ARROW Wallpaper!!

Wallpaper Process:

1. The first thing I did was arrange my items by selecting products that I might use just know that going into this sketch i had a somewhat idea of the outcome but as you know once you place the paper and pencil infant of you concepts and ideas begin to change as you go.. So the products that I used to create this work are:
1. Copic Manga Illustration Paper - $9.95
2. Regular Printer Paper -From any local stores
3. ShinHan Touch Liner 7-piece set- $23.10
4. Pigma Micron Ink Pens 6-piece set - $9.83
5. Regular HB pencil
6. Copic Markers 12-piece Sketch Basic Set- $63.99 ( I have built a set of comic markers collection over the years not that much but I have some of the Copic Cha and Comic Sketch in various colors and bought different sets of colors such as a skin tone set and so on, here is a basic starter Copic Marker Sketch Set that you can get to help start your collection) 
7. Faber-Castell Artist Kneadable Eraser - $14.99
8. White and Glitter Gel Pens ( you can get any type of gel pens, you can find them anywhere here is a link to amazon)
9. Washi Tape
10. Adobe Photoshop CC - starts with a monthly cost of $9.99 to $79.98 monthly with full features with the most popular being $49.99 monthly.
11. Scanner - I have an HP printer/scanner/ fax combo so it is a multi use printer and its an ink jet printer not laser print. You can use any printer or scanner you own your iPhone will also work but I prefer a scanner because you get a better resolution. 
12. USB - any USB that you own if you will use a scanner or if yours is wireless even better.
13. Laptop (Mac) - I have a Apple MacBook Pro Retina display laptop 15-inch, I prefer Apple products but you can use any laptop/desktop you have. Check out the Apple site for a range of products, see what is best for you they have a range of Mac's, iPhones, iPods,, iPad's etc.. that you can choose from. (Apple.com)
2. Once all my materials where counted of I began sketching my idea on a piece of regular A4 printer paper. For this I combined theGreen Arrow representing the series and the vigilante Arrow/Oliver Queen and combined it with the glasses of Felicity Smoak/Overwatch. These are the two symbols that represent the characters. 
3. Once I got the sketch the way I want it I began the process of placing my Manga Illustration paper on top of the sketch and placing it where I want it to be securing the edges with washi tape you can use any tape and log as you remove the strong adhesive of the tape by placing it on your hand and pealing it off a couple of times until it is able to hold down you paper without causing any rips.
4. NowI took my Micron pen in the width of 0.5 and traced the image to have a much cleaner sheet of paper and without any eraser marks.
5. Now the fun part is using Copic marker to bring color and life to the sketch, in this case it is an outline now. I began by coloring the light color side at the bottom of the glasses using brown, yellow and orange tones from the sketch markers in the set of skin tones and floral tones.
6. Once I  got the bottom part they way I wanted it to look I began with the top area Using a dark deep blue color just to separate areas of the glasses before I go in with the black color (both are from the basic Copic Sketch set)
7. I began filling in the black areas of the glasses that are located at the top and back. I used a dark grey tone as well to create a bit of dimension to the glasses in a couple of areas, Once I got the shading to the way I wanted it to look I took out my new white gel pen and began adding the glare(reflection) of the glasses and highlight areas to it.
8. Now on to the arrowI decided to go with green due to last season Green Arrow but added areas of gel to represent the previous seasons. I began with the lightest green and colored it completely and began the process of shading. Thisis the first time I use the Copic Manga Illustration paper and loved the way the Copic markers blended on the piece of paper, there was no tears or paper fall out on the paper and I was so happy with the result. Once the green base was done I began going with a bit darker green to mark out the dark areas of the arrow. I used a transition color of a shade of a dull brown that allowed me to add in the grey and black to create a bit of dimension to the arrow and create this type of rustic look to it. For the bottom part of the arrow I went with a dark grey since Oliver uses a shell piece in the show. Lastly, I went back with my white gel pen and added highlights to the arrow.
9. This is the final art work, I completely loved the final outcome it was just like I envisioned it to look like, I don't know why I didn't think of doing this sooner but ideas come at random times especially when we least expect them to :)
10. Now how did I take the illustration that I created and made it into a wallpaper, well I used this program that I'm sure you all have heard of called Adobe Photoshop, I took my illustration and scanned it to the highest dpi my printer allowed me to in a PDF file. Later on I opened it on my MacBook Pro in Photoshop, I did a mistake though I forgot to get the exact dimensions for the screen my mistake i was super excited in making the wallpaper that I completely forgot. Okay once the document is opened in Photoshop put int he directions that is suitable for your screen and start playing with the image. I did a few touch ups tot the illustration regarding brightness/contrast and well as bevel to the image to create that kind of 3D look to the glasses and arrow. I had this texture background from a long time in my library I don't remember where I got it from but you can find any in google search just type in textures or in tumblr where you can download hundreds but don't forget to refer to the person who created the pack. For the background I played with various filters and well as the gradient of the background until I reached my desired result. 
11. That's it!!! just 10 simple steps to get you your very own wallpaper!! If you would like a video tutorial of how to take illustrations and create desktop wallpapers for your laptop just comment below and I might upload one!!

Hey X'ers can you believe it's been a year since I posted my first ever monthly favorites post (OMG!!) 







For those of you who are new to the blog to the left is my first ever Monthly Favorite post of September 2015!! Not that much has changed in my love for cute toy figures from animated or motion picture films (Funko POP <3) 

My September Favorites 2016!!

   1- Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman:

During the summer I began binge watching the Smallville    series which is about the protagonist Clark Kent and his journey in discovering his true self as superman for a detailed description about this show please look back at my Throwback Thursday Post. After watching Smallville I decided to watch the 90's TV Show. The show is about Lois & Clark, beginning with Clark's first day at the Daily Planet where he meets Lois Lane for the first time. Throughout the show you get to see  how these two become the most well known reporters in Metropolis. This show is great for a rainy day in to sit and just enjoy the show plus you get to see how technology has massively improved from the first season of using pagers to the last with mobile phones and search engine. 





                                                       2- Funko POP!



About Funko POP!:
"Funko is a purveyor of pop culture and licensed-focused collectibles company located in Everett, WA. Funko currently holds hundreds of licenses and the rights to create tens of thousands of characters, more than any other company in the licensing industry. Funko’s Pop! Vinyl is the number one stylized vinyl collectible on the market, selling millions of figures to collectors around the world.

Here is an image with the complete collection:

#ILLUMINATEBYASHLEY

Product list:

• Illuminating Shimmer - $7.50

• Body Bronzer - $14.00

• Beach Goddess '12 Color Eye & Cheek Collection' - $14.50

• Night Goddess '12 Color Eye & Cheek Collection' - $14.50

• Cream Cheek & Lip Tint - $8.00

• Enhancing Lip Gloss - $8.00