#flittermouseart

[flittermouseart]

Happy Friday 13th! Flitt & I are going to be watching some spooky movies tonight, starting with the good ol' standby, "Secret Window." Got any suggestions for a follow-up?

#flittermouseart #flitt #mascot #friday the 13th #happy friday #secret window #johnny depp #spooky movie #spooky season #spooktober #stephen king #horror movies

[flinflonatc]

Join the Tiny Art Revolution!

Artist Trading Cards are an awesome way to collect original artwork made by your favourite artists. We're open to all artists who want to make, swap, and share their artwork. All you need to do is send us a card, and you're in the club!

Wanna learn more? Check out http://flittermouse.ca/atc-club

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Flin Flon's ATC Club is led by FlitterMouseArt and powered by NorVA Centre

#artist trading card #join the tiny art revolution #artists on tumblr #atc club #call for artists #we want your art #make 'em swap 'em share 'em #art swap #art club #art trade #artists supporting artists

[flittermouseart]

People love to ask artists about the source of their inspiration. The answer varies from artist to artist. For me, inspiration comes in bite-sized pieces from all sorts of places!

One of my favourite places to find a creative spark is out in the forest. I’m not really a hiker so much as a “wanderer” — there are so many interesting nooks and crannies in the woods! I could spend all afternoon poking around the same spot. A neat bug with bright colours might become a tiny faery painting. Some exposed roots knotted together in an interesting way might be the starting point for a lacey pattern on a medieval gown. Sometimes just a particularly shiny rock will inspire a new colour palette!

I’ve never really gotten the knack of taking awesome photographs, so I’m almost always carrying a tiny sketchbook on my wanders. I enjoy painting, but my favourite form of art has always been sketching and doodling with a good, old-fashioned pen!

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #doodle art #draw every day #artist inspiration #finding inspiration #art talk #art advice

[flittermouseart]

I truly believe that artwork is fuel for the soul -- I love hearing that something I made brightened someone else's day, and it makes me so happy when I hear that my work has inspired others to create their own art. I love hearing that one of my doodles helped someone add a little bit of joy into their surroundings!

Part of the reason I started making snack-sized artwork is that I’ve never had access to a personal gallery wall. My available display space might been limited, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! A tiny canvas is the perfect size for my work desk. I use stickers and button magnets to brighten up otherwise boring, blank surfaces. One of my favourite things to do is tuck a tiny painting like this one into a little-used corner, just so I can “discover” it again later.

I love sprinkling little glimpses of happiness all over my space, so it’s been my goal to share that joy. If my snack-sized artwork brings you a smile, then I’ve done my job as an artist!

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #draw every day #tiny painting #mini painting #itty bitty artwork #snack sized artwork

[flittermouseart]

I dread the day someone discovers my stash of alphabet notebooks. I’m totally aware that having stacks of spiral notebooks filled with alphabets makes me look like the dad from The Shining — but I promise my crazy alphabet notebooks have a purpose!!!

Athletes need to warm up their muscles and train their bodies how to move before they participate in their chosen sports. Making artwork is no different! Your hand is made up of muscles and tendons that need to be exercised and “taught” how to move. By taking the time to work repetitive drawing exercises into your schedule, you’re building muscle-memory into your hand the same way a basketball player would teach themselves to dribble a ball while sprinting across the court.

 A lot of art instructors will encourage students to draw circles and spirals to train their hand in consistency, but I always found those exercises mind-numbingly boring. I couldn’t force myself to focus on drawing the same circle twelve times, but I could do page after page of letters … so I train my hand with letters!

Learning to “draw” my letters taught my hand how to shape consistent lines. Training myself to have a steady inking hand has been a huge help while working on my graphic novels, and working with the alphabet instead of abstract shapes had the added bonus of helping me develop a unique handwriting style.

It doesn’t hurt that filling up a full page from top to bottom makes me feel like I accomplished something (it’s not TECHNICALLY productive work, but the ILLUSION of productivity can be super satisfying, y’all).

