Betty's Art Journey

Tag: ink

  • Bramble Zine 08/2026

    Bramble Zine 08/2026

    I keep a commonplace book. A commonplace book is simply a journal in which I collect interesting bits of info that I have either stumbled upon while wiki-surfing or actively researched for one or the other project or while I was reading a novel. One of these info snippets was about the word “bramble”. I met up with a friend for a zine-making afternoon, and while we sat at the table, crafting our zines, I pulled out this journal and picked the bramble theme to turn it into a zine. It was hand-drawn on a piece of paper, scanned, printed, and folded, and that was it.

    Zine details:

    • format: A7 (mini-Zine)
    • page count: 8
    • paper: 120 g/ms Xerox copy paper

    Read the Zine:

  • Open Sketch Stage Amphi Festival Cologne 07/2026

    Open Sketch Stage Amphi Festival Cologne 07/2026

    We are very lucky that we have a very active and creative sketcher and artist community in Cologne. The Urban Sketchers Cologne and the life drawing community Menschen Malen organised a sketch event in front of the Amphi Festival this year. For roughly two hours the organisers asked people to model for the attending group of artists. It was so much fun and I made so many drawings that I decided to complie them into a zine! You can read more about the event here.

    Zine details:

    • format: A6
    • page count: 16
    • paper cover: 180 g/ms Koala double-sided matte photo paper
    • paper inside: 120 g/ms Xerox copy paper

    Read the Zine:

  • ATC Zine 07/2026

    ATC Zine 07/2026

    I admit that it’s been a while since I last made an ATC, or artist trading card. But since I have been making those since they came up in the early 2000s, I decided to make a small zine about them. This time I kept it completely black and white and used normal copy paper for the print. The drawings are made with my trusted pilot falcon fountain pen.

    Zine details:

    • format: A6
    • page count: 16
    • issues printed: 10 (for now)
    • paper: 120 g/ms Xerox copy paper

    Read the Zine:

  • Juist Sketchbook 06/2026

    Juist Sketchbook 06/2026

    I felt a little burned out from the many different art projects I have been chipping away at over the past months. A lot of my time recently was spend in front of my PC, working on projects in Clip Studio Paint, for example. I do love all the possibilities digital art has to offer, but for me it feels a lot more like “work” than “play”.

    So I bought one of my favorite Hahnenmühle Sketchbooks in 14×14 cm for my two week long holiday on Juist. I didn’t manage to fill it completely, there are four spreads left, but right now, that I’m back on the mainland, forcing myself to finish it feels kind of wrong. So I will leave it the way it is and instead focus on a new project.

    All in all it was a great experience. Not only the drawing, but also the trip itself. Juist is a beautiful island, and I can only recommend it as a place for relaxation and for urban sketching and outdoor painting.

  • Zinuary 01/2026

    Zinuary 01/2026

    The Yummy Nom Nom Zine

    This year I decided to join the newly announced Zinuary challenge. I was mindlessly browsing through YouTube one evening and stumbled over this video by Stefan Große Halbuer. This challenge was about making a zine in one month and starting the year with something fun and fresh. I recently got intesrested in zinemaking and felt like this was a great opportunity to not just read and theorise about zines, but actually do the doing. All in all, it sounded like a great way to chase away the creative winter blues.

    Although zines are often political in nature, I decided to create something less challenging and a bit personal. Throughout the month, I created a variety of food-themed illustrations inspired by dishes I photographed. I also added a few comments on the topic of why I like eating out at restaurants so much.

    While I was working on the zine and talking to the people on the Zinuary discord server, I discovered the zines.cool podcast. Jenni, the hoist, is organizing a zine exchange, so I printed and made a few more issues to turn in. Since I just love stickers I added a home printed dim sum sticker to every issue. I’m hoping that someone will enjoy my first DIY zine.

    Zine details:

    • format: A6
    • page count: 16
    • issues printed: 10
    • paper: Canon Matte Photo 170 g/ms

    Read the Zine:

    Impressions:

  • Life Drawing 11/2024

    Life Drawing 11/2024

  • Life Drawing 10/2024

    Life Drawing 10/2024

  • Toned Watercolour Sketchbook A6

    Toned Watercolour Sketchbook A6

    I call this little book the Tiny Tree Book—a small collection almost entirely filled with drawings of trees. The sketchbook itself is an A6 Hahnemühle Toned Watercolor Sketchbook in beige, and I absolutely love the paper. Originally designed for urban sketching, it handles color beautifully, keeping the tones rich and vibrant. It also holds water surprisingly well—though by the end, the pages developed a slight wave. But honestly? That just adds to its charm.