Size: A5, materials used: Ecoline and crayon.
This illustration was an excercise in perspective, choosing for each element whether to show a front view, profile view or even how it is viewed from above.
Author: fictionbyjo
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Witchy camping
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Illustration hallucination
Size: A5, materials used: Ecoline brushpens & Photoshop to enhance the contrast.
This was an excercise in my illustration course where we made our own motivational poster. I included some sentences that inspire me to keep going as an artist: ‘if I can think it, I can make it.’ ‘And what if it [what I create] is endearing, and what if I do succeed, and what if it turns out beautiful and makes people think?’
When I start doubting myself and I keep thinking: ‘what if it is bad, what if no one likes it, what if I’m not succesful?’ I try to counter these thoughts with better ones: what if it turns out beautiful?
You can now buy T-shirts with this original design! Check out my store!
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Birth announcement
Back in 2022 I had the privilege and honour to design the birth annoucement for my nephew. I tried out several designs and settled on the one you can see at the end of this post. The finished painting did not have the name on it – since it would be a surprise even for me – and the parents instead brought the final design to a print shop, where the painting was scanned, the colours were enhanced a little here and there, and the name was added.
The birth card is 12×13 cm – the painting is larger (A3 = 29,7 × 42 cm)
Used materials: Pencil, pen, ecoline, aquarel
Take a look at my designing process:
The first step was to make a little drawing with my idea (postcard size): a little baby with the family dog on a floating island, looking at the moon. The parents and I talked about the tree, the island, and the moon. The moon would have to be large enough to encompass the name of the newborn.
The next step was to try this out in pen and colours. I moslty used Ecoline here (Ecoline is known for its bright and vibrant colours based on dyes and gum arabic). I was happy with the colours, but wanted to refine the baby and add leaves to the tree – and of course, add a moon.
I intensified the colours, wishing the baby lots of vibrant colours, and wanted the universe in the design to be a bit wacky:
In consultation with the parents, I chose different colours: blue and pink, leading to this piece:
At this point, the parents asked for a few adjustments, which made me realize that designing by painting, and not on a drawing pad, takes much more time and effort. I took their adjustments and painted the final piece:
I do believe it was the best one yet!
And here’s the final image with baby name:
Do you want a unique painting or design for a special occasion?
Find all the info on the contact & commission page
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Ugly woman
Women don’t owe you pretty – it is the title of a book by Florence Given, one I highly recommend to ease you into some fundamentally feminist thought. It is something that you perhaps think you know, but you must learn to embody it as well. No one owes anyone pretty – we are humans, not shiny objects to look at. Celebrate every part of your vessel, it is the very thing carrying you through life. I wrote this poem ‘ugly woman’ shortly before turning thirty. I had been most painfully reminded that many men feel entitled to your body, and what they believe to be beauty, and that they somehow have a ‘right’ to demand your body doesn’t change throughout time – or at least as little as humanly possible. It opened my eyes to who they really are… and how they see me.
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Little spider
This poem came into existence when I saw a spider on the counter while I was house-sitting for friends. I trapped the subject under a glass and took a photo, so the spider in the photo below is the real inspiration for the poem. As my lovely grandmother pointed out afterwards, taking a look at the photo, the little spider had already been dead all along.
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Groen
Een mini-gedichtje geschreven in de schrijfles van Kunstacademie De Poel. Dit gedichtje hing op tijdens de opendeurdag van de academie in 2024.
De afbeelding is een aquarel schilderij gemaakt in een park in Brugge in het voorjaar van 2024. -
Drawings
These are some random drawings I’ve done over the years. Some are excercises, some are preparations for larger works, and some are just for fun. I hope you enjoy them!
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Fictieve minions
Ik gebruikte alcoholstiften om deze tekening te maken. De bedoeling van deze oefening was om een woord te spellen met behulp van verschillende dieren en hun vormen. De griezelige figuur links vormt een ‘F’, de duizendpoot een ‘I’, de schorpioen een ‘C’, de vleermuis die wegvliegt met de rat een ‘T’, de slang nog een ‘I’ en de zeeslak een ‘e’. Samen vormen ze het woord ‘fictie’ – van FictionbyJo.
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Fictional minions
I used black and grey markers to make this drawing. The idea behind this excercise is to spell out a word using different animals and their forms. The spooky figure to the left forms an ‘F’, the centipede an ‘I’, the scorpion a ‘C’, the bat flying away with the rat a ‘T’, the snake another ‘I’, and the sea snail an ‘e’. Together they form the word ‘fictie’, which translates to ‘fiction’ in English.
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Meisje met henna
Deze tekening is gebaseerd op een foto van een vriendin. Ze is zeer bedreven in make-up en Henna. Deze jonge vrouw is wel vaker muse voor mijn tekeningen en schilderijen.
Tekening – potlood op papier
FictionbyJo 