Category: Art
Inktober Day 2 – Weave
Dogs and llamas… is this the inktober theme…
Day 11 – 100 Animals
From sketch to inked page.
Day 10 – 100 Animals
Had a contributing artist joining me today for my drawing session. She was very excited to add spots of colour to the page.
Day 9 – 100 Animals
As mentioned previously, I gave in to my need to draw cute dogs… Do you have a favourite animal?
Happy weekend!
Day 8 – 100 Animals
Half way through…and first storm of the season! Winter has officially arrived. Perfect time to stay in an be creative. It’s the first time that I am having fun with a sketchbook and trying out different things. Are you keeping a sketch book?
Day 7 – 100 Animals
Alight more dogs, but I am trying to mix it up again with. Sausage dogs are the weirdest creatures. And it’s been a long time since I drew a capybara. Here is the whole collection, in case you missed them. You can also find the odd Capybara in my Etsy shop.
I love ink. And yes it can get messy…
Day 6 – 100 Animal
I am still a dog person. I just love drawing dogs.
Adding some colour to the black and white… good to dust off those watercolours as well.
What is your favourite medium?
Day 5 – 100 Animals
The journey continues….
Secretary bird. I had to look up if he actually exists, with all those AI images I wasn’t sure. And he exists indeed, this cool looking dude.
The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a unique, large raptor native to sub-Saharan Africa, known for its impressive snake-hunting abilities and distinctive appearance.
He stands about 1.2 to 1.4 meters (approximately 4 to 4.5 feet) tall, making it one of the tallest birds of prey. It has a wingspan of over 2 meters (6.6 feet).
Day 4 – 100 Animals and Pinterest
The first 10-15 animal took definitely some effort. Effort to sit down, and effort to sketch. Now I am at the point where I am starting to have fun.
I have been using Pinterest a lot to look up reference images and create boards. I only now discovered that Pinterest is drowning under a flood of AI-generated junk. What once was a useful platform for photographs, has turned info an AI dump which is flooded with ads. I didn’t notice it at first because I hadn’t been on Pinterest in months, but it became especially apparent when looking up images of birds and suddenly I was faced with only AI generated non-existent bird species. Beside the creepy look of AI generated imagery, they look like the same same garbage the more you look at them.
I have been listening to a lot of illustrator and artist podcast and the discussion with the issue of anything AI generated. While there are the fast-fashion consumers that don’t see anything wrong with anything AI generated, there are the traditional artists. Art lives through its imperfections. No human generated art, being it music, painting, sculpture will ever be 100% perfect. They might be close but not perfect. And it is this imperfections that gives the artwork its soul and life.
Have you been noticing that Pinterest is collapsing under the weight of AI-generated garbage?
Opportunities for Growth
2025 is the year of changes. Time to embrace them and make the most out of it. The changes are not always positive, but even those are an opportunity for growth and to turn them into positive outcomes. So we are still hanging in there…
You are a flyer too? Check out my Etsy for Aerial Acrobatic prints.
Happy Easter!
I realized the last post has been a while. I was busy enjoying the sun in the Algarve in Portugal.
Despite the lack of updates on my blog, I have been busy with my Etsy designs and was working on my never ending book project. BUT the end is near and I can hopefully get started on the next adventure one soon!
In the meantime here is a little easter bunny for you.
Download, print, fold, cut and pass it on.
Last Minute Valentine’s Card
Are you in need of a last minute Valentine´s card or friendship card?
Then look no further. Here is your card to download. Print, fold, cut and voila!
Honey Badger – To my partner in crime
Blue footed booby – To my partner in crime
More you can find on my Etsy.
Let me know which one is your favourite.
Hyvää ystävänpäivää (Happy Friend’s day!) Thanks for following 🙂
Be my Bird
Another “friendship” card. Inspired by an Irish friend. Still in need of a last minute Valentine’s card? Take a look here on my Etsy.
Honey Badger coming your way
I am all into drawing honey badgers again. If you can be anything, be a honey badger!
Printable card available on Etsy.
Something Something
Yes, I have been busy. Drawing, working, editing illustrations, my first proper commission. So much so that I forgot all about the blog.
Valentine’s day is just around a corner. I prefer Friendship Day, Ystävänpäivä as they call it in Finland. Still missing a card? I put some up on my ETSY Shop.
Good morning
Mood today…
Did I mention I have been drawing birds, just for fun. Any animal you would like to see next?
Print you can get here on Etsy.
Birds of a feather flock together…
I finally tidied up my desk and came across all those ink bottles I bought over the years. Thought it was time to give some of those different colours a try. I usually just go straight for black ink but I quite like the look of the indigo one, the bird on the far left.
Do you use colours other than black Indian ink?
Oh Crab!
Process is slow, but still process. In between my day job and working on my book I relax by coming up with new Etsy prints. Voila!
Happy New Year!
A new year and new adventures… who knows what will happen this year?
For once I started it super motivated.
#1 – Draw a crab
#2 – Finish my Madame Woof Woof illustration project!
Number 1 is done and number 2 is in the works.
What are your new year resolutions?
Melanie Franz 