Paper Cut-Out Turkeys!

I made these cut out turkeys to decorate the kids rooms for Thanksgiving. I love working with paper and try to make new little friends to join us for the holidays.

This is "Chubby..."

... and his girlfriend "Hildie."

They are made from Canson acid free art paper. It comes in large individual sheets in different textures. It's suitable for drawing with dry media and light washes and the range of colors are great. I use it often for cutouts.

"Chubby" up close.

I like how the light shows through the cut out shapes.

Large sheets are great for bigger designs.

Westcott "Extreme Edge"shears are awesome;

 they're a great addition to your studio 

if you work with paper. I can't operate without the 

stand-by Xacto knife; I misplace everything, 

so I keep at least a dozen throughout the studio.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I have much to be grateful for; including you taking the time to check this out. Have a terrific holiday weekend!!!

The Pilot Falcon and "The Song of Roland."

The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving work of French literature; dating from the twelfth century. It tells the story of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass where the rear guard of Charlemagne's army was slaughtetered to the last man... so it's a "feel good" book as well. Penguin USA wanted a fresh cover design for this new edition, I used my Pilot Falcon for the job.

This is hands-down my favorite fountain pen to draw with. It's got an beautiful flex nib; I could not believe my eyes the first time I gave it a try. Fantastic line quality, thick to thin with a generous flow of ink. The Falcon II is all metal and lists for $280.00, but Goulet Pens carries a more economical resin version; the Pilot /Namiki Falcon. It's the unusual nib that really make the difference.

These are four of the proposed cover designs.

Below is the approved design for the edition that will be in bookstores in March, 2012.

My thumbnails were the guides to the finished drawings. They were sketched quickly with a combination of the Falcon and Pentel brush Pen. It was important to sketch out the type design as well to determine the proportions I needed for the final layout.

I used a combination of my Pilot Falcon and a Pentel Brush pen for this design.

The Pilot Falcon II uses cartridges or fills with an

included converter. I used Aurora black fountain ink.

The line variation is awesome.

The Falcon II is just a great feeling pen; it's hefty, nicely balanced with a smooth finish. The nib is fantastic, besides the very economical Noodler's Flex, this is the only flex pen that I've found. Works like a dream.

 The Pentel Brush Pen did most of the work on these two design with the Falcon adding the sharp details.

The Falcon and brush combo really helped capture the carnage.

Zebra pocket pens

I'm usually not big on ball point pens but when I saw these Zebra Pocket Pens at New York Central, I had to pick a couple up. They telescope into a handy little pocket size and extend to a regular length. I've seen them in Staples lately, but not in these cool hot rod colors.

It's a nice little combo with a 2"x3" Rhodia grid pad or with a 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" softcover Moleskine. I placed them together with white Staedtler eraser to show some scale.

Prussian infantry men sketched with a hot rod yellow Zebra.

Incidentally, New York Central is an awesome supply store; it's small, but jammed with great stuff. Their paper department is top notch. I picked up a large roll of Canson paper for a mural project that I will post soon.