I drew the tools with my tablet and collected it in a photoshop document. Then I made the base illustration. My drawing was as it turned out only a rough guide. At last I settled for this layout.

The Walther ppk is the most interesting shape and I made it the dominant object. It was difficult to find the right balance with the big black object . It should not look too realistic either. I abandoned the jetons and went with the dices instead to illustrate the casino aspect.

I added a back ground colour and a grey to the black and yellow to make it work.

I made more ink texture than I show here.

I think it works as an illustration. It tells a story or is referring to a story we all know. In the end the negative spaces began to interact as well.

I really enjoyed this one.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 1 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 2 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 3 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 4 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 5 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 6 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 7 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 8 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 9 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 10 - student project

Here are my cards. I don't know which one I prefer. I think the one with the birds tell the better story. Anyway I like how the roses on both cards came out and the birds.

Tom thanks for keeping an eye on things and guiding us trough this workshop. This is an awesome technique and I think I will use over and over.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 11 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 12 - student project

I think I will use the male/female theme. One option is to show just the legs of a man and woman. Maybe add a bouquet of flowers and some lettering. I will try to come up with some more solutions to that approach. And I would like to hit a retro style in my illustration.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 13 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 14 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 15 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 16 - student project

Okay! Here are the rough sketches. I am not sure that I have got i right yet. I think ttere are something good in the first one. The flowers are more dominant. I will use the last one as my base illustration.

I am still considering if I should try to draw/write the words or use a script font.

I saw how Tom did the flowers on his card shown on Pinterest and I simply have to try that myself.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 17 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 18 - student project

Here are the base illustrations. I will have to work on the retro look. I will have to see what I can do with the inky marks too. I hope I can give it some life. The colors will change before I am finished.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 19 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 20 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 21 - student project

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 22 - student project

Here are some of my inky marks. I find it difficult to make really quality marks, but It's probably a question of knowing the tools and experience. After all it’s the spontaneous approach and the happy accident that matter.

The Tools of a Secret Agent/Inky Valentine - image 23 - student project

Ebbe Overbye

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