Tasty Bitcoin–
or Magic Internet Money
This is one of my first drawings with a ballpoint pen. I came up with the idea of making drawings with a ballpoint pen when I was looking at the sketches I make during my work. Everyone knows it. They are meditation props during a phone call or a long meeting. A random series of lines, patterns and surfaces. But there is something magical about these sketches. Just like the magical internet money.
I then remembered that a classmate at school used to make incredibly cool drawings with ballpoint pens. I thought it was funny at the time. Now I understand it.
Pens are incredibly good tools for creating interesting visual looks.
I just wanted to make a few cool sketches
I created my first drawings in a sketchbook. It wasn't planned that way. I just wanted to make a few cool sketches. As the sketches became more elaborate, I decided to create my first big artwork. "Tasty Bitcoin" is one of my first drawings, so the image means a lot to me.
When the book is full of finished Bitcoin motifs, I might auction it off one day.
01
Ballpoint pens work completely differently to pencils
I sketch my pictures first with a rough pencil sketch. Sometimes it happens that I like the pencil sketch better than the beginning of my ballpoint pen drawing. Ballpoint pens work completely differently to pencils. You can't fill in areas as quickly with a ballpoint pen, at least not in my style.
02
"Accessible" Bitcoin art
"Tasty Bitcoin" is one of my first pictures in this style and also one of my first Bitcoin pictures in general.
I got the idea to make Bitcoin images when I saw more and more Bitcoin artworks, especially on X.
I like the idea of creating an "easy" or "accessible" Bitcoin image. Something that represents Bitcoin's character without going too deep into the subject matter. A Bitcoin image that anyone can hang in their home without having to fall completely down the Bitcoin rabbit hole.
03
Dynamic lines
I like to integrate movement into my pictures. I love dynamic lines, shapes and textures. Elements such as wind, storm and gravity play a major role in my pictorial ideas.I also like the emotions that a face can express. "Tasty Bitcoin" is a mixture of both worlds.
04
High contrast
This 30x40 cm picture took me about 10-15 hours. I think it's because I'm still unskilled with the ballpoint pen.
It is not easy to portray faces with soft gradients using a ballpoint pen. It takes a lot of practice and a skilled, gentle pen stroke.
I like the sharpness created by the ballpoint pen drawings. The high contrast between highlights and shadows brings an interesting plasticity to the artwork
05
The final image
To begin with, I drew the first rough shapes and elements with a pencil. Then I painted on a little water-soluble gouache paint as a base for very dark areas. Since I make my drawings with a ballpoint pen, large dark areas are not easy to hatch.
The gray-white base makes it a little easier to achieve the overall lighting mood.
Ballpoint pens are underestimated tools, just like Bitcoin.
I love it when people ask me: Was that only created with a ballpoint pen? Yes, almost. Pens are useful tools that are used in everyday life, hardly anyone would think of using them as an artistic tool. Yet this small little tool creates a distinctive, sharp, high-contrast look and is versatile. Bitcoin is also underestimated by most, yet it covers so many fascinating topics ranging from finance to psychology.
Tasty Bitcoin–
or Magic Internet Money
This is one of my first drawings with a ballpoint pen. I came up with the idea of making drawings with a ballpoint pen when I was looking at the sketches I make during my work. Everyone knows it. They are meditation props during a phone call or a long meeting. A random series of lines, patterns and surfaces. But there is something magical about these sketches. Just like the magical internet money.
I then remembered that a classmate at school used to make incredibly cool drawings with ballpoint pens. I thought it was funny at the time. Now I understand it. Pens are incredibly good tools for creating interesting visual looks.
The original picture is part of a drawing book and is not for sale.