About The Painting...
Want to see a walkthrough?
Go HERE to see how
Impressions was created (June 04)
Click on the image below to see how Dragon Thrall
was created (April 07)
Things I've learnt along the way
For digital images I work in Photoshop and Painter 7 with a digital tablet. Most of my work is 300 dpi and about A4 size. That equals big! (50MB + depending on layers... some are about 300MB by the time I finish). I only dabble with Poser & Bryce occasionally, meaning that most of the work is done with pen and paper first. Generally I do a sketch which I scan in, then run a sepia or grey filter so that it's not so white! I tend to work in greyscale first, and often work at about 30% opacity. Once the painting is finished in greyscale, I generally alter the hue to a brown tone and begin painting over the top again at about 30% opacity.
I swap and change between photoshop and painter as I love the oil brushes in painter, though they tend to chew up memory like it's going out of fashion. Sometime I simply sketch in Painter with oil brushes, then upsize the image in photoshop, adding more and more details.
With watercolours, acrylics and oils I try just about everything and will work on any surface. I prefer Atellier artist acrylics, and I generally use Windsor & Newton oils.
Materials for watercolours:
Paper:
I have about 5 or 6 different lots, in varying sizes and varying qualities. I use Arches 100% cotton 140lb Smooth or Medium for nearly all of my paintings, though I've used Canson and Strathmore before as well. Hot press/ smooth is great for detail work whereas cold press is more suggestive and requires slightly different handling. I stretch my paper to prevent buckling and it makes it easier for me to set up on an angle (personal preference). Paper is a matter of experimentation and choice.
Paints:
I generally use Windsor & Newton. Unfortunately nowhere in my area
sells pans so I have to resort to tubes and a pallete that I mix in *sigh*.
One thing to note, there is a big difference in the vibrancy of Artist quality
vs Student Quality. I also use sepia pitt pens which are filled with Indian
Ink, though I do use Indian ink and brush as well.
Colours:
Fleshtones - generally I use a cadmium orange mixed with alizarin crimson and sometimes a touch of permanent rose. For shadows I'll add in blues (pthalo/ ultramarine)/ greens (viridian) / purples (generally a mix of ultramarine and permanent rose) to my base mix and often mix burnt sienna with alizarin. You don't 'need' all of these colours, I just make a slightly pink-orange/ peach colour and layer pale washes for general skin and choose a cool colour for the shadows.
Just a note, most of the colours I use are really 'strong' colours that quite easily take over the painting and will stain the paper. Plus I'm one of these 'don't use colour straight out of the tube' kind of people!
Stretching the Paper:
This is a technique I adapted from a guy called Kosvanec (he has a really fascinating book on watercolours and transparency, really different style of watercolour). This is merely the way I do it, not saying it's the best way, not even saying you have to stretch paper, just a personal preference.
- I stretch it in the loungeroom when I'm watching tv, although it's probably
best to do it somewhere you don't mind getting wet, like the kitchen table
. You need a towel, staple gun, masking tape, board, water spray bottle
and the paper.
- Make sure the board is clean! If it's not clean the water will transfer
the dirt/ colour / stuff to the paper. Damp down the board using the spray
bottle.
- Place the paper with the side you want against the board facing up (with
most paper's I don't think it really matters) . Dampen the paper evenly
so that you get an even sheen across the paper.
- Flip it over. You may need to damp the board again if there are dry
patches. Place the paper flat on the board and spray the surface of the
paper with water evenly.
- Sponge off the excess water from the paper with a towel and make sure
there are no bubbles. If there is, dampen under the paper and spray that
section with some more water. Remove the excess water with the towel.
The paper should be damp, not sopping, otherwise the masking tape won't
stick.
- Tape the edges with masking tape. I usually go over the end of the board
for extra support.
- Staple the paper to the board along the line of masking tape. I find
it's best to staple around 3-4cm apart, and about 1/2cm-1cm from the inside
edge of the masking tape. Also, if you don't have some kind of staple
remover, try not to staple fully to the board. They are a pain to remove!
- Allow to dry. I generally leave it leaning against the wall or something. Sometimes they bubble at the corner, but that's generally when I'm in a hurry.
Links to some of my favourite tutorial sites:
Elfwood FARP - excellent resource for beginners and advanced artists alike.
Epilogue Tutorials - from master sci-fi fantasy artists. Well worth a look!
Dee Dreslough - How to draw dragons - some intersting tutes on basic dragon construction
Visual Arts Education Canada - great set of links to generic art technique sites
Sumaleth's Art Links - organised collection of links to everything and anything art related