kintìomums random artwork

[kintìomum]

I'm starting this thread to present random artwork I'm working on as my life (work mainly) allows me.
The first thing I had planned was a mobile (the floating/dangling/circling one, not the annoying ringing thingy).
It all started with a comment of Rolyu (she's doing great artwork in an area where I really lack mentionable skills: drawing!) who said it'd be cool to have a flock of ikran circling around.
Once I start working on something ideas float with the progress and new things spring to my mind.

The current list of things I am working on or want to do:
"Flock of ikran"-mobile -> first version finished
"Kaltxì Palulukan"plushie -> in work. If this finds approval by it's parents I'll get them the cutting/sewing patterns for a production that doesn't tie me to the sewing-machine
"Short" story -> working on it
"Flock of ikran"-mobile v.2 -> planned

But now:
On to a report on how to create your own "flock of ikran".

[kintìomum]

Materials I used are:
- two printouts from video-game-screenshots, reduced to almost "ikran-only" in MS Paint.
  These prints show ikran in different sizes and two flying positions.
- toothpicks (the sticks)
- sewing cotton (threads)
- transparent tape
- glue and scissors

1. I made one print, then took the whole image and mirrored it for the second print.
2. cutting the ikran with a little blank extra which will be needed later.
3. Glueing the appropriate parts together back to back. Here the extra-blank came in handy in pushing and pulling the pictures as good as possible over one another.
4. cutting more of the edges of to receive almost-ikran-sized papertiles
5. take first photo:



What I learned at this point was that the printer really darkened the pictures and that I want to use transparent foil for the next one.
One it will allow me to go without the second print and two the colours should be better/brighter with light being able to shine through the picture.
More later!

[kintìomum]

OK, next one.
Here we have two shots of the layout.

The pieces are in the places I want to string them up to and all that's needed is thread and sticks.


A bit closer view, toothpicks are easier to see, as is my swiss army knife (valuable tool in countless endeavours!)

It was not really exciting to lay and shuffle them around but one thing got quite clear to me:
These things need room! You have to plan on them swirling around and getting in the way of each other and if you do like me and use toothpicks you'll run out of distance for the pieces fast!

[kintìomum]

OK, this was the result of some fiddling with thread on toothpicks and the realization that I would need something to hold the knots in the place I set them.
In came the transparent tape and see: it holds and the first few are ready to flock around...



Well, ten seconds of rotating paper pieces but you should be able to get where I'm pointing this...

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

O....M....G.....

kintìomum's ikran flock FTW, karma cookie for you.

[kintìomum]

Oh thanks!
I already wondered if anyone would give me some feedback...

Now, it's been advancing from that point on and one thing I saw was that the overall impression was just... a little boring with ikran only.
So I followed that line of thought: Well, ikran only is sure a nice sight but where or when do you meet that many ikran flocking in open skies? Where was easy: only at iknimaya but that wouldn't exactly be "open skies", hu? When: now, if they get disturbed.
First impulse after that was: Yeah, add a floating mountain! Or a Scorpion to hunt them!
And in the end:

Spoiler

Now, that really widened the scale and I had to find extra long toothpicks. For the next one I'll definitely visit the hardware store and get small wooden bars...
You can see some of the tape I use to keep the knots in place on the lower left side. I think while this might be a fast-and-easy solution it's not really satisfying.

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

I like addition of toruk, adds a the warmer color bit to it

[kintìomum]

And on it goes.
After some more work I had the pieces all stringed on their sticks and the mobile ready for action.
Too bad lighting at that moment didn't allow my mobile to take a picture, so I settled for a first "all ready for take -off" picture with it hanging before my heater.
Here it is.

What's not to be seen here, just guessed on closer inspection is that Toruk doesn't only dominate the mobile (the biggest and brightest in the sky, sort of what I wanted) but he also screws with the rotation.
Every once in a while the right wing stops the stick he's hanging on so that the left wing can reach to the other side and catch some ikran.
Well, never add a mayor hunter in your mobile when you're settling for peace

[kintìomum]

And for completion:
Three pictures of the mobile hanging in my window.

What really turned out nicely here is that Toruk is the one in the highest position once the mobile hangs free...

...not planned but as nature says it should be.

I should go and make a video of this, too, but for now you'll have to live with this.
For now I'm done with my mobile and stored all the things I learned in a corner of my mind to be used on the second.
But KP-plushie first...

[Nanaki]

It's amazing !! I'm fan

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

It is amazing. Are the ikran in color or are they black and white, because I looked, but I really can't detect any color....could be my crappy monitor though.

[kintìomum]

Well, originally they are in color. But it seems as if the printer really (!) darkened th picture and having them float around and photographed against daylight doesn't help in any way.
So, I'm including the original print for comparision.
Don't get scared by the hasty work on relieving the ikran and toruk from their background, it was done in MS Paint within half an hour or such... OK, maybe 45mins after I detected that the "zoom in and go for details" killed a good part of toruks left wing...
For the next trial on this I'll use brighter images for the ikran and get them printed at the print shop. They should get the colours right!

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

Ah, yea. Is the printer an ink jet? If not, that could be why your colors are off. Ink jets give the best color, so if you know where you can find one, that's how you'll get it looking the best.

[kintìomum]

Nope, it's a laser system what seems to be part of the problem.
Had to visit the copy shop yesterday and used that to ask for some print on foil (to save me the cut'n'glue-process).
Agreeable prices so I'll go with that for the next one. Somewhere in the future after the plushie...

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

Nope, it's a laser system what seems to be part of the problem.
Had to visit the copy shop yesterday and used that to ask for some print on foil (to save me the cut'n'glue-process).
Agreeable prices so I'll go with that for the next one. Somewhere in the future after the plushie...

LOL, I hope the plushie project goes somewhere, seems like a fun idea.