October calendar: Cold hands

Fairy tales are famously hard on the feet (per Kelly Link’s “Travels With The Snow Queen”), but they aren’t kind to hands, either.

So here, for Halloween (and with the very excellent support of my patrons) is a collection of specific and general fairy-tale hands: spindle-pricked, scissor wielding, changed to silver, unlocking doors… (I’m including a non-blue-handed version, for those less spookily inclined, but the black-and-blue really does look rather like the colour schemes in Edmund Dulac’s fairy tale illustrations).

I also really like the underlay-colours here. Still want to work up a design like this without lines, but I keep getting distracted by detail. I should start with silhouettes.

I’ve also created a repeating pattern of this design, and it is now up on Redbubble on notebooks, dresses, etc (as part of my Halloween and Fairytale collections) (and if you like fabric by the yard, I’m waiting for test prints from Spoonflower). Incidentally, Girls Running From Houses (from last October) is now a repeating pattern and is on there too.

Edit to add: I’ve added the blue background (pink hand) version to Redbubble, too: Take My Hands.

The files below are for personal use and — as I mentioned — are done with the help of my wonderful supporters on Patreon (who also get sneak-peeks, variant colours, stationery, new Daleks, etc). If you’d like to join as a patron (from $1!) or otherwise throw a few coins in the tip jar to help the calendar keep happening, that would be very welcome — the calendar is fun, but takes a lot of time.

Note re links: I’m experimenting with affiliate links, which means I might get paid a small commission if someone buys something after clicking a link on my site. This is my first attempt, so I’m really just testing out the program links at this point!

September Calendar: Dragons!

Somehow — somehow — here is the September calendar. I hurt my hip badly and have been largely horizontal for over a week, which is more than inconvenient for a self-employed artist — if you’ve ever considered supporting the calendar through the Patreon (or the tip jar at Paypal.me/tanaudel) this would be an incredibly helpful time. Even better, there’s a backlog of stationery and stories on the way for supporters at those levels, once I’m on my feet.

But this afternoon I managed to prop myself up at a standing desk for long enough to ink a few dragons, and then sprawl over the bed to construct the rest of the calendar — and it isn’t even (quite) September yet!

Below — for personal use — are two versions of the calendar: pre-coloured, or to print and colour yourself.

I have… quite a few extra dragons to work out what to do with now!

August Calendar: Woodland folk

Welcome to the August calendar! Brought to you, as ever, with the help of those of you who are patrons on Patreon.

This terribly busy design is what happens when I think I’ll do something quick and early, to get it out of the way before travel, and end up hiding out in Dartmoor colouring tiny bees (so many tiny bees) in between editing manuscripts.

But tonight, fairly unexpectedly, we went to see The Lord Chamberlain’s Men perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Killerton, and it was enchanting.

Below, for personal use, are the printable versions of the calendar — and if you do enjoy these and are inclined to support the calendar (for it does take a bit of time!), then support on Patreon or paypal.me is always welcome!

(I do plan to put together a repeating pattern from this once I’m home from this work trip).

July Calendar: Theft and Larceny

Ah, July. Season of… miscellaneous mustelidae conducting a heist. (Brought to you, as ever, with the support of patrons on patreon.com/tanaudel). Are they stoats? Weasels? Ferrets? Who knows — but lock your strongrooms.

I’m not sure which detail is my favourite. I think it’s the lock-pick, but this one has more comedy potential:

And below are the printable files: coloured and line-only (for personal use). I hope you enjoy them, and if you do, and have a few coins for the tip jar, support for the time (and ink) is always welcome: patreon.com/tanaudel / paypal.me/tanaudel.

June Calendar: Against the Flow

Mermaids for June! This is largely because I was doing the Mermay challenge (mostly linocuts: you can see the progression on Instagram: @tanaudel), and the only way I was going to get through the last few days AND get the calendar done was to double up (there’s… a lot on).

Rather excitingly, I inked it all with a brush, which is not my usual choice (especially for fine lines!). There are control issues, but the fluidity of it is delightful. Here’s a progress shot.

And below are the full calendar pages, pre-coloured or to colour yourself! If you enjoy the calendar and have a few dollars you’d like to support it with, then that is always very welcome! You can join the patrons who make it possible at patreon.com/tanaudel, or toss a coffee’s worth at  paypal.me/tanaudel. In any case, though, I hope you have fun with these folks.

May Calendar: Concert

The printable May calendar page is here, brought to you with the support of my patrons (and if you’d like to toss a few coins in the hat, they are always welcome and keep the calendar happening: Patreon (ongoing); paypal.me (one-off)). And also by a few episodes of This Podcast Will Kill You.

I’m not sure yet if the bilby was a marsupial too far, but I’m quite pleased by its rocking approach to playing the lute. And I do like the idea of bats swaying in the branches, playing their ukuleles at sunset.

Anyway, this is a trifle sillier than usual, but it’s my birthday month, so why not have a snake playing a lagerphone?

The images below link to full-size .jpg files that you can print at home: pre-coloured, or to colour yourself.

 

April Calendar: Bears

Bears!

The April calendar is here, in printable coloured, greenish and to-colour-yourself formats (see the end of the post). It is brought to you, as ever, with the invaluable support of my wonderful patrons over on Patreon.com/tanaudel.

This began as a series of ideas about transformation. “Snow White and Rose Red” was briefly the leading fairy tale in my mind, which is how the bears got in. But roses mean “Beauty and the Beast”, and then the hinted tales began wandering further afield.

Here’s a quick glimpse at the process. I’m playing around with these negative silhouettes at the moment.

Then scanned, arranged and coloured on the computer, and bears, everywhere.

The downloadable files, for you to print at home and use for the April calendar, are below. And if you’d like to support the calendar, and see more behind the scenes, please do consider supporting them through Patreon.