artofsaraelena

[artofsaraelena]

"Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel. The boy they called Dirtyhands didn't need a reason any more than he needed permission- to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man's fortunes with the turn of a card." ~ Six of Crows by the absolute perfect dark queen, @lbardugo ♠️

[artofsaraelena]

I can't lie, I'm so damn excited to see a young Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts, and Jude Law hits the nail on the head for the role! 💫

[artofsaraelena]

I don't think I've ever mentioned just why the Harry Potter series means that much to me, apart from the amazing story, characters, and world.

An interesting thing happens when you are a person that, like me, leaves everything behind to move to another country. At first, you can't help but feel quite lost and miss home often. A while later, you start to assimilate to your new environment, and it feels new and exciting. And after that, you start settling down. It is when you settle down that you realize the lines have blurred - you once belonged to one place, but now it feels like you actually don't quite fit in either. You have as much of one country, people and culture in you as you do of the other. And that's okay. But sometimes it can make you feel like you aren't ever really home.

The Harry Potter series feels like home to me. I can remember myself reading it for the first time and falling in love with it back in Spain, and now, years later and living in the US, it brings me right back to that little place of comfort. Everything around me changed and morphed and became something different, but the series remained stable, solid, a never changing piece of home. And that's the core of my love for it. The series feels like being home. 💫✨

[artofsaraelena]

We all knew Tommen Baratheon was too much of a pure cupcake for Game of Thrones 👑

[artofsaraelena]

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention".

Ramsay Bolton. Enough said 🔪

[artofsaraelena]

Day 5 comes around with a little homage to the amazing duology of Six of Crows by the absolute queen @lbardugo ! I saw a gorgeous tattoo by Robert Borbas and it immediately reminded me of the Dregs tattoo in the books so alas, here we are!

Also I'm slightly obsessed with the way gold leaf looks 🙃 It makes my little dark heart so happy 🖤

As per usual, timelapse video for creating this piece is up on my channel! It would mean a ton if you guys go and check it out 🖤

Instagram / twitter / youtube

[artofsaraelena]

MY QUEEN!🙌👑 As much as I absolutely love watching Cersei, this lady is 100% my RIDE OR DIE ✊🐉🐲

It was really fun to incorporate watercolors and silver leaf into this piece while of course listening to Mhysa in the background. We 👏 stan 👏 a 👏 KHALEESI QUEEN MOTHER OF DRAGONS, THE UNBURNT, THE BREAKER OF CHAINS AND THE OTHER 100 TITLES THAT MY BAE HAS 👏

The speedpaint for this piece is also up on youtube now 😊 If you guys go and check it out, give it a thumbs up and subscribe I'll totally draw you a cupcake or a cookie 👀

Instagram / twitter / youtube

[artofsaraelena]

"The only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy".

Are you guys a Lannister or a Stark fan?

Cersei of the House Lannister, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms 👑.

The woman we all love to hate! I seriously can't think of very few characters that are as thoroughly brilliant to watch as Cersei Lannister. Also a very happy birthday to the one and only Lena Headey who is pure magic playing her!

🔹️The video for creating this piece is now up on my channel! It is brand new and lonely, so it really would mean so much if you guys could go and check it out, give it a quick thumbs up and subscribe! 💙 I'll be uploading inktober videos there :)

Instagram / twitter / youtube

[artofsaraelena]

Day 2!!! 🙌 I properly squealed as soon as Ed Sheeran showed up in Game of Thrones. So, naturally, drawing him in his Lannister armor had to happen sooner or later 🤷‍♀️

◾ The video for creating this one is now up on my new channel! It would mean the absolute world if you guys go check it out, give it a quick like and subscribe 🤗💙 I will be uploading Inktober videos there this month!

Instagram / twitter / youtube

[artofsaraelena]

Inktober Day 1 here 👏 we 👏 go 👏!!!!!!!!

I'm keeping it simple these first few days to slowly get back into inking, so here's a little Niffler! This was also my first time trying gold leaf at all and it kicked my sorry ass so hard! 😂 it looks decent here (thank the heavens for Photoshop 🙏), but if you wana see me struggle and fail with it I'm uploading the speedpaint in a bit! There will be a link over at my instagram , or just search my username on youtube! 🤗

SO EXCITED FOR THIS MONTH! LET'S DO THIS!

