this is a warm up? wow you must be super amazing cuase this is gorgeous

Thanks very much! ^_^

Crikey, a warm up? Sheesh! Looks gorgeous!

Thanks!

i like the black paper, to me you can see a bit more detail with it. and it really make the piece stand out.

The one I used for this has smoother surface, so it's ideal for the short fur of horses. I suspect it would be less good for longer fur, eg wolves, but we'll have to see. I'm just generally frustrated by my scanner, which seems to really hate black paper, particularly when I'm doing monochrome stuff.

ah ok, thats interesting to know. hmm is it an older scanner?

About a year old. Reviews on Amazon seemed to suggest that it was used by other arts who liked. It's fine with some of my art, but not all of it. Unfortunately I've been focusing on the stuff the scanner doesn't like recently.

Meh or no, I still like it.

Thanks! ^_^

How ever did you get such a lovely look of short fur?

I changed the paper I use. Makes a huge difference.

Very nice! Did you use a side shade to get a nice even coat there as well? Far as scanners go I think it looks great as is! Have you ever tried using the computer itself to try to get the detail to it's real life look?

Crap, forgot to hit reply. Please see my comment below.

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by side shade? Basically, a lot of the shading is done by doing a very faint layer of colour and then adding emphasis to the highlighted bits. I will eventually get around to doing digital stuff as well, but I've been so caught up in my recent improvements in traditional media that I have rather neglected my tablet.

I just meant holding the pencil and using the side of the point to shade lol. Sorry >.< and digital is neat though a little awkward at first XD

Ah, I see! No, I very rarely use that way of shading. I've learned to control the pressure/colour well enough using the pencil upright. I've dabbled in digital art thinking 'how hard can it be'. It's hard. It's so very hard. I don't think I'll be submitting anything done digitally any time soon.

Ahhh ok! I was curious as I have seen people shade short fur in that way so thought I would ask :) I am still learning the technique of hair/fur lol. Haha yes it is tough especially photoshop XD I do know of a few good tutorials that I have saved throughout my dabbling I can share with you sometime if you like! Lol well practice makes perfect! I offered a couple of freebies as practice lol. Not many say no to free art.

I like to vary the angle of the pencil depending on how much detail I'm after. Using the flatter sides also has the added bonus of sharpening the pencil during the colouring, which makes them last longer. Although considering how much monochrome work I've been doing recently, I need to make a trip to London to replace my cool grey I pencil soon anyway.

I would love to get recommendations of Photoshop tutorials as they tend to be very helpful. In my case though, the next thing I need to do re digital art is just to put in the hours to practise and practise. ^_^

Very cool! and sure I will dig them up once you are ready for them send me a note! Lol yea tons of practice and time is what kills you x.x lol

Thanks! And I so agree! The only reason I'm online and so very productive at the moment is because I'm off sick this week. It's great for art, sucks otherwise. And I'll have to wait until next week before I can upload my A3 drawings, since I need the scanner at work.

Same here I am doing my art stuffs here now since I have a few days off XD sorry to hear you are sick I do hope you feel better soon!

I'm much better than I was last week, thanks. Now I'm just enjoying drawing and resting. ^_^

Great to hear! Everyone needs a good rest every now and again :)

Agreed! And with doctor's orders, I feel minimal guilt over the whole thing. ^_^