diGiTaL pHaNtoM

Hello!  I am still alive.  Still making art.  Lately it’s be a lot of digital stuff, and I started thinking about the ol’ blog and decided to give it a go again.  So, this is the first installment of a series on digital art.  Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the momentum going.

So, when I say “digital art,” for me it means specifially iPad art.  I have a desktop computer, but I use it more for storage (old photos, music, etc) than actually playing around on it.  I had an ipad 2 for a few years, but I recently decided to swap up to an iPad Mini Retina.  Mainly, I just wanted something a little smaller that I could throw in my purse.  I’ve taken a couple of courses, played around with a few (hundred) apps, and I feel like I’ve gotten a decent handle on iPad art journaling, so I’ve decided to focus on the digital aspect for the time being.  I’ve been looking for a “theme” lately, browsing online art journaling courses, trying to pick something simple, yet meaningful, as a jumping off point for my work.  I happened to stumble across Gala Darling’s Radical Self-Love Bible Course and knew it was the one for me.

One of the things I missed when creating iPad art was that cohesive, flip-through-the-pages feel.  I hated having all my work as individual pieces scattered throughout my camera roll.  Just a couple days ago, I found a sketchbook app called FlipInk that lets you import photos into a flippable book, and I was set.  Above is the current cover of my journal (I tend to change it depending on my mood).  It’s a digital reimagining of an sketch from my sketchbook.  As for the inside of the book itself, I started by adding just ten pages to play around on.  I can always add more later.  With this digital journal, I tend to make bits and pieces in other apps, then paste them in here and there.  So, each page is always a work in progress.  I thought I’d share them with you guys each week and let you see how they change with my mood.  Here we go:

This, by the way, is the flip view, I can also save the pieces I make as flat sheets.  That’s the first page, which Gala suggested we write a dedication, the way novelists dedicate their books.  I haven’t done that yet, but I left a little space for it.  Apps used:  FlipInk, Procreate, Rookie, Hipstamatic, Rhonna designs.

Page Two:  A little survey sheet from Traci Bautistia’s iPad art journaling course that I’m currently working my way through, a selfie, some tarot art I yoinked from Pinterest, a photo of me and my besties’ shadows, a mock-up cover for my novel, on top of a background I made in Procreate.  Apps used:  FlipInk, Rhonna Designs, Procreate, and Pinterest.

Page 3.  the background I scribbled out using the art tools on FlipInk.  I added a couple of pieces of art, one I made and one from Pinterest.  Apps used:  FlipInk, Rhonna Designs, Pinterest.

Page Four:  A while back I choose a prompt from the book Soul Pancake (what drains your soul?  what recharges it?) and made the piece shown on the top left.  The rest are clippings I found online.  Apps used:  FlipInk, A Beautiful Mess, Rhonna Designs, Pinterest.

Page Five:  a self portrait on top of a background I created in one of my non-digital art journals.  Apps used:  FlipInk, Afterlight, Rhonna Designs.

Pages Six and Seven are just backgrounds for now.  I made both pieces in Procreate.

Page Eight.  This was another Gala prompt, a gratitude page.  I used a freebie background I found on Flickr and the FlipInk art tools.  The photo on the left is one I accidentally took when I dropped my phone–isn’t it cool?  Apps used:  FlipInk and Rhonna designs.

This morning, I decided my Radical Self-Love Bible definitely needed a friendship collage.  These are all my best buddies (bonus points if you can name the celeb friend in the top left).  I raided all my friends’ Facebook profile pics, plus there’s a really old one of me and my childhood best friends in the top right.  Aren’t they all so cute?!

And this last page is just a background so far.  I picked it up off a Flickr page of free backgrounds.  Speaking of Flickr (and Pinterest) I always try my best not to step on anyone’s toes where copyright is concerned, but I’ve been treating this digital journal much like a moleskine full of collage images ripped from magazines.  In other words, I’ve just been grabbing stuff that inspires me off the web and pasting it right in.  So, if you see something you’ve made and would like either credit or for me to remove it, just let me know.

Okay, that’s my digi journal so far.  I am loving it.  I’ll be back again sometime soon with more musings, tips, and tutorials on digital journaling.