Here is my first submission for Illustration Friday. This week’s topic is “focused”.
Medium: Col Erase blue pencil, Pentel brush pen on detail paper.
Rough sketches.
These girls were inspired by the look of Sixties singers like Helen Shapiro, Ronnie Spector and Dusty Springfield.
Medium: PITT oil based pencil and watercolours/acrylics on 230gsm watercolour paper
These are my rough development sketches. First I drew the basic pose (left) then on detail paper refined and stylised it further (right).
Method: After I was happy with my refined sketch I transferred it via light box onto watercolour paper using blue Col Erase pencil. Went over the blue line with a Pitt oil based pencil (extra soft). They work well on watercolour paper. Painted using W&N watercolours (pan set) with a little opaque acrylic on the dress, shoes and the gloves.
Characters showing anxiety and anger.
These are some development sketches for the school diary assignment.
Medium: A3 Detail paper, pencil, PITT artist pen, Pentel brush pen
Createl Publishing are a publisher of student and teacher diaries for Australian schools. In November I was commissioned to illustrate their new student homework diary for 2011.
The brief stated “The diary requires 50 small cartoons to illustrate different study tips. The cartoons should appeal to ages 13-17 approx. and feature both male and
female figures. The purchaser of the diaries will be schools so the cartoons have to walk a fine line between beinq contemporary and still appropriate for schools.”
Here are some of the final designs. The printed size of the artwork is appox. 20mm by 20mm. Since that’s pretty small I decided to create them as vector art, keeping the shapes simple and avoiding black outlines. As usual I began sketching out these characters on paper and then recreated them in Illustrator. I will post some of the initial sketches and roughs soon.
A few female characters I drew in my sketchbook over Christmas.
Here are some pages from my Moleskine sketchbook. As you can see it doubled as an autograph book when Anna Karina came to town earlier this year. Some of these are inspired by her and another sixties actress Yoko Tani (the girl in the spacesuit).
The drawings on the last four pages were done with a new pencil i am trying out, Faber-Castell’s PITT oil based pencil (black). Thanks to Justin Coffee for putting me onto these. They are available in a variety of grades but Melbourne art stores only seem to carry the extra soft grade.
You get a wonderful range of grays and a nice rich black similar to a black coloured pencil. Light lines can be erased and are smug free. They sharpen well and at $AUD1.80 a real bargain. Check out the review at Penciltalk.org here.
Here’s the finished Mother and Child painting. For varnish I first put a coat of acrylic sealer (water based, non-removable) and then two coats of gloss varnish (oil based, removable). I will let it dry for a week then take it off the frame.
A few sketches I did today. I am trying to work out a pleasing eye shape and went for the almond or tear drop look.
Here are some progress photos of the Mother & Child painting I have been working on over the past few months. I began in May but this early attempt wasn’t working out. Out of sheer frustration I gesso’d over the top and started again.
I redrew her completely (shortened the length of her lower half, put the baby in profile and simplified the landscape). Finally it looked a little better.
Now it’s almost complete. I just need to add some leaves blowing across which will give it a better sense of movement.
Here you can see my first rough sketches.
Mother & Child, Acrylic on canvas. 24” by 48”
The latest version (above). October 2009.
This is after I redrew it. The red hair turned out to be bit over powering so she became a blonde. September 2009.
Just before I gesso’d over it and started again. June 2009.
My first effort. May 2009.