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #draw every day #just a little doodle #alphabet #penmanship #write like an elf #practicing art #artist warmup #illusion of productivity

[flittermouseart]

When it comes to inking, it's no secret that I like to add a little too much detail — fancy embroidered patterns on the hem of a shirt, intricate accessories, and textured materials (like feathers and lace) are my jam!

The itty-bitty details take a lot of time. I can (and often do) spend 20+ hours on a single drawing, but to me, it's worth every second. There's something super satisfying about watching a piece come alive with every tiny pen stroke.

My fatal flaw as an artist is the need to add blocks of heavy black swatches. I don't know why, but an inked piece never feels quite “done” until I smother at least part of it with solid ink. Those solid backgrounds coupled with ink-consuming detail work is how I became the local "Pen Murderer" -- I've been known to kill a sharpie in a single sitting. Office pens tremble at my approach!

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #draw every day #fantasy art #high fantasy #night elf #elf #elves are the best #oc art #my art #sketchbook #traditional art #ink drawing #sharpie art #pen and paper

[flittermouseart]

Comfort Characters

If you stick around Sketchbook Saturdays long enough, you’ll start to recognize this character. He was one of my very first OCs (original characters), and he likes to wander onto my practice pages. I’ve drawn him so often that he’s fallen into the category of “comfort character.” 

I strongly believe in practicing my drawing skills every single day … but sometimes I want to create without the pressure of being creative, y’know?

Comfort characters are my go-to when I’m not feeling particularly artsy. They’re the characters that I’ve sketched over and over and over. Some of them, like this one, I’ve drawn so much that I only need one active braincell on duty in order to whip out a decent drawing. He seems to jump out of my pencil and onto the page, which is great for days when I’m not up for an artsy challenge.

I think Flann! (from my graphic novels) will eventually fall into the “comfort character” category. I’ve drawn her so many times in so many different poses that I don’t really have to THINK anymore when I draw her. Flann!’s on Active Duty right now — I’m sketching her every day while I map out Volume 3! — so I’ve temporarily banned her from my sketchbook, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Flynn, Flann!, and James all sneak into my practice pages once we’ve completed their current adventure.

#flittermouseart #small artist #artists on tumblr #doodle art #traditional sketch #sketchbook saturday #draw every day #just a little doodle #drawing for fun #artwork #comfort character #fave character to draw #medieval life

[flittermouseart]

I always feel a little weird when I share pages out of my sketchbooks. Not because I’m embarrassed by my doodles, but because I honestly think they're boring. Most pages look like this one — a lot of floating heads surrounded by a bunch of half-drawn hands, random body pieces, and the occasional eyeball.

To me, “scratch-book” sketches aren’t interesting to look at. When I look at this page, I see mistakes that were never intended to be corrected. The whole point of this page was to warm up my drawing hand before I started inking a “real” piece, so I drew some flowy hair to loosen up my wrist and practiced a few hands (because hands are the devil’s invention and I always need to practice drawing hands). When I’d gotten done “stretching” my drawing muscles, I sketched one of my personal characters in the bottom corner for funsies, then I set this page aside and sat down to do some “real” artwork.

For me, a sketchbook is a playground for random doodles. It didn’t occur to me that anyone might like to see that kind of thing until I had a really great conversation with a young artist who stopped by the bat-booth during craft sale season. She said she she found the idea of being an artist intimidating because nothing she made ever felt good enough to share. Everything she saw from her favourite artists online were carefully curated collections. The “sketchbook tours” she saw posted on Instagram or TikTok were filled with polished portfolio pieces. She mentioned that even the rough outline stages looked “so much better” than her finished piece.

That conversation really stuck with me. As an artsy individual, I love sharing pieces that I’m really proud of. Sketchbook pages like this one never seemed worth sharing because it’s not very pretty, and I’m not particularly proud of it. To me, it’s just doodles, and doodling is such a huge part of my life that it honestly never occurred to me that seeing unfinished sketches could be interesting, or even helpful, to other artists.

After that conversation, I made it a personal goal to share more of my personal sketches and practice pages. They won’t always be good, and I can guarantee they’ll never be “finished,” but I hope everyone will enjoy my silly Sketchbook Saturdays! 

