The Orks, also called Greenskins, are a savage, warlike, green-skinned race of humanoids who are spread all across the Milky Way Galaxy. They share many features with Warhammer Fantasy Orcs (and were initially called "Space Orcs" to distinguish them). They are seen by their enemies (pretty much everyone else in the universe) as savage, warlike, and crude, but they are the most successful species in the whole galaxy, outnumbering possibly every other intelligent race, even Mankind (with the very plausible exception of the Tyranids).
(HB pencil on 130mm x 120mm paper) With pandemic lockdowns happening all the time, it's created something of a Victorian feel to Christmas, so it was no surprise that I drew this for the Christmas cards I do at this time of year, along with a very odd version of a round-robin message attached to it. You can read it here: https://www.skavart.co.uk/2020/12/merry-christmas-2020-round-robin.html
I’m often asked about my Bic pen drawings and how I do them. It starts with a good foundational drawing, the ballpoint pen part is just trying to colour within the lines. I try to do my best to explain the process, but the best way to show my progress is by posting my efforts to master pen drawings over the span of 3 or so years. I have been doodling/drawing with ballpoint pens as far back as I can remember - they were cheap, readily available and always lying around the house. It wasn’t until I was bored during a particularly long team meeting-conference call (around 2016-17) that I started to think about the possibilities of ballpoint pens as serious portrait illustration tools. My first experiments with full colour ink portrait drawings were rather crude, but that’s the point of learning new techniques—as long as the curiosity and the love of drawing is there, you can transfer that skill and passion into any medium. Remember, the most exquisite drawings and paintings you see didn’t materialise fully formed, they started out as failed experiments. Failure after failure after failure. It’s important to remember this when you get discouraged (I've failed spectacularly over the years). The only difference between the accomplished artist and the beginner is hundreds of hours of practice. Talent can only get you so far. It’s the hard work that you do behind the scenes that makes your work look effortless. Keep doodling. Keep learning. Stay curious.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NABRE)
I was skimming through a 1990s Vanity Fair magazine and found a sweater ad. It was a perfect shot to intervene it with doodles! Now it looks like a very Christmas-y sweater, perfect for sitting in your favourite sofa and drinking a cup of hot cocoa.
(gel fineliner pen on 115mm x 87mm paper) I did this piece to test out those cheap fineliner pens that you can buy for £1 for 3 from TheWorks stores. They're pretty good for what they are, as you can see. They're 0.38 in line width and the gel ink is quite opaque.
I travelled around Uzbekistan for two weeks during easter. It is definitely one of the most interesting and beautiful countries I have travelled in. These are some of the urban sketches from my travel sketchbook, of some of the most famous buildings in the different cities of Uzbekistan. I would LOVE to hear what you guys think.
I've begun cutting apart my old sketchbooks and glueing them back together. The results of which are sometimes more interesting than the old drawings themselves. This saint is my favorite of my most recent bunch. She's the prettiest Christmas tree of all.
Love dahlias, not just because they are so ornate, but also because they bloom so very late. The tuberous begonias and potted dahlias are still in full bloom at the start of November, how cool is THAT? (For the northern hemisphere and 47th parallel, no less!) This is a stylized drawing in colored pencils.
