Ninja October 16th, 2009
Tattoo artist, Scott Campbell displayed his Make It Rain series — a collection of laser-cut $1 bills — at the O.H.W.O.W. Gallery.
London-based papercut artist Julene Harrison knows how to work an x-acto knife and has a few cuts for sale.
+ If Life Deals You Lemons Make Lemonade, $95.00
+ Where There Is Love There Is No Darkness, $95.00
+ You Are The Beez Neez, $95.00
Ninja May 14th, 2009
When asked to do a custom tattoo design, I usually politely decline (due to time constraints and slight fear of seeing my art haunt me on someone’s body). But how could I say “no” to my favorite Suicide Girl? ~__^
Tanya sent over this photo of her current back tattoo. A blank slate can be daunting, but working around someone else’s design? I think I’m up for the challenge. The only direction she gave was that I could work up to the shoulder blade area and that she would like cherry blossoms.
I started by sketching the muscle structure of her back. I wanted the branches of the tree to follow the natural contours of her back.
Rough sketch with a red pencil.
More doodling.
Pen sketches on marker paper.
Trial inks: wispy and light vs dark and dramatic. My hands were extremely unsteady and I wasn’t satisfied with the brush work.
Now we’re on track: nothing quite like a mechanical pencil! I’m going to beef up the contrast and levels in Photoshop later.
Now all that’s left is adding the cherry blossoms.
Here’s the final. I stayed up until 5:30 AM drawing cherry blossoms, whew. There were a lot of rejected drawings in between, but I was too tired to take photos. Enjoy!
Happy drawing,
Ninja
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UPDATE:
In the end, Tanya opted for a different design by the amazing tattoo artist Tim Kern (what a cool last name). He’s a world famous tattoo artist whose work can be seen in Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York and on the bodies of 27 other lovely Suicide Girls. He’s a pro, so I knew she would be in good hands. ^__^ Tim does such a wonderful job rendering bark! I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the inks are finished next month.
Related postsNinja November 26th, 2008
Penguin and I went to visit the MET yesterday to check out some of the drawings by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Dürer, Hoffman, Ingres, and Seurat (more on that later). Just mind-blowing! I was in awe of their seemingly effortless, undulating line work (guess that’s why they’re called the Masters, eh). I got a wee dizzy viewing Ingres’ seemingly impossible hairline line work through a magnifying glass.
After our private drawing viewing, we set out to explore the Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions exhibition on the 2nd floor. Being that I do have a thing for texture and hair, these 2 images were my favorites. I hate that I’m so predictable.
Onésipe Aguado
Woman Seen from the Back, 1862
Salted paper print from glass negative
Hans Hoffman
A Hedgehog, before 1584
Watercolor and gouache on parchment
It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s got a thing for hair. Please let me introduce 3 great, current artists who also feature hair in their work: Ruth Marten, Mr. Bingo, and John Ryan Solis.
Ruth Marten
New Yorker, Ruth Marten is a former tattoo artist (those skills translate well in her fine line drawings) and currently works as a commercial illustrator and exhibiting artist. She is represented by the Adam Baumgold Gallery.
Mr. Bingo
London-based illustrator/animator, Mr. Bingo, has a client list which includes Nike, BBC, Virgin, and MTV.
John Ryan Solis
School of Visual Arts Illustration grad, John Ryan Solis, currently works at the design studio, Vault49.
Related postsNinja November 20th, 2007
CG artist Loïc Zimmerman wanted a tattoo of his own design for years, but understood that a complex 2-D design doesn’t easily translate on the body’s 3-D canvas. So Zimmerman set out to create his own CG doppleganger, based on his own body’s exact proportions, to preview what his sleeve and chest piece would look like. The CG result is fabulous, but I’m holding my breath to see how his tattoo artist, Arnaud in Reims, France, finishes workin it in living, bleeding skin. Zimmerman says on the CG Talk board that there have been minor changes to the tattoo design for placement but the match to the CG design is very close.
via needled
Related Link:
+ see more on his blog
Ninja November 8th, 2007
Q: Hi, my name is Joseph, and this piece (the NvP First Kiss print—pictured above) stuck in my head from the second I saw it. I’ve been thinking, and I would love to have it stuck to my body as a tattoo. I was wondering if that would be possible. Thanks.
A: Hi Joseph! Thanks for your kind words. If you’re asking for my permission to use my art as a tattoo, you’ve got it. I’m incredibly flattered that you like my illustration so much that you would want it permanently on your body! Please send me a photo of it when it’s done. ^__^
PS. It may be easier to tattoo if you used the negative of the image, so here it is:
Got any more burning questions? Feel free to email me at ninja [at] ninjavspenguin [dot] com. Penguin is also available to answer questions, too! He can be reached at penguin [at] ninjavspenguin [dot] com. =)
Related Link:
+ Miami Ink’s Kat’s tips for tattoos
Purchasing Link:
+ Get your own NvP First Kiss litho print
Limited edition lithograph prints. Signed + numbered.
