Tag: aceo art

Tree Frogs and Thread Binding

This cute thing will definitely make a perfect match for a pair to my previous tree frog drawing, “This Little Fella“. I love the eyes and how it looks like it’s crawling out of the darkness and over a leaf. I kinda want to leave it just as it is with that half drawn look that I like so much but I will ink on… 🙂

On another note, I’m still learning more about book binding. Lately I’ve been doing saddle stitch binding with thread and although it takes a little more time compared to using staples, I’ve learned that thread is better for longevity and that I’m not as limited as far as page count goes if I use thread instead of staples. When using staples I can only have up to 32 pages in my pocket journals beyond that the staples won’t close. When using thread I can have up to 48 before the journal starts to feel a bit too bulky. The work flow for using thread is taking a bit getting used to but I’m enjoying the process and have decided that may future pocket journals will be stitched with thread and contain at least 40 pages (that’s 80 if you count front and back). Be on the look out for new thread saddle stitched illustrated pocket journals in the near future. 🙂

Egret and Cattails

I’m finally finished with this piece. It’s taken a minute due to dealing with some health issues but I’m feeling much better now. I have to say this drawing was initially an experiment for me. What interested me in doing this was a curiosity sparked by looking at images of the egret’s white form against the background of a blue sky. I became curious to know if I could make a drawing much in the same way as an silhouette illustration but instead of doing the subject matter in all black like a silhouette, I wondered if I could do the background in all black and leave the subject white. I guess that would be a reverse silhouette, if there’s such a thing. And for the most part that is what I ended up creating. I’m pleased with the end result. There’s some shading to the beak, legs and eye area of the egret along with the tops of the cattails but everything else is just white. I really like the simplicity of this drawing and how I did try to add much detail to it. A former art instructor once told me that I have a habit of trying to add in too many details and that it’s okay to leave things out. It’s like how when you first get into drawing and you try to draw every strand of hair on a person’s head. It’s exhausting and unnecessary. Doing this piece took me back to my early art instruction and reminded me that a drawing doesn’t need to be overly complex in order to be appealing and interesting. You just have to figure out what to leave in and what the drawing can do without. 🙂

“Egret and Cattails” by Q. Rumbley

Getting Back In The Swing Of Things

I’ve been a bit under the weather over the past couple of weeks and therefore more focused on getting back to being healthy rather than drawing. But fortunately over the past two days I’ve been feeling better and was able to get started on a new ACEO. Gracing my drawing board today is a base sketch of an egret with cattails that I found to be a bit cute in a peculiar kinda way. A little tidbit I learned about egrets is that they are not the same as cranes, which is what I thought. Actually they’re more so a type of heron, which is another bird I thought was the same as a crane. In actuality herons and cranes are two distinct birds. I won’t get into the differences between the two but if you look at the pictures below maybe you can spot some of them.  As the saying goes, you learn something new each day. 🙂

Heron
Crane

Furry Little Terrors From Above

“Chiroptera” (wip)

How did I come to have a fear of bats? Well it happened one evening at dusk. I was sitting on the porch with a few friends laughing and joking around as typical teenagers do. At first no one was really paying much attention to the small winged creature flying in erratic circles above. I had only given it a glance and assumed it was a bird when a friend of mine said “Hey, is that a bat?” When I went to look at it again it disappeared over the roof and I gave it no further thought.
“That is a bat.” she proclaimed as all four us quickly turned our attention to the sky. It had reappeared and this time it was circling lower. My two other friends gradually started to move away from the porch.
“Girl, I don’t know. That thing looks like it’s trying to get closer.” she spoke in a hushed tone. She and I were still sitting on the porch while the other two were steadily backing away. All was quiet as we watched the bat flying erratically above us. Suddenly in one full swoop it dipped down to our level. We ducked and scattered like ants in a fit screams and hollering. I lost my footing trying to jump off the porch and fell into some nearby bushes. My friends took off down the street. I laid there in the bushes for a moment, watching and waiting. I could hear my friends yell “Girl, we’ll see you tomorrow.” as they made their way home. I had decided I was gonna make a run for it to get in my house. The bat had dipped a third time over the porch now. As it went high again, I strung from the bushes, this time with sure footing, hopped over the steps, on to the porch and fell through the front door. Kicking it shut I laid there on the living room floor catching my breath. My father, sitting on the couch with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other yelled “Y’all stop making all that noise!”
…I ain’t like bats ever since.