[artofsaraelena]

Another year, another Inktober materials post! WOOHOO! 

We are have officially 7 days until Inktober starts, and you can bet I’m being a complete nerd and crossing the days in a countdown in my calendar. 

So let’s move on to a bit of a more in depth look at the materials I’ll be using this year, shall we?!?! 

(I also apologize for the long ass text post, but the Read More seems to not be working so we´ll have to deal with it. tumblrgetyourshiztogetherwillyou)

Ink & Brushes

Speedball Black India Ink - Oh yes ma’am! I broke up with Higgins Black India Ink this year and got myself a bottle of Speedball’s Black India Ink! From the few tests I have done so far, Speedball’s ink seems a bit more viscous, more opaque, and dries smoother than Higgins’s ink. 

Pen Nib Holder -  I’m mostly going to use it with different ink mixes to shade different areas in which I want a certain level of opacity that I can’t get with my other pens. And yes, it totally makes you feel like you are in the Harry Potter world writing about spells on parchment. Win win. 

Round & Detail Brushes - As you can see, not much change in a year in regards to the brushes I’ll be using. I did find last year that I gravitated towards the rounded brushes almost every time, so I ditched the flat ones this time around and instead stole a detail brush set from my brother :3. Why buy when you can thrift? ;D I use these to shade my art with black India ink! 

Calligraphy Bamboo Brush - Oh yis, I’m bringing back this bad boy! I mainly use it to cover large areas of the paper with water and then plop ink washes all over. It is like the grown up version of finger painting, but while looking stylish af and pretending you know what you’re doing. 

Eye Dropper - My existence had absolutely no meaning until I started using an eye dropper to measure my ink washes. I know you might think you can do without it and just wing it, but for the love of the art Gods - just get one. It’ll make you happier than drawing hands easily. 

Glass Bottles - Aha! What is this nonsense you say?! I often have leftover ink mixes by the time I’m done drawing, and you know what?! There is nothing better than having a little bottle in which to store your really dark, dark, semi dark, light dark, very light ink mixes. Plus, it makes you look like a bad ass witch ready to poison someone when you have them all together. Bonus. 

Palette - Yes, it is the same cheap 60 cent palette from last year. Yes, it is still kicking like the little miracle it is. Yes, there is some golden ink that I seem to not be able to get off of some edges. I’m still not gonna spend another 60 cent on a new one. Come at me. 

Paper & Misc

Bristol Paper - By far the best paper I’ve used when working with ink. Yes, it does warp a little. But I haven’t found a paper that is as smooth to work with in ink. It has the perfect texture for ink washes as well as sketching away with thin pen nibs without damaging them! No real reason as to having two different brands other than Canson was on sale at my local art store, and a girl’s gotta save the chaching. 

Gold & Silver Leaf - OKAY. EVERYONE HOLD STILL. I might have been squealing about these every time I see them since I got them. I have always loved to incorporate little gold or silver accents and textures into my dawings, and I just think the way they combine with ink drawings is even more orgasmic. So this year I’ll be diving into the wonderful unknown world of leafing and I. Can’t. Wait! I have absolutely 0 idea of how to use them, but I can promise swords, crowns, and costumes decorated with these little beauties. 

Adhesive & Sealer - These just came with the gold and silver leaf kit and since I haven’t used them yet, I can only assume they do exactly as they say they do. Shocker!

Sumo Grip Eraser by Sakura - I needed a new eraser for getting rid of the sketches after inking them, and saw a lot of people rave about this guy so now here we are! It promises to not smudge on the paper, and I’m all about that life. 

Pens

Sakura Pigma Brush Pens - YES, THIS IS THE SAME SET FROM LAST YEAR. Yes, they still have ink in them. Isn’t that bonkers?! I seriously cannot recommend these enough for outlines and line variation. The little guy was the most heavily used last year, and while it is running a little low, I plan on using it mainly to create textured brush strokes. 

White Gel Pen - I mean. Is there anything more satisfying than creating little white details on pitch black stuff? Probably not. This has also saved me multiple times from a sudden mistake that was able to be remedied easily. 

