Testing a New Sketchbook | Cats Rescued | Shorts

Hello, dear creative community 😘 It feels like ages since my last post. I wanted to start a new sketchbook or at least just keep drawing wherever i could. These last few months have been difficult. I've been taking care of a spayed feral cat and another new baby kitten that my mom found in the trash, and i had already rescued another baby kitten in January of this year, plus my two pets, a black cat and a dog, also rescued. I don't know at what point i went from having two to five rescued animals in less than a year, ha ha ha. I'm amazed i didn't panic like i used to; i guess i've gotten used to it. Although i've been extremely tired these last few weeks, i finally made time to start trying out these new pages.

I had previously mentioned that i wasn't sure which sketchbook to use, as i had made three. I thought about continuing with the first one i made, which is half-letter size with opaline paper, as i can use other materials with a better finish on it. But i decided to start this one, which is a little smaller, even though i wasn't too convinced by the type of paper, as it is regular cardstock and doesn't work for some multi-layered techniques. I used to use this paper a lot, but not so much anymore. Also, lately i've really enjoyed coloring with markers, and this paper absorbs too much ink. With watercolors, you can only use a few layers very delicately. It's a paper that works best with graphite and other techniques that aren't so wet.

Before trying the first page, made the cover (at the end of the post). I tried out pastel and acrylic pencils. I was a little stuck with this paper, and i must also add my tiredness, insomnia, and so on... I just wanted to do a random drawing with nothing special to test if the materials I used in my mini sketchbook worked well. Everything was fine with the pencil and the drawing pens, although it is still a sheet that absorbs a lot of ink, so this type of material can dry quickly.

I bought these watercolors a few months ago, and in December last year i also bought a small sketchbook specially designed for watercolors, but i haven't tried it yet. I admit that i'm a little afraid of ruining the pages; i don't know why this technique intimidates me so much. Anyway, i just wanted to try painting a very faint background, something ochre, sepia... I didn't want to leave the background white. I thought it would be a disaster to try this material here, but it turned out not to be so bad. I know i can use watercolors, but in a very controlled way.

Another drawing material that i find very interesting is multicolored pens. The truth is that although i admire the work done using only this technique, i find it a little overwhelming because depending on the paper, it can sometimes be difficult. I bought this pen in a Chinese market, and i also bought another one in a stationery store. I don't know if i'll ever be motivated to create a drawing using only this technique because after trying it out a little on other paper, i wasn't very convinced. In this case, i was just trying out horizontal and vertical patterns. It was relaxing and turned out well. Although the initial idea was to try alcohol markers, after doing a little test on a small piece of paper, i realized it wasn't a good idea because the paper wasn't suitable for markers, and i would end up with my materials drying out, which i don't want. So, i had to try the pens. I now have a rough idea of what i can and can't use in this new sketchbook. I can use some techniques, but to a lesser extent, only for small details.

This is how my cover turned out. At first, i thought i wouldn't like it, but i loved how those colors looked on the black cardstock. I don't think i would dare to paint an entire sketchbook on black paper, and the test on the first page. It turns out that it's very common for the first drawing to be a mess or just that, a test. I already did the second sketch for my next post 😜

And of course, as a bonus for this post, i'll share with you the latest kitties i've been taking care of. See you in the next post! Have a wonderful day and night!!!