Sunday, October 9, 2011

Cute Fall/Halloween Puzzle Cover Tutorial

Remember the Train Cover I posted a week or so ago? I decided to attempt another one..but this time one that was more like fall or Halloween. Fall is my favorite season and I always enjoy carving pumpkins before Halloween. And so upon completing the first like this, I decided to take pictures to show you all how you too can make your own puzzle covers.

Puzzle covers are basically mail art that takes more than one envelope to make the whole picture. Therefore you have to have all the envelopes or you picture (puzzle) is incomplete. =)

The first step is to sketch the design on the envelopes. You need to take care to line up the design perfectly when laying out the envelopes. This give you a clearer and more professional look when they are all finished. Once you get that finished you need to ink the outline of the design. (Which I forgot to take a picture of...)
Next I always start by inking the design in the spots that are going to be the darkest. In this case, the cat on the pumpkin was the darkest spot. So I started there.
As you can see, I then moved on to the pumpkin. I inked in the eyes and mouth and then did some faint lines to show dimension. While doing this you need to be careful not to smudge the ink that is already down. (That takes some skill!) If you look closely you can see where I messed up on the pumpkin top. I hiccuped and the pen moved across an area I did not mean to.
I then worked on the pumpkin top, because it takes longer than the pumpkin itself. There is a lot of shadow and therefore lots of ink needed. If you look closely, you can see where I attempted to hide the mistake in the shadows. If I don't point it out..it is barely noticeable.
Finally I worked on the pumpkin remembering that pumpkins sometimes have "ripples" in their flesh. So there needed to be slightly darker spots and lighter spots to give a more realistic look.

That is the finished product right there. It is all inked by a Bic Z4 Roller ball. And looking it up just now to verify the name...I just found out that it comes in colors!! Guess what is on my to-buy list now??

Stay tuned next week sometime..I have another cover that will be going out to someone next week. and I want to make sure that I don't spoil the surprise! =)

13 comments:

  1. Fun project. Loved the pics of the covered bridge and who doesn't love a good diner.
    jill

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  2. You did a great job on the picture I like it!

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  3. Jill- It was such a nice place to eat. Everything was delicious and homemade. And the prices were amazing too!

    Heidi- Thanks!

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  4. Wow, what a great job! I looove the picture. Who wouldn't want to find that in their mail box?

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  5. Wow, you draw so beautifully!!!

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  6. Misty, this is such a fun idea! Kind of like getting your own triptych in the mail! (well, except that it would have 4 panels instead of 3... does that have a name do you suppose?) Love it, cute picture too!!

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  7. StoneZebra- Actually a trriptych is a painting (or other art piece) composed of three panels. The one above is considered a diptych which is an art piece composed on two panels. -Thank you art theory! Haha.

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  8. And if anyone is interested that series of art pieces would be polyptychs. I am not sure anyone cares, but I thought I would add that.

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  9. You're an amazing artist, Misty. Okay, I've told you before, but you constantly amaze me. :) I like this demonstration. That ESP thing is working again. For several nights in a row I've watched movies about women who turn into panthers, and your black cat looks too much like the ones in the movies. LOL.

    You could do greeting cards! I'd buy them, for sure. :)

    Amazing job! Whoever gets those will never forget this Halloween, or you.

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  10. Thank you Limner! You sure know how to make a girl blush! That is interesting about the movies. Perhaps we have some ESP connection and don't know it?

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  11. GREAT REVIEW! I pretty much agree with all your thoughts you said in your post, especially at the end of your article. Thank you, your post is very valuable as always. Keep up the good work! You’ve got +1 more reader of your super blog.

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  12. Jasmine- Thank you! I am glad you liked this one. Stay tuned because I plan on doing something similar for the Christmas holiday. Perhaps a snowman or snow globe. Something that is not strictly "christmas". I should have done a turkey....hm...

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