Itoya Aqua Roller Ball Point Pen - I don’t use this dude as much as my brush pens or Copics, but there are certain moments when inking when you just wish you had a pen that you could lightly shade and control opacity with. That’s what this dude is! 

Zebra Brush Pen (Super Fine) - It is even thinner than the Sakura Brush pen, which means even more neurotic detail making is definitely happening this time around. Yay! 

Kuretake Cartoonist Mangaka Pen (Fine) -  As I mentioned above, the little Sakura Pigma brush pen is running a little low, so I needed something to replace it with and I decided to try this one out! The ink is pitch black and the handling and line variation are just dreamy. 

Tombow Fudenosuke Double - Sided Brush Pen - Okay yes, this was totally a compulsive buy, BUT IT IS TWO PENS IN ONE! Bless it. The black end seems very similar to the Kuretake Cartoonist pen, with the added bonus of a gray to quickly shade with on the other end. 

Copic Multiliner 0.3 - 0.05 (Black) - Literally the holy grail of my Inktober materials. If you want to do Inktober but are on a tight budget (art materials are expensive af, I’ve been accumulating these over the last few years), get these! Don’t even think about it. I use them for literally everything from outlining, to precise and meticulous detailing, to shading. I completely ran through my previous set last year, and there was not a single piece I did not use these on. Just do yourself a favor and pick a few. Thank me later :)

Copic Multiliner 0.3, 0.1 and 0.05 (Warm Gray) - They are exactly the same as the above, but in a warm gray tone! I got these mainly to be able to shade certain areas of my drawings without having to deal with the in-yo-face opacity from the black ink set while maintaining total control and precision of the lines, unlike when I use brushes. I am literally itching to try these for little areas like eye lids, freckles, etc! 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! That’s all I got for you beautiful creatures this time around. I’ll be posting a little intro video to this year’s theme just like last year, so keep an eye out for that! I’m also planning weekly giveaways, daily timelapses of each piece being created, livestreams so you can hang out while I do that day’s drawing and other fun stuff like that :D I’m literally so excited to step into the Inktober madness again! 

Feel free to check out my instagram, where I’m the most active and post all of my art at! 

[artofsaraelena]

“You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the North. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.” 🐺

You can follow me on my instagram for wips and never ending fandom drowning! 

[artofsaraelena]

I recently finished and loved the Six of Crows duology and needless to say, the feels were intense and abundant. It’s been over a month and I am still clutching my heart the same way Kaz fucking-ruthless-cupcake Brekker clutched that red ribbon. 

So, here is a piece of fan art of two beans who made me SOB. The Rietveld brothers! @lbardugo, I make you responsible for wrecking my soul. 

More Six of Crows fan art coming soon, since it seems to be the only way I can deal with my massive book hangover after finishing Crooked Kingdom. 

You can follow me on my instagram for wips and never ending fandom fangirling! 

[artofsaraelena]

Some Draco Malfoy sketch before moving on to color 🤗

[artofsaraelena]

Aaaaand, DONE! :) This is the first in a series of characters I love in cozy sweaters. Next up - Sirius! 

I absolutely loved drawing this little pup and found myself getting melancholic while drawing him and thinking about the Marauders. The feels were real. 

Anyways! I wanted to mention something else that is really close to my heart. One of my main goals with my art is to use it to help others. So! If you get a print of this little soft bean up here, 30% of the proceeds will be donated to Lumos. Lumos is a charity created by Jk Rowling, which promotes an end to the institutionalization of children worldwide. To learn more about them, click here. You will get proof of your donation with each purchase, and each print will be individually hand signed. The more prints that go to different homes, the bigger percentage I’ll be able to donate to Lumos! 

You can check out my shop here, or click on the link above where I mention the print :)

Hope everyone is having a beautiful Holiday season, whatever it is you celebrate!! 

[artofsaraelena]

Still things to fix but here's a lil progress on Remus!😊 Massive thanks to my amazing friend @hailiiz who came up with the idea for his sweater!😍 On to detaaaiilsss! 🐺

[artofsaraelena]

A sketch of a certain smol werewolf that used to roam the grounds of Hogwarts with his other three friends 🌕😌 The initial plan was to draw his sweater as well but I pulled a shoulder/neck muscle so this is as good as it gets tonight 😅 More tomorrow!✨