I opened a vein at the art store today. Well, I nearly did. I definitely contemplated dumping red paint on myself and gasping for air at the checkout. I needed markers and pencils and papers and doodads for the second half of my fashion drawing series which is tomorrow. I’m really excited to learn how to illustrate clothing, but I had to do a little investing beforehand in some supplies.

I found out quickly these ain’t yo mommas Crayolas. Each Prismacolor pen costs several bucks, and I, being obsessed with color, became weak at the knees at the sight of all the pretty hues! And you can’t just get the pens. You gottttta get the shmancy colored pencils and the paper and the thing that blends the pens and the sharpener for the pencils and the bag to put the crap in and blah blah blah (I loved every minute of it…) So I bought the required supplies and a few extra to appease my appetite for creativity and then came home to play with my goodies.

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about the progression of my sketches (see here), so I’m installing one more into that timeline today. I finally got my hands on those awesome markers and took them for a test spin! I am obsessed. The soft strokes, the fluid lines, and the vibrant colors are way better than any school supply ever was before. And here I was still worshipping the sharpener in the 64 pack….

…(sigh)….those were the days….

Realizing I haven’t completed my ideal design for the project I did over Christmas break (see here and scroll to bottom) , I decided to draw a more completed version!

My favorite part, was working with the deep maroon and sepia colors together. I loved being able to give the body some shape without making the paper get so moist it pills. I went for a darker maroon look for the skirt, and actually think if I were sewing it, I would use a different fabric that maybe gave it just a little bit of a darker feeling. Who knows!

I realize now I was a little too abrasive with the pencil, her hair is more Miss Frizzle than P!nk, and her lady lumps are, dare-I-say, fergalicious… Also, I decided last minute to outline her figure and garments, and I wish I wouldn’t have. And the delete button didn’t work! 

So anyways, it is a start!! Or, rather a check point 🙂 I am really excited to see what I can churn out after this weekend- stay tuned!

Before that I might need some Adele and alone time with my Crayolas.

*sniffle* I’ll miss you, you waxy little SOB’s