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #traditional sketch #small artist #doodle art #sketch #sketchbook #sketchbook saturday #practice drawing #draw every day #just a little doodle #storytime

[flittermouseart]

I love drawing these goober-zombie faces! It's just so much FUN, and art's supposed to be FUN, right??

#flittermouseart #illustrator #artists on tumblr #traditional sketch #small artist #doodle art #kinda coraline-ish

[flittermouseart]

It's a strawberry dragon! :)

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #draw every day #traditional art #strawberry #strawberry dragon #fruit dragon #who doesn't love strawberries #2024 dragon #year of the dragon #seriously though what other fruit should i transform into dragons?

[flittermouseart]

Did you know that 2024 is the year of the dragon? What better way to celebrate than to draw some dragons! The first FlitterMouse printable of the year just dropped, and it features a cute l'il dragon. What colour will you make his scales?

Download it here! >> https://ko-fi.com/flittermouseart/shop

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #colouring page #printable #ko fi shop #artist on kofi #ko fi page #there's a whole bunch of cute printables you guys #hand drawn #year of the dragon

[flittermouseart]

Let's play a doodle-game!

Can you guess who this doodle-me's dressed up as?

Here's your hints!

• My favourite 90s anime!

• Also known as the pretty guardian

• "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

...

...

...

Have you got it yet??

Photo reads: This Doodle-Me's dressed as SAILOR MOON! Is there any silhouette more iconic than everyone's favourite Sailor Senshi?

FUN FACT! : Sailor Moon had a HUGE influence on my artistic journey. Like a lot of 90s kids, I was lucky enough to grow up fighting the negamoon alongside this iconic magical girl. I had a poster of Sailor Moon above my bed, and drew her in my sketchbook over and over (and over and over and over). I was obsessed! I think I still have that poster somewhere ... I should totally put it up again, this time in my "grown up" studio space :)

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #cartoon yourself #doodle-me dressup #meet my cartoon self #isn't she the cutest #sailor moon #sailor moon for life #you never really grow out of your anime phase

[flittermouseart]

My style has definitely been influenced by the anime/manga genres (shout out to all my fellow Sailor Moon fans!)

I’ve always been drawn to the expressive eyes and distinct hairstyles I saw represented in anime artwork, but it wasn’t until I started to dive into manga that I really started to develop what I’d call my current “style.” I love the bold, simple lines and solid colour-blocking in anime, but it was the intricate, hand-detailed lines of manga-art that really spoke to me. I guess if I were to break it down, I’d say my style is composed of the spirit of halftone printing, a dash of woodcut essence, and a healthy does of 90s-anime influence. Mix it all together, and I ended up with characters like these!

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #draw every day #a taste of my art #my art #elfy witches #witch vibes

[flittermouseart]

🍓

NOBODY say anything to my strawberry plant!!! Melvin (the strawberry plant) is so tiny and dumb and it doesn’t realize that summer’s almost over. Don’t tell it that it’s out of season!!! Let me enjoy my surprise strawberries!!!

#flittermouseart #doodle art #doodle me #paper child #strawberry #first and last strawberry I grew this year #melvin the strawberry plant did not let me down #gardening adventures

[flittermouseart]

Does anyone else vandalize sticky notes for fun? No scrap of paper is too small for my pen!!

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #traditional sketch #small artist #draw every day #doodle art #just a little doodle #sketchbook saturday #creepy cute art #sticky notes #tiny art #snack-sized artwork

[flittermouseart]

Fun facts about your favourite FlitterMouse artist! (In no particular order...)

Inspired by nature, fuelled by pocky

Favourite Tea: Earl Grey

Favourite Colour: Green! But not just any green. Green like a birch leaf lit by the sun right after it rains :)

Favourite Game: Windwaker

Convicted Pen-Murderer

Indiscriminate tree-hugger

Collector of Eclectic Hobbies

Words I write into every sketchbook: "An ironing board is a surfboard that gave up on its dreams. Don't be an ironing board."

Still a firm believer in the many uses of salt

#flittermouseart #artists on tumblr #small artist #traditional sketch #draw every day #just a little doodle #doodle art #fun facts about me #meet the artist #artist intro