Natalie Heaman

The Art Garden 🌱

  • Colouring in Procreate Experiments: Shadowheart

    Enjoy this series of drawings showcasing my battle with colouring in Procreate using gradient maps. First pic is the greyscale drawing, then my first, second, and third attempt colouring it.

    I struggled to find the balance between spending time rendering the greyscale base, vs fiddling with the gradient map to have the range of colours I wanted, vs the time spent rendering on top of the gradient map. None of these 100% got where I wanted imo but I like documenting the journey!

    One of my key gradient map learnings from this? Make sure your greyscale layer is fully opaque. For a long time I couldn’t figure out why the gradient map colours weren’t applying everywhere, and it was because in the first greyscale drawing I used the eraser tool at varying opacities, and the whites were coming from a separate layer below. Combining these fixed it. Seems pretty basic but I didn’t realize 😅

    A digital drawing of the character Shadowheart from the video game Baldur’s Gate 3. She looks pensively to the side and is wearing armour with many decorative elements. This drawing is entirely in greyscale.
    This image is the same drawing of Shadowheart, but with colour applied, but quite roughly.
    This image is the same drawing of Shadowheart, but with colour applied. On this one the colours are very soft and hazy, as if blurred.
    This image is the same drawing of Shadowheart, but with colour applied. This one is more carefully rendered than the others, and overall feels more finished.

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  • Spring ’24 Film

    Camera: Canon A-1 / Film: Fuji Superia 200

    A multiple exposure film photo. It shows a black and brown dog with pointy ears sits on the grass, and overlaid on top of both are images of pink and orange flowers.
    A film photo looking directly up at the sky, A big white fluffy cloud takes up most of the photo, and the small silhouette of a bald eagle can be seen against it.
    This multiple exposure photo shows the black and brown dog with pointy ears sitting and looking directly at the camera. As a semi-transparent layer on top of the whole image is a blue sky with clouds.
    A multiple exposure film photo. It shows the silhouette of a dog standing in the distance on a beach. The second photo, layered on-top, is of blue sky and clouds.
    A film photo looking directly up at the sky, A big white fluffy cloud takes up most of the photo, and the small silhouette of a bald eagle can be seen against it.
    This multiple exposure photo shows the black and brown dog with pointy ears sitting and looking directly at the camera. Overlaid on her face are a lush, pink roses.

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  • October 2024 Hobonichi

    Another month has passed! Hard to believe we are in the last two months of 2024. October felt pretty uninspired for daily drawings, but now as I compile this I’ve surprised myself by how many pages I actually like.

    A watercolour painting of a cartoonish golden ghost on a dark background. Above it says "oooooo!"
    Watercolour raindrops fill that page. Some were painting before the previous layer dried, so the colours bleed together. Above it, writing says "rain rain rain rain". It has been a rainy October!
    This sketchbook page shows a rough, impressionistic oil pastel drawing. There is a grey background, and green, orange, and green markings, suggesting leaves changing colour. Writing below the drawing says: "impression of vines on my grandparents garage"
    This page has a rubbing of a dried maple leaf. The veins of the leaf are clear; it was done in oil pastel, and the background in watercolour.
    This page has another leaf rubbing, but this time two ginko leaves. The rubbing is done with yellow pencil crayon, and the background is teal acrylic marker.
    A drawing of an eye takes up most of this page. In the pupil of the eye a hand reaches up, as it's surrounded by flame. Writing around the eye says: "Another day of seeing horrors…and hearing our government justify them." This is a reference to the murder of 19 year-old Shaban Al-Dalo on October 14 – he was recovering in a medical tent which was bombed, and burned alive.
    A felt pen drawing of many birds sitting on a telephone wire. Behind them are dramatic clouds in many colours.
    An acrylic paint pen drawing: a stylized pink skull on a bright blue background.
    This page has a drawing of fireworks, done in gel pen on an ink background. Written above it is "Halloween and Diwali, October 13, 2024"

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  • Orla

    My current D&D character who I’ve been playing for a year now – she is a bard (college of Eloquence) + little bit of warlock + wild magic hexblood! She was a bartender but was swayed by the pro-adventuring influencers, leading her to join an adventuring party. She’s trying to be a hero! But will she succeed? Or will she become a pawn stuck in an elaborate, political web?? 🤔

    To this day I’m still playing around with her colours and clothing design

    Another digital drawing of the same character, this time with a more muted-blue skin tone.
    A full-body digital drawing of the same character. She wears layers of patterned skirts, and has a rapier. She is smiling and waving at someone in the distance.
    A digital sketch showing a front and side-view portrait of a young woman. She has short bobbed hair, and her overall colour palette is blue-green.

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  • Nat Geo colour studies

    I was cleaning up my old sketchbooks and found this page from 2023, it’s rough and experimental approach has grown on me. The drawings are using cuttings from old National Geographics as reference, and I had limited myself to only 2-3 colour palettes.

    A sketchbook page with two images glued on it: one of two men, possible waiters or servers, in matching white suits and red bow-ties. The other is a school of small fish in a tank.
    A sketchbook page with two watercolour paintings: one of the small fish, though stylized with extra big eyes. The other is of the two men in matching suits. Both use bright and bold washes of colour.

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Blog Index

PROJECTS / SERIES
Gouache Creatures Series, 2019
Somerset Series, 2021
Thrift Store Catch & Release
Beautiful Day Records

SHARED SUBJECTS
Dungeons & Dragons
Figure / Life Drawing
Pet Portraits
Character Art

OTHER
Daily Challenges
Bookbinding
Writing
Photography

POST TAGS

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