A very long time ago, Olga’s very fancy and not-even-that-old computer went to a better place. (The motherboard died, there’s no bringing that sucker back.) And sadly, a few pieces of artwork that she didn’t back up went with it. (I can’t say it enough, back up your stuff, cousins!)

One of the lost pieces was Undomiel Rising. I haven’t been able to do anything with this image because as we all know, web-sized graphics just don’t print well. I considered the piece long gone and buried… Until last week, when I found a lone printout among old papers.

Lo and behold! “I could do something with this!” I thought. I could make some postcards. The printout is big enough that I could scale it down and still get a print-quality file. So I set out to rescue the image.

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First order of business is to get a high-resolution version of the image back on the computer. (Normally I wouldn’t recommend re-scanning artwork, but in this case it’ll be used at half the print size, so we can get away with some line quality loss.)
Minimum print resolution is 300dpi, and to capture as much detail as possible I scanned the print at twice the size - 600dpi.

Here is the scanned file. Egads! It looks just dreadful enough to warrant the use of “egads.” Time for some Photoshop magic.

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Cleanup the scan, removing any dust, lint or weird scratches. The Clone Stamp tool can take care of these.

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Sharpen the scan by using the Unsharp Mask filter. It gives you best control of the filter, while allowing to see the results in a preview window.

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Now let’s fix the colors. At this stage I convert the file to CMYK mode. This is the mode used for printing - because it correlates to the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK inks used in the 4-color printing process. When correcting color, this is the mode that makes the most sense to me. (If you’re editing an image for the web, RBG mode will be fine.)

My image scanned with a very heavy yellow overtone, so I use Levels to balance out the colors.

In Yellow channel move the right slider to lighten up the amount of yellow in the image. Cyan channel: move left slider to add intensity.

Likewise, I added some intensity in the Magenta and the overall CMYK channels.

And here is my final image.

That’s what I’m talking about!

Reduced to a smaller size the difference in quality between this one and the original becomes truly negligible. Young Arwen Undomiel is now ready to be shared with the world on some lovely postcards. ^_^

I can’t believe I have not heard of Kay Nielsen until this year. But as soon as I laid eyes on his work, it’s been true love 4ever. Months later he continues to inspire me.

And my latest ACEO feels almost like a direct ripoff copy. ^_^* Imitation is the best form of flattery, right? Needless to say, I had SO much fun with this one. I inked it with brown and gray Micron pens, and then painted it with watercolors on bristol paper. (Which, in hindsight, is not very good for watercolors at all. Live and learn!)

The Gift - princess with a perfume bottle

available as an ACEO in my Etsy shop.

Hello cousins!

As planned, I have done a companion piece to Winter Solstice. Titled shockingly enough as Summer Solstice, it features the Midsummer Queen, counterpart to winter’s Snow Queen. The set is now complete and is available in my Etsy shop as a postcard, and a limited edition ACEO card.

I like how this image matches Winter in general composition, but the color palette is a stark opposite of the soft pale tones. Looking at it now I think I did get carried away with the ribbons, but I love them nonetheless. ^_^

Hallo cousins! As you might already know, I am a sucker for sets. Especially art sets. ^_^ So to stay true to myself, I am working on a companion piece to Winter Solstice.

There’s a slight chance I got carried away with the ribbons. ^_^ But as fun as they were to draw, I am not ready for the longest day of the year. :/ We’re having a super cold spring in the Pacific Northwest, and I can only take solace in the extended daytime hours. I’m not ready to lose all that light! But such is the nature of… nature, I suppose. XD

Like with Winter Solstice, I will be offering this piece mid-June as an art card and a postcard.

So week four concludes my experiment. I did it, cousins. I lived for one month without an internet connection at home.

And it was wonderful. :D I got so much drawing done! I rekindled two old projects and started a new one. I now magically have time to work on all the ideas that have been accumulating on the back burner. (Okay, not all of them, but definitely 2-3 at a time.) I experimented with a new medium and a new style, and I loved all of it.

But the personal victory for me happened last Saturday night. I got home later than expected, with only an hour and a half before bed. It was a weird window, and I could’ve occupied myself with a dozen activities. But the first impulse, the first thought in my mind was that I wanted to draw. :D I can’t tell you how awesome that feels after two years of artist’s block! And the impulse is still there. Pretty much everyday I can’t wait to get home, get the daily stuff done and get to my sketchpad. I want to keep the momentum going, and so have decided to remain net-free at home.

My biggest goal for 2008 is to implement the habit of sketching for one hour every day. And I think this experiment has given me a jump start to do just that.

Last Friday, I took another first baby step towards getting over myself. :D I went to Seattle Art Museum to see the exhibit of Roman art from the Louvre. The place was pretty packed, and at first I was mortified to bust out my sketchbook and draw in public. But then I told myself not to be silly, and got down to business. Two hour on my feet (in heels), but it was all totally worth it. ^_^

On an interesting note: the bust of a young Gaul on the bottom left was missing its nose. It didn’t take away from the beauty of the sculpture (he was very handsome), but it totally messed me up because I couldn’t establish a relationship between his facial features. Though usually erasing during free sketching is a big no-no, I had to erase the first attempt and start from scratch. :O