  

Most of these portraits are quite small (4 x 5.25") and I'm considering putting up some originals for sale. I'll return to this thought later and keep you updated. :)

Thanks for visiting!

P.S. - if you don't already, please follow my art on my Facebook page for more frequent updates: Mariya Olshevska Illustration.

Fancy a Fox?

Hello,

So, today I'm just going to be sharing a quick fox portrait I did over the weekend. Though rendering characters and scenes photo-realistically isn't usually part of my illustration style, I do think it's important to practice painting and drawing in a naturalistic fashion. I find that it helps me to better memorize the physical traits of different animals, plants, etc, which later translate much easier to more stylized works and spontaneous sketches.

I usually just like to work with ink washes for my animal portrait, but this time I played around with layering graphite pencil with ink washes back and forth to get the tones and textures I wanted.

Inari the Fox

I've named her Inari, after the Japanese fox spirit. She's a red fox.

Now, here are some process images:

Some ink washes and graphite texturing on the face.

Pretty much the finished version with a white background.
(Eye highlights are done with white gouache)

Played around in Photoshop to see how a sepia might look

Added the background with some more washes of ink and graphite shading and smudging. Also used white gouache to add some highlights to the fur. And some more playing around with sepia toning in Photoshop, of course.

My preferred version

 Prints available here on Society6

Original size: 4.5 x 6"
Paper: Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media
Tools: Pelikan Black ink (17), Staedler graphite pencils, and Desinger Gouache - Permanent White (008)

Wishing everyone a great week, as always! =)

All images are  ©Mariya Olshevska

Freebie Friday - Branches, Berries + Blossoms Textile Textures

It's Friday again!

Here's a textile texture pack that I've put together that features branch, berry, and blossom motifs.
I also noticed that in some of the older posts the images couldn't be clicked to get the bigger size, and I've fixed that. Not sure why that was, but everything should be fine now. :)

Feel free to use these resources for personal or professional projects but please:

Do not claim the original resource images as your own,
Do not redistribute commercially. Basically, don't save and sell the resources as your own, but by all means do share the link to this page with others. :)
Do not use these textures as a base to create your own stock art/resources.

And, please feel free to share anything you've made with these resources with me. I'd love to have a look! =)

Some previous Freebie Friday posts:

Blue Pattern Textile Textures
Black and White Textiles (part 3)
Black and White Textiles (part 2)
Black and White Textiles (part 1)
Coffee Stained Paper
Fanciful Florals
Vintage Inspired
Green
Red
Denim

Have a lovely weekend!

February Free Shipping!

Hey guys!

No sneak peeks today, sorry!

However, there is a promotion happening at my online Society6 shop, where you can find all sorts of illustrated merchandise like: framed and unframed prints, canvas prints, electronics cases, tote bags, shirts, pillows, cards, mugs, and now clocks.

Till February 9th, by following this promo link, you can get free shipping on various items, and an additional $5 off kid's tees and baby onesies. (Offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert.)

So, have a look around and maybe order something. I've ordered a number of things from Society6 in the past and the quality has been great!
 

Northern Spotted Owls - framed print

Triangle Trip - iPhone case

Tea Tag Time - mug

Circles & Curls Craze - pillow

Mr. Holmes - tote bag (I have one :) )

*P.S - For some reason the image colors look a little dull on Blogger today. They're more vibrant on the Society6 page and in real life )

Have a great week and stay warm! =)

And don't forget to follow my Facebook Illustration Page!