Back Home From IMC

Returned home late last night from IMC. I have many photos to download and post and will do so after Father's Day celebrations. In the meantime, I wanted to share some unexpected good news. My colored pencil/watercolor painting/drawing was selected as the Best of Show on Ann Kullberg's online Member's Show by juror, Nicole Caulfield. Feel very honored. Happy too.

Pluck Final

Finished with this experiment. I ended up using more saturated colors on the flesh. Maybe too much. So, I learn something with each attempt and my confidence increases ever so slightly. This is what I've learned from this:

1. I love sketching on vellum. It erases easily. I can check for errors by reversing the image, like looking at your sketch in a mirror. I also like how it scans, as long as I have a piece of white paper behind it.

2. So far, Lanaquelle watercolor paper is my favorite. It prints well and receives the watercolors beautifully. It's surface is smooth enough for the application of colored pencils.

3. Though I love the strong pigments of Dr. Ph Martin's, I prefer pan watercolors for the convenience.

4. Um....I believe in faeries.

Couple Layers of Watercolor

I scanned and then printed this out on Lanaquelle watercolor paper and then, using Dr. Ph. Martin's watercolors, started building the layers up on the painting. I will do a few more light layers before pulling out some of the shadows, highlights and detail with Prismacolors (sorry for the poor photo).

Insomnia Painting

Can't sleep so I decided to play around in Photoshop with Pluck. She likes complementary colors.

Sunday Sketch

Had some fun with a faerie sketch today. Ever since someone sent me a link to albino animals, I have been intrigued with the thought of an albino faerie with nearly white hair. I cut a daffodil from the garden and tried to figure out how the flower might be made into a dress. I need to come up with a good name for her, but for now, I will call her Pluck.

Sad Faerie - watercolor study con't.

I finished up the first watercolor study and then applied some colored pencils on top. Having the pencil sketch underneath truly helped me. It was almost like applying a tint to the sketch, like you would with a black and white photo. Now I want to change things up a bit and try something different with the faery. Sort of pull away from the typical. We'll see how this goes.

Sad Faerie Sketch

Finished sketch

Updated Sketch

Will work on wings and finish hair tomorrow during sketching time.

Adventures in Watercolor

"Ensnared"

Been experimenting with watercolor, the medium that has struck fear and intimidation in me, even over the dreaded oils. And you know what? I've rather enjoy them. I think it's due to the fact their application is alot like colored pencil. It's additive layers. Of course, I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I've overcome some of the anxiety...at least enough to ease up and have some fun. Here's the sketch and then the first two layers. Um, think her hair needs to be dark.

Finishing Projects SAD

One of my many goals is to finish up some projects that have been gathering dust around the studio. Most of these older projects are intimidating me for one reason or another. Either I'm unsure how to proceed with the medium or I'm not happy with the initial concept. Though I like the look of this one (top drawing), I'm uncertain what I want to convey. Yesterday, I spent some time reworking the fairy in this bottom sketch, trying to make her look less coy and more sad and dejected because she's been caught in a snare. Um....decisions, decisions.

Experiment Concluded

Well, the more I looked at those hard edges, the more I didn't like them. I also discovered that the three layers of fixative prevented my colored pencils from fully grabbing the vellum. SO, I decided to stop and repeat the last two steps. This time I printed a sepia toned copy of my original scanned sketch on to the vellum. Very pleased with the results. Also, after looking at some firefly reference photos, I realized that they give off a yellowish-green glow; not an orange-yellow one. Duh! I've never seen one in person. Also, I didn't fix the printed side since my printer uses water-resistant archival inks. Made all the difference. The vellum received the colored pencils beautifully. After playing around with some colors, I realized that my original concept was way too day-lightish. I went with a much more moonlit look and prefer it, although it's not as vibrant.

So, with this experiment concluded....would I use it again? Not sure. While I do love the luminosity, that's achievable with other mediums. The one thing Sergio doesn't reveal in his article is what he uses on the final to back it. I imagine any solid white paper would work. The vellum alone is way too fragile. Of course, under Sergio's masterful hands, this technique produces distinctively glowing illustrations. I can't possibly expect to achieve the same results without his skills and experience.

