Breaking Free of 2D with Niki Firmin

Self-taught artist Niki Firmin had just finished a detailed realistic drawing of a calf in colored pencil. The piece was for an exhibition with the U.K. Coloured Pencil Society, and Niki was pleased with the result. But she still felt it wasn’t quite perfect.

“I just felt it was lacking depth,” Niki says. “So I decided I would try Doodling the nose to give the piece that depth.”

Niki had been working for a 3Doodler distributer, and was already familiar with how the pen could be used to bridge the line between the second and third dimensions.

The Doodled nose pushed her drawing into a new realm of mixed media art. “I was over the moon with the result!” Niki says. “I had been looking to find ways to combine the 3Doodler with fine art and the final result blended in so well!”

Niki created the nose of the calf with black and white PLA, and added some paint at the end to blend the colors and make the nose look more realistic.

"I don’t think I’m going to be able to go back to 2D anymore.”" Share

“The calf is looking through a fence, so I found a couple of pieces of wood to put at the top and bottom for the fence and then overlapped the nose over the top of the bottom fence,” Niki explains. The final result was an engaging and entertaining piece which Niki playfully named “Moodle.”

Since the creation of “Moodle”, Niki has explored more animal portraiture with Doodled additions.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to go back to 2D anymore,” Niki says. “2D-3D is the way forward for me, and I’m hoping it will make my work stand out in a very competitive market.”back to top image

Ram-a-Doodle Ram-a-Doodle

Related Posts

Close-up: 3D pen art cake with sticks design

Get Inspiration in Your Inbox

Sign up to be the first to have our latest 3D pen lessons, stencils, deals, and discounts (yay!) deposited directly in your inbox.

You have Successfully Subscribed!