A Cass Art Surprise!

An unexpected giveaway result that ended in an exciting project ✨

Even as I write that title, I get so excited!

Hallo hallo hallo!

This post is most definitely an exciting one. I still cannot believe I’m sitting here, writing this. It might be a bit of a long one, as I’ll briefly talk you through my process of creating the illustration with the material I was gifted from Cass Art.

First things first, here’s a bit of a story for ya!

So there I was, one nippy October morning, doom-scrolling on Instagram (as one does), liking, commenting and sharing another giveaway post (with very realistic expectations that judging by the 5k+ likes on the post, this was just being done for kicks really). I honestly, posted and tried hard to ignore the fact that the materials in that giveaway were beyond what I’d dreamed of! I obviously, did away with my creative fantasies and trudged on with my day.

October 31st. I’m tucked away in my little studio nook, working on some portfolio work, and *ding* 1 new message on Instagram. Oh! A Cassart message? Did I subscribe to post and story notifications? Did I comment or like something of theirs? I open the app - open a message from Cass-freaking-Art, telling me, that I had won a giveaway. ME. huh? Was it real? Was it happening? I replied and received a human response. 😵 I was honestly so shocked (in an extremely good way), trying to stop myself from running out of my Studio Unit screaming for fear of scaring everyone around me.

And here we are!

Hi! I'm Fran, an illustrator and picture book maker living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Gee's Storees originally started as a quarterly newsletter and has slowly evolved into this Substack publication. Here, I share news and updates on my work, behind-the-scenes content as well as insight into my journey in the magical world of children’s publishing and illustration ✨ Hope you'll join our lovely community, I am looking forward to getting to know you!

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Drawing and Painting with Derwent Materials 🎨

So, I decided to illustrate a cosy Christmas Scene, mainly using the Derwent Lightfast and Inktense pencils, the Inktense XL Blocks and their Inktense Paint on the lovely Inktense Watercolour Paper. (It’s getting Ink-tense isn’t it?)

Experimenting.

Before starting on any ‘final’ piece - it was time to try and experiment with the new materials. (This was after really trying to look cool and collected while unboxing them - a scene you can actually witness for yourself here - enjoy!)

Sketching a Christmas Scene

I sketched out my idea for the illustration on my iPad. I don’t always follow a set process when it comes to sketching as it really depends on whether or not I have paper and pen available. This time, inspiration hit while I was all cosied up on my sofa, so Procreate seemed the most viable option.

Transferring the sketch onto paper

I drew out the illustration onto paper using my pencils (which coincidentally were also Derwent - it’s like a Derwent bonanza up in here!).

Painting Techniques

So, I first set my base using the Inktense Blocks, and oh my 💙 The pigment in these is just beautiful! I love how easily they mix when you add water! While creating the image, I used a combination of all the materials - always using the Inktense pencils as my guides and bases and gradually building layers using the paint and Blocks. It is this point of the process which feels the most abstract - not defining the lines early on (apart from the sketch layer) allows for more playfulness and spontaneity at a later stage. The pencil sketch is more of a guide to me during this part of the process.

Here are a few shots of the piece as I layered on the colours!:

Adding details

With the base ready and dry, I used the Inktense and Lightfast Pencils, for details, patterns, shadows, and textures. I alternated between the blocks and the pencils in this step, depending on the need for wet or dry detailing. This is generally my favourite part of the whole process, as it adds that character I’d be missing while creating the first colour layers. It can be both nerve-wracking and exciting as it really brings the piece together (or not), but I try to not overwhelm myself and layer the details on gradually as I go along.

And ta-da! Here’s the finished piece! (well less ta-da and more *a few hours later*)

What do you think? I’ve been playing around with these materials, and it’s been so great using them in my illustration work!

I’d love to hear your comments and once again, thank you so much Cass Art for this lovely, lovely gift and to you, dear reader, for sticking around this INKTENSELY long post 💙💙