Crafted By Colette

A week before Christmas I received the shipping notification for the December Scrawlr Box. At which point I figured I should really finish off the November box.

Some boxes contain supplies that I know how to use and I’m super excited about, and they get completed within hours of me opening the box.  Some contain supplies I’m not so sure about, and tend to get set aside for a while.

The November box contained the second type.

A day or so before my box arrived, Scrawlr sent out this very cryptic email.

When I got the box I discovered what it was about.  The little black thing above the pencil in my picture of the supplies.  It comes apart into two pieces, and goes back together to make a paintbrush.

I’ve never used gouache before, but it’s something that’s been on my list of art materials to try one day.  I had no idea where to start, so I was a little intimidated.  But I finally started.  By ignoring the supplies and sketching out a piece to paint first.

Eventually though, I had to swatch.

I tried mixing some colours, but wasn’t happy with the ones I produced.  I mean, they were nice colours, but they were totally wrong for the character I’d drawn.  She’s my original character Effy and she has very bright hair.

So I decided to do something simpler instead.  I started with one of my dome monsters.

And I did the latest shape challenge from Studio Tea Break – creating a monster, obviously.

Gouache is supposed to be more opaque, so you can do layers.  So I did the grey colour for the body first, then added the spots and the eyes.  I’m not sure if the spots came out okay, but the eye definitely needed a few coats.

I also did a blended circles exercise, and some dome monsters.

Of course, I couldn’t leave Effy unfinished, so I got out my watercolours for her.

And because I like to use every bit of mixed paint left on the palette, I did more dome monsters.  And a cat in a window.  Because why not?

Oh, and before I forget, the featured Scrawlr Box artist for November was Riso Chan who did this awesome piece.

December’s Scrawlr blog will be posted in a couple of days, just in time to receive January’s box.