A New Dangerous Doodle Tutorial! - Bounty of Beads (Free Narrated Drawing Video)

There is a brand spanking new drawing tutorial up on my YouTube channel!  This time I have shown step by step how to draw full strings of beads that have been dropped randomly on a surface.  This doodle is similar to another video I made showing how to draw beads which are spaced out along a string, so if you enjoyed that one, you are in for a treat.  Bounty of Beads is jam packed full of tips, tricks, and advice, and I have added quite a few slow mo sections so you can really understand the detail.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the appearance of some of my random cartoon characters, who insist on popping in and out to add their own random comments and art jokes.  You can blame my children for the addition of these characters, they watched the video and told me that these were exactly what was needed to spice up the tutorial.  I figured that I should take their advice, as we adults are really kids at heart, aren't we?  If you feel you have lost your childish spark, then maybe this will help bring it back :)

Happy doodling!
Regards

'Pots' - Printable Colouring Page

There is a brand new colouring page in my shop! Get lost in the details and add a few of your own.  I really enjoyed drawing this one, and I hope you enjoy bringing it to life with your favourite colours.  Feel free to send me your finished pieces, I love to see them.  

Regards,

'The Ocean Awakes' - New Colouring Page!

A very good morning to you all! (Well, here in New Zealand it is 3am...one of my bad habits, I'm a bit of a night owl).
Just a quick note to let you all know that there is a new printable colouring page in my shop.  Plenty of flowing lines and groovy textures to get you inspired!  I hope you enjoy it.  Let me know what you think, and I love to hear your suggestions for more colouring page themes.  I hope to be adding many more in the future so stay tuned and make sure you subscribe to my blog and newsletter (and don't forget my YouTube channel!).
Regards,

Flying Girl - A New Drawing Video!

Time flies, doesn't it? Perhaps you have been wondering where I have been all this time, so I thought I would combine a speed drawing with some news about what I have been up to.  So much has happened since my last video.  Thank you to those of you who have subscribed, especially those who have been following my channel for a long time.  Your support and encouragement means so much to me.  I am feeling excited about making videos, and hope to have lots more coming your way soon. There are so many ideas in my head, if only there was more time!

Regards,

Teeny Tiny Paintings Embellished with Seed Bead Embroidery

Hello again everyone! Lately I have been working on some new pieces of jewellery for my shop.

I have been thinking of ways to make my jewellery look more unique, and I came up with the idea of using original ink and watercolour paintings as the focal point.

I am also very much into beaded embroidery, so I merged the two and came up with these mini artworks.  I have included some photos for you to enjoy.

I will be adding items one by one in my shop as I finish them.  Check them out and tell me what you think.

Regards,

'Art Activity Cards' Instant Download Printable

An example of one of the Art Activity Cards.

I'm happy to introduce my new 'Art Activity Cards' for all those keen doodlers out there.  These are fun for children, teens, or adults.  The 29 different activities are available for instant download on my Printables Page , or in my Etsy shop, for a very affordable price.  I hope you enjoy them!  I would also love to see any completed activities, feel free to share them with me on Facebook.


These would be great for teachers too!  Please share with anyone who you think would like to use them.

Find the cards here

Three Sparkly New Videos!

    Goodness, it has been a long time since my last post, but I am going to make it up to you all by posting three videos for you to enjoy.  Two of the videos are proper tutorials with instructions ('Dangerous Doodles') and the other is just a fun experiment I painted a while ago.  I hope they inspire you to pick up your paints or pens and go for it.  As always I love to read your comments, wherever you choose to add them (Youtube, my blog, my website, facebook, twitter etc) and I can't wait to read what you think of my latest videos.  Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter, I am working on the next issue at this very moment (see the 'Swamp' link on the left sidebar of this blog).  Newsletter subscribers are special because they get extra goodies :)  You can also catch all the MM news by subscribing to my channel on Youtube, and liking my page on Facebook.

Here are the videos:
'Egg-Shaped Tree' Speed Paint Doodle
Draw Beads Tutorial
Draw Snakes Tutorial



Regards,

Experimenting With Markers and Calico.

Sometimes I just grab whatever I can find and start drawing, especially if I am feeling stressed, or need to clear my mind.  If I think too much about it, I will end up doing nothing, so I just begin quickly.  This time I found a bit of cut up calico (natural unbleached cotton) and some permanent markers.  This is what I ended up with.  I now have quite of a collection of these random drawings on calico, which I keep in a display folder.  I'm not sure what I will do with them but I am 'saving them for a rainy day' as they say...and knowing the weather in Wellington, where I live, I shouldn't have to wait that long! Maybe you have some ideas for what I should do with them?  I would love to know...tell me in the comments below :)

Braided Tree

I just wanted to show you this amazing tree we found in the grounds of our local hospital.  I couldn't pass without taking some photos.  Isn't is wonderful?  It looks as though it has been loosely plaited/braided over a very long period of time.  It has real character, don't you think?  I noticed a sign on it saying that it was protected by the local council, and no one was allowed to chop it down, which is nice.  Above is a photo of the tree with my son standing at the base, to show how big it is. You can see more of the beautiful texture and details in the close-up below.  I love the colour of it, too...sort of reminds me of old grey stone.  I think it must be very old.  I'm glad I caught a photo of it, I hope to draw it one day when I have a spare moment.

You're All So Awesome!

Recently my daughter was in hospital for 5 days with a severe, rather scary asthma attack.  At one stage I heard the doctor say to a nurse 'Tell intensive care to get ready just in case we need to send her there'.  You can imagine how my heart began pounding when I head that.  Asthma is something that many people, especially children, suffer from in New Zealand, which has one of the highest asthma rates in the world.  I have three children, and all of them have asthma, so we tend to dread winter, as either one or all of our children end up in the emergency department at one stage or another, sometimes more than once. Our neighbours must really wonder what is going on at our house, when once a week the ambulance turns up in the middle of the night!  The ambulance paramedics know us all very well now!

