Strathmore already had marker paper, but that was intended for concept rendering, such as architecture or product design, not for the heavy application many crafters and other illustrators tend to do with markers. I had order a number of pads of different sizes late last year, but I haven't done any marker pieces larger than the tiles until recently. Otherwise, I'd probably be sitting on on the paper for a while, except for a few finished pieces in the 9x12 or 11x14 sizes. (Incidentally, like many artists, I have a lot of sketchbooks and pads waiting to be used. I need to make my way through my supply.) So, I'm playing with the Strathmore 400 marker paper until the end of the month. A good time to see how it actually holds up.
So! On to the images. Because I'm not sure how the marker paper will hold up to my very messy rough drawing style, I opted to draw the rough sketches in a separate sketchbook. I used a 6.25" x 8.5" sketchbook to do the roughs. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account the size after tearing along the perforated edge, so the original is a little narrower and taller than the final marker page. You can see that in the sketch of the Willi from Princess Tutu. I also left behind part of the arm.
The good thing about the narrower sketch is I can adjust the alignment so it's better centered, although I may lose part of the height. I was able to use the missing arm sketch in the final tracing and inking. I've gotten so used to the bristol artist tile surface that the super smooth surface felt a little odd. Not sure how it affected the inking for either piece, but I'll try to adjust. I used warm and cool grey Copic multiliners. The final rosemary was freehanded in marker.
Today's drawing was fanart of the smartphone game Monument Valley, a fun and relaxing puzzle game. The featured characters are Ida and Totem, a creature that helps her in her quest. As you can see in the rough drawing, I made some effort at proper perspective and alignment. It was a mild success there.
The final piece first had it "inked" with an orange and blue color pencil, which I attempted to knock back with the kneaded eraser. I then used the markers to color it in. I felt it needed to be cleaned up a bit with a brown pen for Totem and a cool grey pen for Ida.
