AVE IMPERATOR!

*Is astonished* I'm interested in the mediums that make the great quality of this piece. I really must look up these tools.
How did you make use of the gel pen?

*awe* Bristol must be really good paper.

I generally use gel pen to help make things contrast better-- it's difficult to understand the effect from a scan, because the pen is often metallic or involving some sort of glitter sheen.

In the case of this badge, the "FOX" is colored in two shades of metallic gold (which shows up as somewhat grainy and muddy in this scan, but looks nice in person) and outlined in flat white (to help separate it from the busy uniform backdrop). "Commissar" is also accented with an inner outline of Gelly Roll's "Red Star", which is a subtle fine-grain glitter that just gives it some shine when moved back and forth.


As far as the other mediums, I could say they're not terribly special... but they are delicious :)

I use Copic multiliner pens to ink because they work well with Copic marker (to avoid accidental smearing or bleeding of the ink while coloring), and they're refillable (via cartridge), which makes me happy. I used to use the typical Sakura Micron technical pens that you can find at pretty much every art or craft store (but got tired of them running out and having to throw them away/buy new ones all the time).

The Pantone Tria markers are not made anymore, but they are still the foundation of my marker collection and I still have refills for some, so they should last me a while (The newer Tria markers and Pantone markers do not please me). Copic Sketch markers are what I've been acquiring over the past few years, because I'm addicted to the brush tips and blendability (and they are refillable as well).

Bristol is just bristol... thick and sturdy, good for inking, and takes a fair amount of abuse.

I think I like that outlining step you used. It's good when you can separate a subject from the background or define two different textures. It's kind of hard to see the flat white outline. Are you speaking of the areas of light or the general outline of the whole character?
Good to know you really take the time to put these special details and touches in your work. I'm aiming towards varietizing my arsenal to make a more interesting look that stands out more.

I bet they are delicious, more so than color pencils. I'm just getting into using markers. I have very basic Crayola markers I got from a CVS or something (unfortunately, there are no art stores around this small town). I'm thinking about ordering things online when I can.

Refillable pens? I never heard of. I could use something like that. The fact of pens being used up or drying out quickly is the reason that kept me from buying them.

There are papers that work well with wet mediums and those that don't do so well. Being that Bristol is sturdy and thick, sounds like a good choice for markers. I like the idea of being able to blend markers. Thanks for the run down on what you used.

No problem.

The white outline I was referring to is on the letters that spell out FOX, not the character itself-- sorry for the misunderstanding!

And yeah, Bristol is a pretty good all-purpose sort of paper... the only downside when it comes to markers is that it tends to suck up the ink more than necessary, which can lead to bleeding issues and using up markers faster if you're not careful. This bleedproof paper is a step up, and I plan to use it more in the future for my deluxe badges and regular illustrations that require a lot of marker. I still like using bristol for standard badges, though, because it's more durable.

Now why didn't I notice that big FOX in front of the fox *covers face* Nice fonts by the way. I see it now. I like how even though the FOX is in front and was separated, the character still pops out more from that and the background. I don't know if quality like this could be achieved through color pencils alone but I means to upgrade my gear.

*drops everything* What? It sucks up more ink than necessary? There's always a downside, I suppose. Well then, when that time comes when I need reliable paper for my future markers, I know I can give Borden & Riley a try. Thanks for the page!

When you finished this, did foxmaster5 receive the actual work in hand?

Yup, I mailed the badge to him awhile back, with a holder and clip so it can be worn.

Ah, and there it goes. A job well done. Thanks for sharing that formula for making a successful commission.
Well, I know I have to work more on improving.

Oh man this is rad!

Niiiice, love it when I see Warhammer 40k stuff ^^

Such a handsome badge!

I find your lack of devotion to the gods of chaos disturbing.