 AlhamduliAllah (Thank God) my daughter is much better now, and enjoying the warmer weather and better health.  Here is a photo of her in her favourite 'Hello Kitty' pyjamas, fighting the boredom of being stuck in bed, playing games and drawing on the tablet.  While she was in hospital, I posted a rainbow drawing she made when she began to feel better, on my Facebook page. Many of my lovely viewers/readers/fellow bloggers saw it and responded with such lovely comments of support. I just wanted to say thank you from us for thinking of us, and your uplifting comments.  Being in the children's ward for 5 days makes you feel very 'cut off' from the rest of the world, and it was nice to know I could still connect with everyone through the internet.

I also posted some of the beautiful murals that line the walls of the children's ward in the hospital.  You can view those here.

Once again, thanks to you all, we really appreciate it.

Now's Your Chance!

As if my printables were not enough of a bargain (most are only $1.50 USD each), 

now you can get one for free!  

To choose yours, jump over here.

Happy printing!

Making the Most of Things

Being stuck in the hospital with my sick daughter may not be such a bad thing after all...at least I have internet connection here, which means I can show you this amazing mural which greets us every time we visit the children's ward. I have been meaning to show it to you for a while as I know you are the sort of people who will appreciate the work that must have gone into it. It was painted by a group of artists whose names are shown in the last photo. The mural covers the whole hallway around the ward and it is quite long. I will try to post more photos as the days go by.    Regards, MM.

How To Use Line Thickness to Create the Illusion of Distance.

HANDY DRAWING TRICK:

Varying your line width can create the illusion of distance.

You can show that something is far away (a small tree in the distance, for example) if you use a very thin nib size. For objects that are closer, use a thicker nib size.

You can see this in the drawing on the left, which has been displayed in steps to make things simple.

Following the tutorial below, try drawing it yourself, using the different pens you have in your collection. Begin with black pen, and then experiment with different colours.

You can also try this technique with different sized paintbrushes, charcoal pencil, pastels, etc.  Shades of colour can also be used to create distance (or depth) but I will show you that in another tutorial.  Happy drawing!

STEP 1
Draw a simple border.

STEP 2
Draw some objects in the foreground using a fairly
thick line.  I began with the sunflower on the left,
then worked my way over to the shell
object on the right. Overlapping objects
also helps to show which are closer
and which are further away.

STEP 3
I have now added some low hills and trees in the distance,
using thinner line of about half the width of the
line you used in step 2.
Can you see how the flowers at the front are
drawn with thick lines, and the hills are drawn with
thinner lines? It automatically makes the hills look
further away...tricky!

STEP 4
Now draw something even further away, such as the
steep mountains in this picture.  I have chosen a black pen with an
even thinner nib for this one.  The lines are fading off into the distance
quite nicely now.

STEP 5
Now for some puffy clouds to complete the landscape.
They are behind the steep mountains, so I will draw them with the thinnest
line yet.  If you look closely, you can even see that I have
not completed the lines on the clouds, but used some small
dots instead.  These clouds are so far away,
they are becoming invisible!

STEP 6
Step back and admire your drawing
with a happy sigh.
  Well done...you've finished!

How did your drawing turn out?  Did you draw the same, or something different?  Share your drawing in our 'Dangerous Doodle' Flickr group.

Did you like this tutorial? Rate and comment below.  If you think others might enjoy learning this drawing trick, you are welcome to share it with them.

Softies With a Difference

I have been making odds and ends out of calico (natural unbleached cotton) lately. I had many offcuts left over from various other projects which I had saved in a big box.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I came up with some strange soft-sculpture type objects.  

Click to enlarge.

These are not the sort of stuffed pillows you might rest your head on at night and have sweet dreams, I expect some of them might have the opposite effect.  So I have put them on a shelf in my online shop in case anyone as weird as me wants to buy them.  I'm sure there is someone on whose wall they would look fantastic.  I am not sure if they would match anyone's décor, though, but I guess you never know.  They were heaps of fun to make.  I think I will make some more...maybe a whole set.

Regards,  

Drawing With Gloves On

It has been pretty cold here in Wellington, New Zealand, this winter. We had a huge storm that uprooted many trees and did a lot of damage.  A couple of years ago, it snowed, which was not something that normally happens here.


I think this photo demonstrates how cold it has been. This is me working on my drawing tablet.  Those are gloves by the way, there is no moss growing on my hands hehe.

Hope it's nice and warm where you are! Regards,

Moleskine Malarky

The completed Moleskine cover...before the disaster!

If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember a Moleskine Journal cover that I was decorating a while ago. I posted some photos of the progress. I was so happy with the finished piece, and was all ready to offer it for sale on my online shop, but as things went, it wasn't meant to happen. I left it in what I thought was a safe place. However, someone else also thought it would be a good place to put a spray bottle full of water, which decided to tip over somehow and leak water all over the Moleskine.

Oh dear...spray bottles and Moleskines do not mix.
Those pages are completely warped!

So now there is a lovely big watermark right through the middle of the journal. All was not lost, though. The good thing was that the water didn't really touch the outside of the journal. So I scanned the drawing and decided to play around with it a bit digitally. Here you can see I have experimented with a series of panels. I was happy with this until I resized the image and made it smaller, and then realised it looks as if the viewer is looking at the scene through a set of prison bars. Not the uplifting, relaxing effect I was going for. Back to the drawing board!

The cover design, digitally salvaged.  I was playing around with
using panels to divide the composition, but I think this could remind
people of  the idea of looking out of a prison cell window, with those
three 'bars' .  Back to the Photoshop drawing board!