Inktober Day 3 – Bulky

Went on my first multi-day hike this summer in the Icelandic highlands. 5 days, ca 75 km in total, with tent and food and all. The weather was perfect to say the least. We met almost no people along the way and the scenery was breathtaking.

My backpack was also rather bulky because of the survival sleeping bag I had with me, taking up a good amount of space. All in all the hike was amazing and I am up for another one next summer!

Inktober Day 2 – Wisp

Revisited Mr Fox for the prompt for day 2. Remember him?

Mr Fox met his friend the dragon on his wanderings in the forest. They spent the evening sharing stories next to a fireplace until they got tired and settled down for the night.

Inktober 2020 Day 1 – Fish

Woop! Here I was waiting all September for Inktober to start and then the month started without me noticing!

I haven´t touched my ink and pen since January. I totally forgot how much fun it is and it was surprisingly easy to get back into it. Certainly easier than the previous years. I´m going to follow the official prompt list again and maybe something else… Let´s see what happens.

Just follow the light…

Pelicans and their Fish

Pelicans can eat 4 pounds of fish per day.

They will take large amount of water together with the fish they catch. But before swallowing the fish, they move their heads forward to remove excess water.

Pelican eating fish_Melanie Franz_

Flight of the Pelican II

Did you know that pelicans fly at an average speed of 25 km/h but they have been record with top speed of up to 65 km/h?

Their wing span ranges from 183 cm – 350 cm depending on the species. So yes, they are quite massive and you rather don´t mess with them.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Flying Pelicans_Melanie Franz

Pelican Hangout

Pelicans are very social birds. They live in large colonies composed of several hundreds of birds. A group of pelicans has numerous collective nouns, including pod, scoop and squadron.

Happy Sunday everyone!

20_07 Pelican hangout_Melanie Franz

Do Not Wake a Sleeping Dragon

I bought some red ink as I wanted to try out something different. This is what the first experiment looks like.

The ink doesn´t cover as well as I would have expected. Lets see what I will use it for.

A Winter´s Tale

Winter storms are still going strong here. I started to enjoy watching the snow hitting the window and got accustomed to cosy indoor life.

I am currently still working on a series of illustrations for a friend. But in the meantime I thought I put this little story of my own together.

A Winter´s Tale

On his stroll around the forest Mr. Fox was looking for a good spot to relief himself. Not paying attention of where, he just went about his business.

191011 Inktober_Snow_Melanie Franz

Before Mr Fox new what happened, he found himself in the big black mouth of the snowman who tried to swallow him whole.

But after the first surprise, Mr Fox started to put up a fight.

191220 Snowman Fox_Melanie Franz

On it went. The struggle continued for a while, but eventually Mr Fox was able to free himself and ended up victorious.

191220 Snowman Fox Battle_Melanie Franz

The End.

Feeling Frail

This is Inktober remainder number 2 that I forgot to post. The prompt was called frail.

Flew off my bike the other day. I don´t feel frail but rather bruised and bumped. Otherwise ok.

Curious Crowd of Huskies

I just discovered two Inktober drawings that I forgot to post.

This one is titled Husky. I love how it turned out. I´m still a dog person. What could they be looking at though?

War Paint

This is what you didn´t see. Before Mr Fox decorated himself with ornaments, he turned his friend Mr Mouse into a fierce tiger mouse!

Once finished, they went off to party.

200102-fox-painting-mouse_Melanie Franz

Have you build a snowman?

We are currently having that terrible winter weather that I hate. It snows one day, only to be followed by heavy rain the day after…. So no chance to enjoy the snow or build a snowman. Therefore an ink version has to do for now.

Have you build a snowman this winter?

200102-snowman-and-fox_Melanie Franz

Holiday Exercise

I just found this drawing in my sketchbook. I actually did it just before Christmas but then we escaped to the countryside and I forgot all about it.

It´s like flying into the new year. So far so good. It is nice to be warm and cosy at home while a winter storm is raging outside.