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natalie.shahmiri

Popeye RollerSkating Tin Toy

I’ve ventured from my animal tin toys into characters and think I may have lost my mind.

This one started out fine. I was focused on his head which by and large was pretty straightforward. Everything else felt so insanely hard every step of the way. His seams are really pronounced and his biceps are an odd shape. The reference photo was decent, but it was hard to make out parts at times.

And then there were his pants. I’ve never done fabric before and I’ll just put this out there: I never want to draw fabric again. His pants are still pretty laughable but it was the best I could do. I spent more time on the pants than the whole rest of the piece and at a certain point I had to let it go or I risked the whole thing turning to mud.

On the plus side, his shoes were fun! I’m not super psyched on this one and debated even posting it, but it’s all part of the process right? I’m hoping the few things I learned here will translate into my next piece.

Tin Toy Exploration 1.3

Drawing of a vintage tin duck that is yellow with a blue shirt and a red hat

This little vintage tin toy duck is my fourth attempt at a contemporary realism piece since starting to draw in March and I think is a pretty good improvement from Mr. Rabbit.

His little red hat just kills me and I loved every minute of drawing him. He has really beautiful weathered edges where the lithograph print is just totally worn off. He was also photographed in bright light which created these amazing highlights that were a fun new thing to play with. I’ve started to learn to do my highlights at once versus in each colored section of the toy. It makes them much more fluid and lessens the number of colors I’m trying to match.

I’m really enjoying this series and expect that it’s one I’ll continue to add to for a long while. I still have a few more images lined up to draw including a Disney tin toy that gives me anxiety just thinking about it.

For anyone also at the start of their drawing journey like I am, this piece took over 32 hours to complete. I’m sure for someone advanced this could be done in a day, but it’s still taking me a long time to get my shapes right. The hat and head came together quickly, but the chest and shoulder area was really hard.

Tin Toy Exploration 1.2

Vintage tin wind-up toy illustration of a red bird by Natalie Shahmiri

A month in on quarantine and still drawing away. I have to admit, learning to draw has been a nice distraction from things. It requires a level of focus I’ve always struggled with in life and this newfound skill has taken me quite by surprise.

Earlier this year my neurologist told me I had a mini-stroke in late 2019. The husband and I joke that my previously nonexistent drawing skills are a by-product of my mini-stroke which makes me laugh every time.

In reality, people who acquire incredible talents after a stroke are quite rare, but I’ll just pretend. It at least makes light of a pretty lame situation and is a fun story: “I could never draw, but then I had a small stroke and voila! I could suddenly draw! However, I could no longer calculate time.”

Enough about my brain and back to this little bird. Honestly, with as much as is wrong with this piece, I absolutely love it. I used a procreate brush to get the grid around the eyes which was a delight. The key shape is off, but is an improvement from the rabbit’s key and feels like plastic against the tin body. I feel like the tabs are fairly 3-dimensional and the weathering is similar to the rust on the actual toy. This one took me quite a few days to complete but was worth the effort. It’s still quite surreal to me that I drew this. I wish I owned this toy, I’ve become quite attached to it while drawing it, but alas she’s been sold!

Tin Toy Exploration 1.1

Vintage tin rabbit illustration by Natalie Shahmiri

I’m still working on learning how to draw in a realistic style and decide to do a series on tin toys. I’ve always been smitten with their wild style and vibrant colors, plus their rusty little imperfections. I’m kind of a glutton for old vintage finds in general, so this feels like a good series to get some practice in.

I found this guy on etsy and thankfully the person who listed it was kind enough to let me work from her photo. I really struggled with the arm and getting it to turn the way it’s supposed to. I tried so many times and just couldn’t get it right. It’s obviously a lot more flat than it should be, but I’m starting to understand the highlights and shadows around things that are supposed to be dimensional. The key was super tricky too. Far from the “realism” I’m going for, but given that I’ve only done a few drawings thus far I think I’m moving in the right direction. I’ve reached out to a bunch of people with photos I’d like to draw from. Hopefully, some say yes and I can keep working on these!