X is for Xerus

This week's entry for Ben Towle's Animal Alphabet.

I have a soft spot for squirrels-- they may steal my tomatoes, bury pecans in my potted plants, & generally get up to all sorts of mischief, but it's so much fun to watch their antics! The xerus was a new one to me, but I love their super-upright posture. They look like they've been taking ballet for years.

Ball-point, marker & white gouache on brown paper, recolored & otherwise tinkered with in Photoshop.

U is for Ulysses Butterfly

When I was hunting down U animals for Ben Towle's Animal Alphabet, I saw the Ulysses butterfly & immediately thought of the novel by James Joyce, one of my all-time favorite books.

It was such a pleasure transcribing Joyce's words. If I were completely mad, I would do a huge series of these including the entire text. Wouldn't that make quite an installment? But as I'm only slightly mad, I'll stick to one, featuring the first & last bits. (Click for a better view.)

I highly recommend that you go get the book & fill in the gap!

p.s. This one is all Photoshop

R is for Robin

This week's entry for Ben Towle's Animal Alphabet goes out to my niece, Robin.

Ball-point, marker & white gouache on brown paper, recolored & otherwise fooled with in Photoshop.

Q is for Quindio Glass Frog

This week's entry for Ben Towle'sAnimal Alphabet is the Quindio Glass Frog.

Ball-point, marker & white gouache on brown paper, recolored* & fiddled with in Photoshop.

*With PS it is easy being green.

L is for Lacewing

This week's entry for Ben Towle's Animal Alphabet is the Lacewing.

White gouache (applied with a flexible crow-quill) on black charcoal paper, with a PS tweak or 2.

Edit: Ben asked me about the pen & gouache technique so I thought I'd add a few tips.

First, mix a small quantity of gouache to a light-creamy consistency (I use a clean empty ink bottle since I always have those handy), then apply the gouache to the underside of the nib with an old brush (it's bad for the brush so don't use your good ones).

Keep a water jar handy for when the gouache starts to dry on the nib-- just touch the nib to the surface of the water & it will make it flow again. Keep scrap paper handy to get the flow started when it's stubborn, & be sure to shake the nib after each load of paint or you may be unhappily surprised with a sudden blob. If you have any more questions just let me know!

K is for Kiwi

I'm friends with several lovely New Zealanders (none of whom I've met in person, but I still feel as though I know them!) so my choice for K in Ben Towle's Animal Alphabet was a natural.

Ball-point pen, marker & white gouache on brown paper, fiddled in Photoshop.

p.s. Ben has a great interview out on Comics Reporter