Narrow Oriental Coptic Stitch Book - Part 1

Part 1 - Hard Book Covers

 Materials used for hard book covers:                                     Tools used:

- Specialty black paper with gold & silver accents                 - PVA glue (LINECO brand)
- Specialty solid gold paper                                                - Scissors
- Kraft card stock                                                              - Bone folder
- Beige book cover cloth                                                     - Wide paint brush
- Clear vinyl                                                                    - Crop-A-Dile Hole Punch Tool

I use kraft card stock as the base for all my book covers, so they're always cut the actual size the cover will end up being (in this case, 3.5x8 inches). The black specialty paper and book cloth were cut a half inch wider on all sides (2 cut pieces of each material).  

Afterwards, I placed each specialty paper & book cloth cut pieces on kraft paper using a light coating of PVA glue with my wide brush. Then I cut the corners and folded the excess over, gluing them to the card stock. The glued pieces tend to curl, so I placed them under a heavy object, allowing them to dry flat. (It's optional to use a bone folder to help lay the paper flat on the card stock). 

As they dried, I then cut 2 pieces of clear vinyl a half inch wider on all sides than the actual cover size.

I added an extra gold piece at the top of the book covers for design purposes. 

Once the pieces dried, I attached vinyl only on the specialty paper side (outside cover). Then the book cloth pieces got attached to the backs using glue (inside cover). Once attached, I allowed these to dry under a heavy object.

 

After drying, I took each cover to my Crop-A-Dile punch tool to create holes where the thread will loop through. I decided not to add eyelets, so the holes will stay naked.

Here is the final result.

Outside and inside of the covers.

Throughout this coming week, I hope to work on the spine and pages next. Until then, happy crafting! 

Sketchbook Friday - Circus Character Revivals

Back in college, I created these sketches for a homework assignment. Ever since, they've been sitting in a box in my room, the ideas collecting dust. I was fixing some files on my computer recently when I found these old scans of the originals.

I like circuses and carnivals, so these characters were an exploration of those fancies. 

For this sketch, I thought of a woman so obsessed with jewelry/beauty, that she ate it. It's one of those ideas where if someone does something repeatedly enough, they'll become like that object/idea.

The drawings I've been doing recently are inspired by these sketches. I think it's time to revive these characters.  Maybe in color pencil, maybe pen?

Are there any characters that catch your attention? The Juggler is my favorite sketch! 

Artist Reawakening - Onew I

I had dropped illustration for awhile since I struggled with personal and financial issues when the recession hit a few years ago. It really crushed my creative spirit. One day, I randomly stumbled onto a music video from a Korean boy group called SHINee. For some reason, listening to their songs lifted my spirits.

After some time (2012), and feeling in a better mood, I decided to work on a color drawing to see if my hands remembered how to utilize art utensils and materials.

- This is the reference image I used. Onew is the leader of SHINee and my favorite Korean singer. 

I drew a rough version of Onew's face and started to let ideas flow on the page. Then I broke out the color! This was my first time utilizing Rembrandt polycolor pencils.
 

Sunset Onew. 2012. Rembrandt Polycolor Pencil, tan cardstock.

I felt so relieved once I completed this. It felt really good to know I still had the heart to illustrate ideas.

Then again, when your passionate about something, that passion never really leaves you, does it?



This piece holds a special place in my heart. I didn't think listening to music would motivate me to dive back into drawing again. It triggered an artistic reawakening in me, something I truly needed.   

Sketchbook - Harvester of Flowers & Sneak Peak

Harvester of Flowers. 2013. Ball point pen and pencil on Canson illustration paper.

This is one of the few drawings I've created that comes close to completion (I have conflicting feelings about finishing works, which I've talked about in this post here). The drawing was inspired by straw hats farmers wear while working and harvesting food in the fields. This Bird Man is a harvester of flowers.

I've only returned to drawing and coloring in recent years after a period of shutting out my passions due to a few personal struggles when the economy went down the drain in 2010. It feels good to know that even though I'm a bit rusty, the drawing skills I've developed throughout the years haven't completely left me.

Work-In-Progress of Pipa and Tak.

I haven't made as much progress with beloved Pipa and Tak as I would have liked, but I thought I'd show a raw work-in-progress of a drawing I am currently attempting to finish. I wanted to flush out their characters and appearances a bit more. Their outfits in previous sketches appeared too generalized. They're clothes are more distinct to their character now. 

I'll definitely have more to show for next week's Sketchbook Friday, so stay tuned! 

Sinister Sisters Pipa and Tak # 1

The Introduction

From all the countless characters I have ever created and drawn, these two mischievous sisters are my favorite. The older sister, Tak, sports quirky ponytails and overalls. She's fascinated by sharp objects, especially butcher knives and meat cleavers. She's the more sinister of the two, plotting twisted and deadly pranks against strangers just for fun.

Pipa, the youngest, has a quiet, killer curiosity and loves to experiment with traps. She's the introvert of the pair and usually follows along with Tak's plans without protest.

I first created these characters during college and they've stuck with me ever since. I've always found children to be deadly in some way, and I'm fascinated by stories where irrationality leads to dire consequences in the name of entertainment.

This definitely isn't the last you'll see of them.