Purchase Viking Penguin Olaf pattern
Last year I was working on the icad or index-card-a-day project where I painted one index card per day over the span of two months, totalling 60 cards. During that time I purchased some loose colour pencils. I had been wanting to draw a little penguin quilt pattern in Viking costume for ages, so I decided I would make that block for a pencil case.
This little penguin is Olaf and he loves his helmet with horns on it. I tried to tell him that Viking helmets didn’t have horns, but he was most insistent. He thought they made him look more mighty.
The pattern is for a 10″ block, but I made a 7″ one for my pencil case. I finished the block long ago and finally, during my attempt to finish a few projects, the pencil case was completed. I usually travel with my pencil cases, so I needed to use a dark fabric. Brown was perfect, plus, it made me think of a wooden hut where Olaf might live.
I used a frosty branch fabric for the inside. After all, penguins have to have snow! This pencil case comfortably fits my pencils and my water brushes. It is not too large, but big enough for me to toss a sketchbook in there and tie the ribbons around it.
Olaf is available in my shop if you want to make one. I am thinking of making a couple of friends for him and Polaris –
Purchase Little Penguin Polaris Pattern
A couple of years ago, my friend Janine from Rainbow Hare hosted Making Christmas. I wrote a tutorial for that event on how to make a pencil case featuring a decorative piece in the front. I made this little pencil case then with Little Penguin Polaris for my micron pens. I followed my own tutorial to make the new one and it hardly took any time to make it.
Interestingly enough, I made the Viking Penguin Olaf block when I shared the last set of index card drawings. I often thought of posting them together in one post. Before I show them though, I thought I’d share a list of all the mediums I used on this project. I had no idea I used these many!
- Micron pens
- Micron Gelly Roll pens
- Uniball Signo pen – white
- Uniball Gel Impact pens – gold and silver
- Recollections Metallic pen – copper
- Pentel Touch pens – silver and gold
- Faber Castell Pitt artist pens
- Faber Castell Aquarell watercolour pencils
- Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
- Inktense pencils
- Prismacolor pencils
- Prismacolor markers
- Gesso
- Turpentine
I have never had any training in painting, I paint because it makes me happy. This project definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me explore new venues.
1. Carnival 2. Milky Way map 3. Edwardian Mailbox for P. G. Wodehouse
4. Owl – playing in the rain 5. Taxi 6. Element Picker
7. Solitude in rain 8. Wind turbine sentinel 9. Vintage Porsche
10. California poppy 11. Corn lilies 12. Tardis
13. Grey dappled foal 14. Route 66 neon sign 15. National parks of America
16. Melrose Abbey 17. Fairy Door 18. Snow Globe
19. Dryburgh Abbey 20. Disco 21. Psychedelic gravitational waves
22. For Alan Turing 23. Devil’s Postpile 24. Dancing neurons
25. Peacock feather 26. Endeavour & transit of Venus 27. Solar prominence
28. Ice cream 29. Shel Silverstein 30. Exploding clock
31. Blustery autumn day 32. Unplugged 33. Pre-dawn driving
34. Self-portrait – walking into the unknown 35. Steampunk wings 36. Stargazing
37. My violins 38. Tell Them Stories 39. Solar eclipse and Shuttle Endeavour
40. Paper tunnel 41. Vineyard 42. Svalbard
43. Focusing through lens 44. Saturday night 45. Playing summer 78 by Yann Tiersen on piano
46. Love to walk 47. Dancing Aurora 48. Aston Martin
49. Snowdrop 50. Star trails 51. Garden bench
52. Downpour 53. Mail 54. Affair of hearts
55. Western view of sunrise 56. Brunel’s SS Great Britain 57. Historic hot air balloon
58. Edinburgh flat 59. Explore other worlds 60. William Blake – Eternity in an hour
I hope you enjoyed them. Many thanks to you for leaving encouraging comments, to Dixie from Arranged Words for inspiring me with her artwork to get back to painting, and to my husband for putting up with “I’ll be right there, just need to finish this one little bit” while he took care of a lot of things during those two months.
This year I am doing the daily photo project and sharing the photos on the monthly Wandering Camera linky party that I am also hosting here.
I suppose I like these immersing projects way too much! Art is good for the soul, right?!