I am most grateful to artists who are willing to share their process. People like James Gurney, Dan Dos Santos, Donato Giancola, and many others who open the door to their studios and their techniques probably underestimate their value to artist-wanna-be's like myself. It is so helpful. I think with one exception, every artist I've emailed has replied and generously imparted information to me. There are other lesser known artists I follow who post their works in progress and I always gain new knowledge watching them work. My hope is that this meager experiment has been helpful to someone out there. I know I've learned alot. Thanks Sergio!

Blending Colors

Okay...this was tricky. You have to use just the right amount of Turpenoid on your paper towel or you completely wipe off your pigment. Sergio says to use 5 drops. Lacking an eyedropper, I had to experiment and ended up using my fingers to blend more than the cloth. Another thing. I got interrupted and had to come back to lift out the color on the lightest areas and discovered the pigment had "set" into the paper. I'm hoping I can lighten things up on the other side using the colored pencils he recommends. I am pleased with the vibrancy of the pigments, though, be warned, they do dull after they dry. Now...to carefully remove the tape and turn it to the right side. Fingers crossed.

The above image is the picture, right-side up. Not sure what I think of the hard charcoal edges. I think I should have used the lighter ochre pencil through out. Um. Yeah...those lines are way too harsh. Well, this is an experiment, right?? Let's see now....next, we use colored pencils on this side to emphasize the highlights and darken the shadows. Until tomorrow...

Color Crazy

I didn't scan the charcoal line drawing because it looks just like my original pencil sketch. I fixed the charcoal with 2 coats of WN Workable Spray Fixative. Then I taped the edges on both sides and taped the drawing, backside facing up on several pieces of blank paper (to soften the surface) and then went crazy with the color. I'm using Caran d'ache Neocolor I crayons.

They are a bit pricey, but almost solid pigment. Sergio says to make big, bold strokes, paying particular attention to the "atmosphere" of the picture. After seeing this scanned, I think I will go back in with more darks around the outside of the drawing. Next I will take Turpenoid and start melting, blending and lifting out color. Until tomorrow.

Next Step: Charcoal

After resketching the picture on heavy vellum (I used a Wolff's Carbon B charcoal pencil), Martinez says to go over the drawing very lightly, with a kneaded eraser. Quote: "I'm not really erasing; I'm caressing the lines. I am making the hard edge of the lines disappear". He then tuns the vellum over and does the drawing on the back, reinforcing the overall shadows and then repeating the eraser bit. I'm not sure I did this part right. I tried my best to caress the paper. This is where Sergio sends in the scan for approval.

Oops! After rereading the article, I realized I added an extra step by mistake. This step should replace the value step I did on the computer. ( I got the captions and the instructions mixed up. Senior moment. Happens alot.)

After approval, your own or the AD's, you then resize it to your final specifications, and print it out. It's from this copied version of the drawing that you NOW resketch your final drawing using the heavy vellum, as well as the carbon charcoal, thereby eliminating the charcoal mess I've now created on my drawing, not to mention the keyboard. You will have is a clean, line drawing of your piece, ready to be fixed and then the "painting" begins. Experimentation continues....

Painting on Vellum ala Sergio Martinez

I've been a fan of Sergio's every since I discovered his illustrations for Max Lucado's "You Are Special". His composition and line work are wonderful and strong. He creates his luminous colors by drawing on both sides of vellum. I'vebeen a fan of drawing on vellum for years now so I was very interested in his technique. In one of his blog posts he mentioned that his whole process was explained in an out-of-print edition of Step by Step Graphics. Fortunately, someone on ConceptArt who owned that edition scanned and posted the whole article. UNfortunately, the link is now down. So glad I saved it! This is my experimental sketch & value study. Next I will cover the sketch with a sheet of heavy, 90gm vellum and redraw with a carbon charcoal pencil. Hopefully, I will be ready to post the next step tomorrow.

Just a Sketch

A little fairy sketch.

Adding Color

Starting to lay down the colors, trying to match the color swatches you have sent me. Next, I willl start on her facial features.