Seashells, Seashells Down by the Seashore

I wanted to create a spread filled with different kinds of beautiful seashells. I did this over the course of two days – I usually have such a limited amount to time to sketch each day, as I’m currently taking care of my kids full-time. So the big challenge with these seashells is that I really wanted to simplify them a great deal, without losing the identity of the shell.

I used gouache, ZIG clean color brushes, colored pencils, and a Faber Castell pitt artist pen. I tried adding a few white areas in the Banded Tulip shell with my Neocolor, but it didn’t really turn out. I think a little bit of acrylic would have been better. That, or I have been thinking of getting a different Posca marker – mine is very thin (which I thought would be great for details, but I think it gets gunked up) and it doesn’t work very well.

Overall, I’m happy with how this spread turned out! It’s playful, and I like that I added in the names of each kind of shell next to each illustration. I had fun playing with large lettering for the title of the spread, too! Makes me want to head back to the beach now! :)