-Soma
19 thoughts on “Pencil Case And Index Card Drawings”
FVITH March 29, 2016 at 19:36
Olaf is so cute. It looks like he is doing a great job of guarding your pencils.
I must have missed the iced project thing, because I don’t know exactly what it was about or the goal of it, but I like what I see. My favourites of yours actually surprise me, because I normally like the sciencey type stuff, but my favourites from above would have to be #4, #19 and #39
Lorraine March 25, 2016 at 18:21
Your penguin pencil cases are so sweet and fun. And your index cards are stunning. I love your take on the prompts. They are all so well thought out and colorful.
Wendy March 17, 2016 at 11:24
Great post Soma :) I love little Olaf, and I have to agree with him that the horns do make him MIGHTY! I really like these pencil cases. I made one in this style for a daycare child, reduced in size for wax crayons. They’re great for transporting. Your cards are amazing! I love this idea, but would never have the discipline to carry it through. Kudos to you for completing all of these. There is so much variety and creativity expressed in them. Really like “self-portrait – walking into the unknown”. Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Wendy
Kate March 17, 2016 at 05:40
Fun pencil cases, those penguins are so cute. The postcards are lots of fun too and very creative.
Kitty Wilkin March 16, 2016 at 08:28
That Viking Penguin is SO adorable!! I love him! And those index cards are seriously impressive! I love the variety, both of subject matter, aesthetic, style, and medium! That “I’ll be right there, I just need to finish this one small bit…” sounds so familiar! Thank God for patient husbands!
Mary March 15, 2016 at 17:07
What cute little penguins! That makes such a great pencil case.
I loved seeing al of your mini art pieces. Do you have them all displayed somewhere in your home?
Rachel March 15, 2016 at 09:02
Wow! Your penguins are adorable, and those index cards are amazing! I was trying to decide which cards I liked best, but my list was quickly becoming very long. ;) Great work!
Paige March 14, 2016 at 09:01
Olfa and his horned helmet is too cute! Your art work is amazing! All so beautiful!
rosa March 12, 2016 at 08:27
Great cards and pencil case.
Have a fun weekend.
Patty March 12, 2016 at 06:21
Olaf is darling and deserves to have a viking helmet! Love your index card art.
Kaja March 12, 2016 at 00:41
Lovely to see all your cards in one place – such a variety of styles and inspiration. You are right, art is good for the soul, and that makes it good for those around us too. :-)
Izzy March 11, 2016 at 14:46
Your cards are FABULOUS!!! And I really like Olaf… He’s just so cute. Thank you so much for linking up at TGIFF.
Janine March 11, 2016 at 04:40
Your new pencil case is perfect! I hope that although the challenge is finished you’ll keep sharing your art work here. I’ve loved seeing all your index cards :)
Kim Sharman March 11, 2016 at 02:44
Art is very good for the soul. It’s hard to believe you haven’t had any art training, Soma; you are a natural talent. I have loved seeing all your cards together. It is quite the collection. Such a varied subject matter and the colours encapsulate the rainbow. Your Olaf is the sweetest Viking, as is Polaris. Your pencil case is exceptional!
Lara B. March 10, 2016 at 17:44
It was so much fun watching as you painted these wonderful cards Soma. I love seeing them collected all together in one post like this. What an astonishing variety in your subject matter! You are skilled in the use of many different artistic mediums too.
Little Olaf looks so sweet on the cover of your pencil case. He and Polaris are adorable!
Dixie March 10, 2016 at 14:39
Olaf is a dear heart. What a great array of inspiring cards that you came up with! It’s lovely to see them all together.
Thank you, Soma.
Happy painting!
Susan March 10, 2016 at 13:41
I am impressed with all the cards. Olaf is so cute. Now I see something made with Olaf and Polaris together.
krislovesfabric March 10, 2016 at 12:38
Good to know you are getting a smile from those penguin characters each time you go to create your art Soma! These are great finishes! And I really liked seeing all your cards in one post. When you originally posted them, I thought of them as individual works – it is interesting to see how they compare and contrast, as well as see how you definitely favor certain mood and color palettes! I see bursts of happy reds and yellows in so many of them! Great body of work!
Kathleen March 10, 2016 at 11:45
I enjoyed seeing all your cards in one place here. Also like your pencil case because of the flap that keeps the contents from slipping out.