Sketching / brainstorming

This is the first step of any great drawing or painting, it will help give you an idea of placement, composition and overall impression of the image you want to bring to life! For Swampert i decided to go with a soft rendered style of sketch, because i like the slight hint at 3D form it suggests.

In this stage i do not want you to worry about ”mistakes” or imperfections.
The point of this phase is to have fun, experiment, get a flow going.
Don’t overthink it.

Abstract Ink Splashes!

Like a child throwing with paint,
i really enjoy this phase because it is so free and has a mind of its own in a way. Abstraction is in this piece to emphasise the first background layer which will be black. So a perfect place to use inks and a brush. Splattering it all over the paper in a dynamic way.
Again, you can not go wrong in this stage, just do not try to get in the way of your sketch too much because we will need to keep the paper white in order to add colors with pencil later on!

Coloring with Pencils

Now we will add some life to our shiny friend. Swampert has a beautiful shiny appearance making him look a violet kind of purple! How cool is that ?
Unlike some other Pokémon who have almost unnoticable shiny variants, the color of Swampert does a full 180! making him go from a bright blue to a violet purple! We are using Ergosoft pencils to define his colors and will press harder with our pencils in it’s darker areas to define contrast.

Glitter and Glamour

This is a matter of personal preference though! , but for me it was an easy decision because i am going for a Pokémon card kind of look with these recent drawings. That is also why i make those custom frames we will get into that later on.. Anyways first we will apply very slight bits of all purpose glue to the black inked background, and then we will apply the glitters. You can find these glitters in most hobby/craft stores. I like to add in glitter that enhances the color of the Pokémon at matter..

Customized Poké Frame

Kind of my signature move at the moment, creating a custom frame to accompany most of the recent drawing is have been putting out.
Any basic wooden frame will do, the Water-Energy icon has been made using do or dry molding clay, as well as the lifebuoy and little anchor.
Tiny bits of rope has been added too, really get in your decorative bag wit this! Take a look around your house for some cool stuff you might be able to use. As long as it is light enough for the super glue to paste it on.

Final result!

Here it is! , our one and only Shiny friend Swampert.
Glittering in its’s shining glory.
This is what you would call a mixed media project, the frame the inks the pencils and the decorative elements all glued together in a cohesive sense.
This particular drawing has been made on request for my friend Ricardo!
If you too are interested in getting a sketch like this made feel free to email me at [email protected] i will answer within 24hrs!

Inks and pencils

The pencils are ofcourse used for the coloring phase of Swampert, the specific brand of pencil is called Ergosoft. Soft colors and vibrant.
The ink pens are from a brand called Manuscript and the ink itself is Rohrer and Klinger.

Spraypaints

For the spraypaints i always like to use the brand Montana. They have a few different kinds of spraypaint and the most used one for projects like these are Montana Gold.
Because of it’s low pressure and lasting colors.

Glitter and Glue

The glitters can be found in any arts and crafts store, just make sure they are complimentary to the drawing itself because it is quite easy to overdo this part making your drawing too ”much” but ofcourse this is also a matter of personal preference..

Molding Clay

This is very useful for molding little figurines and parts to later be glued on the frame. For example i used it to mold the pokeball icons on both sides of the frame as well as the water energy icon on top of the frame.

Photoframes

Photoframes of around a4 size have been used in this piece. There are no real specifications for what kind of frame is used. But as long as it is made out of wood materials mainly. So the glue and parts will attach without any issue.

Rope

The little pieces of rope have been used for the lifebuoy as well as a decorative detail on the anchor i molded out of the do or dry clay.