I'm trying to find a way to preserve the energy of my initial sketches in finished color pieces, so I did an experiment.
I took a sketch and transferred it in a variety of ways.
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| Pen and ink: stiff lines, so I didn't paint it. |
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| Paint first, brush and ink: Lines that were better. |
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| Brush and ink first, then paint added: best variety in line and I did a better job with the color. |
At the end of it, I wasn't super impressed with ANY of them. They all looked similar enough to me that it didn't really matter how they got there. A little frustrating sure, but it just means if I want significant results, I need to really push myself out of the box and approach my work in a way that I haven't before.
Later on I was playing around with Photoshop:
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| Digitally colored sketch |
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| Digitally colored sketch. |
And the one I like the most? This last picture. I'm getting more comfortable digitally, but that doesn't help me strengthen my traditional approach. Looks like I get to go back to the drawing board.
A post I can really appreciate and relate to so well. I felt like I was a much better sketch artist because I struggled with not being able to convey line energy in my finishe work. Then I discovered Corel Painter Essentials 4 (came with my Wacom tablet) and the Scratchpad Tool. I do all my line work in Corel first because the tool si so responsive to pen speed and pressure AND you can turn/rotate the page like real paper to get the angles on your wrist right - one isn't limited to the 90 degrees in PS. Then I go and do all my painting in PS. Good luck finding the recipe that works for you.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the process (found your blog through #kidlitart) and I agree because I have the same feeling most of the time. I myself like the solid ink line and I thought your brushwork one was really nice. But you seem to like the pencil line so why don't you scan your pencils in first then paint them and scan again. Join the two images up so you can have hand painted work with digitally enhanced pencil lines. Kind of a process but might give you the best of both approaches.
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