SusieG Studio

In my previous blog post I had posted a picture of my Holly & Berries sketch. During my sketching process, I had forgotten to take pictures of my sketching adventure. I frantically looked around in my recent photos and found only one picture.

So I decided to sketch another version. I called this new version #2. I started my sketch in pencil with mostly outlines of the shapes and not a whole lot of details.

In this sketch, I tackled the berries first with Blood Rose and laid down the initial layer of color. I remembered to leave a bit of white on my paper for highlights.

I worked different areas of my sketch in sections. I wanted my berries to be lighter towards my light source and darker where very little light shows through. I reminded myself that I needed to let each layer of ink application dry completely. I stopped working the berries and left a few uncolored.

I moved on the holly leaves and created the initial layers with Heart of Gold. I drew lines along the edge of each holly leaf and applied my water brush to the edge and pulled the color towards the middle of the leaf. I worked on one leaf at a time before moving onto the next leaf.

While I waited for the holly leaves to dry, I went ahead and colored in the remaining berries. At this point in my sketch my berries appeared to pop-off the paper. This was the look I wanted to achieve. I also remembered not to overwork my pen & ink washes.

Now that I have achieved the look I wanted my berries to have, I went back to work on the holly leaves. This time, I picked up Prairie Green and applied the color to other areas of my leaves. This coloring process is more of what I’ve dreamed up in my mind. I wanted my leaves to have a blending of two colors.

I picked up my pencil and added in the center lines of my holly leaves. There have been times when I’ve applied my inky washes and forgot to take a break to see what I was doing and my sketch would look a bit wonky and a bit flat.

During my sketching process, I made a mental reminder that my light source came from the top left.

Here’s my completed Holly & Berry #2 pen & ink sketch. Noticed how my pencil lines disappeared under my ink. I left the two upper holly leaves as shapes with no details. They were further away from me and in the background. I should have softened or lightened the edges of the these two leaves, instead I kept adding additional layers of colors. Lesson learned.

Prompt: Create a holly and berry sketch. Use your favorite red, green, and yellow inky colors. Create a sketch with just the berries. Create another sketch with just the holly leaves. For the third sketch, create a sketch with both berries and holly leaves together. 

Inks: Robert Oster Blood Rose and Heart of Gold. KWZ/Galen Leather Exclusive Prairie Green

Pens: TWSBI Go with Stub 1.1 nibs

Journal: Stillman & Birn Beta Hardcover Wirebound 6″x8″