(These were the sketches of Larva drawn during the Turkish Delight workshop.) |
(Photos by Greg Autry https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greg-Autry-Art-Photo/262689913797400 ) |
(Some of my reference. Odd, I've used the kitty drawing in the upper left a number of times and just now noticed my little Repo peering out on the left side.) |
Once
I had the chance to digest the material I came up with a quick little
rough of what I wanted to do with the illustration . Using the myriad of
Egypt reference and cat photos I have around, I worked out the basic composition combining it with Greg's photo.
Once I have the drawing worked out and finished, I mask off the working area and tape it down to a piece of masonite. I then do a quick watercolor wash over the entire illustration so that I have something to work against. Next I start the linework working in acrylic paint. At this stage I use french ultramarine blue, cadmium red light and burnt umber to create a dark line for the objects and furnishings, and a warmer,lighter reddish brown for the flesh. Then I apply washes of a combination of these three colors to create the shadows. This was a system used by a lot of the illustrators that I admire such as Robert Fawcett and Albert Dorne, except they tended to use colored inks and dyes since acrylic paint was still in its infancy. (If you aren't familiar with the Famous Artist's course you should check it out. It's the best compilation I've ever seen on drawing and storytelling.)
To create as much mood as possible, I continue to add more shadow. I use the photo of the model as the basis of the lighting source and try and keep it consistent with the figure.
Using the strongest darks and opaque white I'm finally finished with the painting as a tonal study.
While I don't produce finished digital paintings, I do use Photoshop where ever I can both for shortcuts and safety. In this case, before laying on the finished color I tried to work as much out with layers to see what combinations worked best.
Next time I run through this process with another recent painting where I tried adjusting the order of the steps...adding on all my darks and light on top of the color. See you then.
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteThat's a great demo, keep up the good work.
Harry
Thanks, Harry.
ReplyDeleteIt was great seeing you last month. I just wish you were around out here to sit in on one of these life drawing workshops. For those you who aren't familiar with his work, Harry has written what I consider the best book I've seen on the "inking" process:http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Ink-Harry-Borgman/dp/0823013855/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370381955&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=drawing+for+reproduction+Harry+Borgman.
Best, Mike