Cross eyed

Transfering the concept of small stones to the larger castle has become an exercise in patience and going cross eyed. I originally thought I'd take a few days to draw out all the little stones. After all, how hard could it be? I'm just drawing ovals, rectangles, squares and circles. They don't have to be precise, they are rocks. Well, my original thought was wrong. It took me about 3 days of drawing on and off (I couldn't do this for very long without resting my eyes.) to get the back of the castle drawn on. Three more sides and the battlements to draw yet.

Now, I think this is going to be so cool when it is finished. But, instead of a week, it's going to be several weeks as I cannot work on this 100% of the time. Here's a close up of the pencil work. Not hard, just time and eye strain.

In other news, I've got a working concept for a logo. It needs some refinement and perhaps a rest and come back to it before presenting it as a final design. Back to drawing more stones on walls.

Until next time...

Experimental Success

The first experiment was a success! This is one wall of the separate little box/tower that came with the castle. I hand drew in pencil all the stone shapes. Then, painted them in with various shades of grey acrylic paint.

I posted this on the Fiber Art forum on WetCanvas. The response was overwhelmingly positive that doing the whole castle this way would be so cool. I agree.

Since the point of this exercise was to be a background for pictures of the toys, I took a few test shots of toys in front of this piece to kind of get an idea of what I might expect.

This is Reid, a Nessie.










And this is Spring. I think I need better lighting, but am pleased with the grey background.

Until next time...

Bricks and Stones

The castle is now completely primed, inside and out. It took a lot of time because I didn't want to paint everything. I wanted to leave the floors and stairs/ladders wood. I had to get in there with a really small paintbrush to avoid painting the stairs. Now onto the stones.

Ah, but not so fast. I have to figure out just how I'm going to do that. The first thing was to experiment with some homemade stone stamps. I cut a white eraser into quarters and carved out random chunks of one end. Ta-da, stones, sort of.
Of course I didn't have grey paint, only white and black. I mixed up some medium grey and tried the stamps on a piece of card stock before committing to the actual castle.

As you can see, I was having problems keeping a reasonable distance between the stones to simulate grouting. On the left, you can see where I actually took a pencil and drew out some abstract stone shapes and then went at it with a paint brush. (Paint brushes and I don't always get along.) I like the drawn and painted stones better than the stamps, so I am going to take a little more time and do this again on a scrap piece of primed wood. What do you think of these?

Work on the logo continues. I still haven't settled on a good image. I have yet another idea to work on. I will post a preview as soon as I'm somewhat happy with it to get some feedback.

Until next time...

Outside the castle - prime time

The outside of the castle now has 2 coats of primer on it. Not a lot to see, but a lot of work. Next I'll be adding primer to the walls inside the castle. It's getting there. I'm looking at more castle walls, stone walls and natural stone fireplaces to get an idea of how I want the outside to look.

The inside is going to be "whitewashed" rather than taking the stone painting inside. The exception might be the window openings where the stone window frame can be seen.

I've been noodling over a logo for the toy line I want to launch. Since I had a food based business, Mountain Godddess Candies, with an established logo. I wanted something similar, but different. I wanted brighter colors and possibly incorporating stars. It's a tough decision. The logo to the right was created by my very talented husband for the foodstuffs. I don't want an exact copy of this, but as I said, something similar. I'll keep you posted. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

Until next time.

Castles take time

Well, it's been a week. I've had a lot going on, but haven't a clue where exactly all the time went. I did get some work done on the castle. It's about 1/4 done with a single primer coat. Not much to see, so no pictures of it. On the other hand, I have been looking for pictures of castle walls to get an idea of how I might want the stone to look. Here's an example...

The image is from wikimedia.org. The photographer is Imanuel Giel. Thank you for providing the image.

The other thing I've been up to is sewing dragons. I now have a flight of dragons. (I don't know are 5 dragons enough for a flight?) No photo yet of them either. I'm working on a photo set up to get some good pictures.

Until next time...

A Beginning

Another New Year and a new blog. Well, yes and no. I've been meaning to do this for most of last year, but couldn't decide how to start. And, while it may be another new year, I've never had a blog before.

First a little bit about me and my studio. I'm a bit eclectic. I have many interests and any one of them may end up here. This is about my creativity and I don't know exactly where that will lead. My many interests include candy making, book binding, sewing, embroidery, needle felting, stuffed toy making, doll making, and colored pencil. *whew* That doesn't mean that's everything either, for I have a tendency to go "ooh, shiney!" Then I try something new. :)

To start, last month I found the coolest castle in Micheal's Crafts.

I thought it would be a perfect display for the little toys I make.

While it's delightful as it is, I want it to be a little more. I am currently doing some sanding. It will then get a coat of primer. In the meantime, I've got paints and stuff to experiment with making it look like a stone castle instead of a wooden castle. I'll show more of the castle next time. That draw bridge opens up and the whole thing is hinged on one side so it opens up and you can play inside.

Until next time...