djamilaknopf

May Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from a few different quicker, experimental pieces I created this month. This month has been all about experimentation for me.  

So especially if you're interested in a digital watercolour  style, this month's bundle...

Nature Painting & Dokomi Announcement

Hello friends!

This month has been all about experimentation for me. For a long time I've made it my mission to achieve a traditional look in digital media and I feel like I'm closer than ever. BUT the switch to watercolour or gouache seems inevitable at some point. I just love these textures and I'd love to achieve them with real paint! Working traditionally is scary, because you can't easily fix and change things, but maybe a challenge like that is exactly what I need to shake things ...

New Work in Progress

Hello friends!

It's been a while, but I finally have something new to show. 

As I've told you before, I've been experimenting with a digital watercolour style. I'm still in the process of figuring things out, but I like the general direction so far. I'm incorporating textures I created in Artbreeder that have a traditional look to them. It's a lot of fun and brings back a spontaneous and accidental eliment into digital painting that I really enjoy. 

I hope you like...

April Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from the illustrations above. They're both very different, but I hope you like them!

Everyone who has signed up before the end of April should have received either the reward or a message asking them to update their credit ca...

Book Talk

Hello friends! 

Since some of you renjoyed the previous post about books I've recently read, I figured I'd continue this, and turn it into a regular thing. 

Small disclaimer upfront: My favourite genres are literary fiction and magic realism, and I love stories that are set in East Asia. I don't exclusively read these things, but they're what I enjoy most at the moment and they might make up a good chunk of the books that I mention. 

Ok, let's go! These are th...

New Artwork - Early Access

Hello friends!

How are you today? 

I managed to finish this painting pretty quickly compared to some of my other works. It's heavily inspired by this artwork by Shaun Tan. Something about that pink and gold just drew me in and it almost seemed like matter that's alive and... pulsating? I don't know. I find it hard to put my intention into words. So...

New Work in Progress

Hello friends, 

Before I sign off for the weekend, I wanted to leave you with this little work in progress. The colours and the environment are out of my comfort zone, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

Have a great weekend!

Limited Edition Prints

The prints are available at djamilaknopf.com/store until 29 April, 10 AM EST and start shipping on 5 May. You can use your 10% discount.
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Hello friends, how are you doing today? 

It's a bit grey and drizzly here, but that's actually fitting for this print release. 

I finished Memory Lane a while ago, and worked on Colourless Streets last month. I fingured they'd make a good pair and decided to r...

Library Illustration (black & white)

Hello friends, 

I didn't talk about this when I finished the coloured version of this illustration back in December, but I just wasn't that excited about it. I struggled with the colour palette and changed it around a couple of times. But even then... purple and brown tones in combination are just not my thing. 

But now that I've been playing with more of a manga style, I figured why not try a black and white version of it, maybe the mood I had in mind could only be achi...

Cats cats cats - Early Access

Hello friends!

Can you spot all the cats? 

I just finished this painting. It's just a fun, light concept I've had floating around in my head for a while. I wanted the colours to feel summery and airy. It's an unusual mix of light pink and green, but it captures the mood I was going for. I hope you like how it turned out!

Now I feel like something something dark again, hehe.  

March Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from my illustration "Colourless Streets" that's heavily inspired by Ghost in the Shell. As always, we have the PSD file, inspirations and steps. (Btw, I'll also make prints available soon.) But I also threw in a Procreate process ...

Sketch with lots of cats

Update: I finished the detailed lineart for the cats. The chonky one in the front is my fav! Which one is yours?

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FYI: I'm sending out rewards on Monday

Hello friends, 

I hope you've had a good week! I'm feeling a lot better and I took a covid test today that came back negative. So that's good news. 

Before I sign off for the weekend, I wanted to share the painting I'm working on. It's just a bunch of cats lounging, nothing more. No deep mean...

What I've been up to

Hello friends!

I didn't want to make a big deal out of this because it really isn't and I'm doing fine. But I caught covid last week. A good friend came over to visit, we spent a few days here in my city and then travelled to Prague, because it was also my birthday and we wanted to do something nice. We had such a nice time, great weather, good food, but on our last day, when we were about to head back, I started getting a headache and sore throat. I went to get tested once I got home, ...

UPADATE: Limited Edition Print & Ukraine Donation

UPDATE: The payment successfully went through and we were able to donate 1370€. Thank you all so much for making this possible!

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Hello friends!

I've been staring at my phone screen these past few weeks, being somewhat paralysed by what was happening in the Ukraine. And I just couldn't bring myself to just keep going about business as usual. I've been sitting on a few paintings that I created, and I figured, if I released prints in thes...

Final Artwork - Early Access

Hello friends! 

I'll be sharing this on social media on Monday, but you get to see it first! 

I knocked back some of the rain I added in the previous version, and took a more subtle approach instead. This way, the scnene looks a bit more soothing - at least to me. I think the addition of the character also helps ground the scene and give a bit more focus. I hope you like it! 

These days, I'm reading a bit more, which is great. Reading always makes me happy! Un...

New Artwork - 95% Finished

Hello friends! How are you today? 

