In which it takes cutting out a surprising number of chains of paper-dolls to get just the right look.
A deceptively simple piece of a art for a very exciting new project from Serial Box!
And here are just a few of the progress stages!
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.
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.
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.
Here is a tiny linocut Holstein-Friesian cow for this week’s Illustration Friday topic, “black and white”. And, of course, a cattle bird.
The choice was heavily influenced by my current reading: Ovid’s Metamorphoses (tweets start here), where cattle (and snakes) feature heavily (“the same they did out Queensland way…”).
I’m still feeling my way around this media, so expect a few more pieces as I working on getting it obey my will. Mwhahahaha.
So these are all the calendar pages from 2018, made with the support of (and released early to) patrons on patreon.com/tanaudel (should you care to join…:)
My personal favourites (as calendar patterns) are currently the selkies (May), sacred deer (August), and ships with seamonsters (December). But I’m rather fond of the stories hidden in July (walking characters) and October (Gothic). And Goldberry’s shoe. And the spotty cat. And swans in sweaters…
Some of these are up on Redbubble as prints and patterns, but if there’s anything else you’d like to see there, do let me know!
Welcome to the March calendar, brought to you with the support of my patrons, who make this much inking time possible, and who get the calendar early — and other things.
This month’s design finds its origins in a combination of William Morris designs and red-figure pottery (both of which are much livelier in real life than in reproduction).
Below are versions you may download and print at home, pre-coloured or to colour. I’ve also put the colour version up as a print on Redbubble. No scarves, etc., (yet, or at least not without some heavy intervention), as I did not design it to fill that shape.
If you do use and/or colour the calendars, I’d love to see photos in the wild — please feel free to share! And if you’d like to join on Patreon (or otherwise throw a few dollars at the calendar) — thank you for helping make these images happen!