The painting posed some challenges that I wasn't expecting, especially after the 3/4 mark when I tried to push it towards the finish line. I tried a few things, like switching on some of the neon signs, but that only took me away further from the vision I originally had. It just didn't capture the dreary, gritty, lived-in look that I was going for and made it a little bit too vibrant and exciting. Usually, my paintings are vibrant and col...

February Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from my illustrations "Night Lights" and "Ancient Forest". I hope you'll like them!

Everyone who has signed up before the end of [last month] should have received either the reward or a message asking them to update their cre...

New Work in Progress

Hello friends!

It's been an insane couple of days, and just like everyone else, I'm just trying to process and to make sense of it all. But rather than checking the news every five minutes, I'm trying to continue creating things. 

So this is something I'm working on at the moment. It's inspired by Ghost in the Shell, and I included a few Easter eggs in the neon signs. 

I hope you like it so far! 

And I hope you're all ok. 

Ancient Forest -Final

Hello friends, 

The forest is finally done! I've had so much fun painting this. Any nature themes are super relaxing. 

And I couldn't resist adding a few Kodama. Their designs in Princess Mononoke hit the perfect sweet spot  for me between cute, weird, and simple. I love them so much!

Ancient Forest WIP

Hello friends!

I haven't drawn a forest in a while. This one is highly influenced by the forest on Yakushima Island that also inspired the forest in Princess Mononoke. 

I can't wait to paint all the leaves and the mossy textures!

Experimental Doodles

Hello friends, 

Currently, I'm experimenting and trying to figure out how to incorporate a watercolour look into my work. I've done this a couple of times in the past, but somehow, I just never seem to be able to make it work. It's always a bit too soft for my taste. ends up looking too soft and undefined for my taste. We'll see where this goes tho!

January Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from my illustration "Memory Lane" that shows an actual place in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Back when I visited, I really liked its atmosphere and look. I hope you like my interpretation of it!

Everyone who has signed up before the end...

Memory Lane - Final

EDIT: I finished the painting! I hope you like it. I think it's my favourite thing I've made in quite a while. 

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Hello friends, 

I've been working on this painting for a while and it's about 95% finished. I just need to detail the character, and do a few final adjustments. But I wanted to show you what I have so far, before I share the final on Monday. 

I hope you like it. Have a good weekend! 

3 New Timed Edition Prints!

Hello friends!

How  are you doing today? It's rainy and grey here, so the best thing to do  is to curl up in a blanket with a hot cup of tea, and read a good book.  Which is probably what I'll do after finishing work for today. But  first, let's talk about the new timed edition prints!

I'm releasing two illustrations I finished very recently, and one from  last year, that slipped under the radar and never made it into print for  some reason. I'll te...

WIP - Early Access

Hello friends!

I started a new painting. Details, details, details! 

I based this off of a photo I took in 2017 when I visited Japan. The place is called Memory Lane (or Piss Alley, haha) and is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. 

I hope you like it so far. There are still a few bits and pieces missing that I'm going to fill in on Monday, but I wanted to share my progress before I take time off over the weekend. 

I also put a bit more effort into the character'...

New Artwork - Early Access

Hello friends, 

I have a new painting for you. It's another homage to winter and I've really enjoyed working on it. Mostly, the scene is inspired by those nights when the sky gets that weird orangy colour. I know that light pollution isn't great, but I just love the look of it because it somehow feels so eerie and weird. I've been fascinated with it since I was a kid. 

Anyway, I might make a couple of small changes tomorrow, but I still wanted to post it today. I hope yo...

New Sketch & Notes on Perspective

Hello friends!

It doesn't look like it now, but I'll cover this whole scene in snow later on. And I have something fun planned for the colour palette. Also, one of my new year's resolutions for 2022 is to work on my character designs, especially fashion and SHOES. They're hard to draw, but also carry a lot of personality if you put a bit more effort into them. 

Also, while working on this, I took some notes on perspective and maybe you'll find them helpful. One thing about 1 ...

December Reward

Hello friends!

I just sent out the rewards via private message. As always, they include my brushes (Photoshop and Procreate), Gradient Maps, and a 10% discount code for my store.

The layered PSD file, step-by-step images, inspiration/reference are taken from my illustrations "Sky is Falling" and "Remembrance" (thanks for the title, Jonathan!) that I created last month. I hope you'll like it!

Everyone who has signed up before the end of December 2021 should have received eith...

Charity Project is Live!

Hello friends!

I'm super excited because I'm doing a charity collab with one of my favourite YouTubers: https://www.youtube.com/c/sharlainjapan (@heyitssharla on Twitter and Instagram)

If you know her, you know that she absolutely adores cats! She also has a stationery business and we partnered up to sell postcards and raise money...

New Artwork - Edited

EDIT: Ok, I put in a few more hours and made some changes. I like it a lot better now. Added a bit of detail to the cherry tree and completely changed the character. I also felt like the scale wasn't quite right, so I made her smaller. I hope you still like it. It was definitely a lot of fun to paint!

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Merry Christmas! I hope you're all enjoying your holidays.
Over here, things are really nice and quiet. I've been painting liste...