Professional Documents
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TOOLS
• Watercolor pencils Anything less than 140 lbs hot-press paper will collapse under
• Watercolor crayons all that water. This close-up detail of the Kinglet can really
• Colored pencils I packed on the Chinese white to create fluffed up show how much abuse a 140 lbs watercolor paper can take.
• Brush pen and brushes chest feathers. This thick layering technique also
gave the bird distinction from its environment.
05 Outlines
Our Kangahorse now has a few
layers of watercolor crayon built up
and I begin to go over the outlines with
my tanned drawing pencil and also a slightly 04
darker shade for the shadowed areas. This
helps to clean up the image and reinforce
the contours of the original sketch.
06 Finishing details
I deepen the shadows with pencils, which also
helps to define areas of the sketch. I give the
Kangahorse a shaggy appearance by using the
Conté pencils to create tufts of hair on his flanks,
mane, jaw line, and tail. Adding pencil marks over
the sketch helps to crisp up the final image.
Go over the outlines
of your sketch again
once you have built
up layers of color. 05
06
Section title | Chapter title 59
A solid-looking sketch
The wonderful thing about sketching with color is
its ability to make things solid. Using the concept of
temperature (colors that look warm in comparison
to colors that look cool) and complementary colors
to create light and shadow, you can give a painted
sketch roundness and life. This is easy to do as we The shadows are warm and
can see in my sketch of the Kangahorse, where the highlights are cool.
I decided that the lights would be cool and the
darks would be warmer. This is seen in the green
transitioning tones on the saddle. I therefore decide
to make all the shadow tones warmer than the
highlight tones throughout the whole sketch.
Cool highlights.
Warm shadows.
Scarlet
TOOLS
• Hot-press watercolor paper
• Watercolor crayons (scarlet, pink, salmon,
orangey yellow, olive, dark green, and white)
• Pencil
• Size 8 watercolor brush
• Something to make a circle
01
with (I use a coaster)
05 Visually red
My last step, once the sphere has dried, is to lightly
go over the sphere in its original color. If done
lightly, the contrasting colors should smooth out
and keep the sphere visually looking red.
05
Olive
Vermilion
Ultramarine blue
06
Prussian blue
Flame red
Raw umber
TOOLS
• Watercolor pencils Anything less than 140 lbs hot-press paper will collapse under
• Watercolor crayons all that water. This close-up detail of the Kinglet can really
• Colored pencils I packed on the Chinese white to create fluffed up show how much abuse a 140 lbs watercolor paper can take.
• Brush pen and brushes chest feathers. This thick layering technique also
gave the bird distinction from its environment.
05 Outlines
Our Kangahorse now has a few
layers of watercolor crayon built up
and I begin to go over the outlines with
my tanned drawing pencil and also a slightly 04
darker shade for the shadowed areas. This
helps to clean up the image and reinforce
the contours of the original sketch.
06 Finishing details
I deepen the shadows with pencils, which also
helps to define areas of the sketch. I give the
Kangahorse a shaggy appearance by using the
Conté pencils to create tufts of hair on his flanks,
mane, jaw line, and tail. Adding pencil marks over
the sketch helps to crisp up the final image.
Go over the outlines
of your sketch again
once you have built
up layers of color. 05
06
Section title | Chapter title 70
A solid-looking sketch
The wonderful thing about sketching with color is
its ability to make things solid. Using the concept of
temperature (colors that look warm in comparison
to colors that look cool) and complementary colors
to create light and shadow, you can give a painted
sketch roundness and life. This is easy to do as we The shadows are warm and
can see in my sketch of the Kangahorse, where the highlights are cool.
I decided that the lights would be cool and the
darks would be warmer. This is seen in the green
transitioning tones on the saddle. I therefore decide
to make all the shadow tones warmer than the
highlight tones throughout the whole sketch.
Cool highlights.
Warm shadows.
Scarlet
TOOLS
• Hot-press watercolor paper
• Watercolor crayons (scarlet, pink, salmon,
orangey yellow, olive, dark green, and white)
• Pencil
• Size 8 watercolor brush
• Something to make a circle
01
with (I use a coaster)
05 Visually red
My last step, once the sphere has dried, is to lightly
go over the sphere in its original color. If done
lightly, the contrasting colors should smooth out
and keep the sphere visually looking red.
05
Olive
Vermilion
Ultramarine blue
06
Prussian blue
Flame red
Raw umber
02 Playing about
By moving the cross around the sphere you can
dramatically change the look and feel of a character. It
also helps you to choose the direction the head is facing.
If your character is looking up, the horizontal cross line
will be higher up; if they are looking to the side, one side
of the horizontal line will be longer than the other.
02
03 Looking for shapes
After the shape study, I start to add the details,
positioning elements where I think they are correct.
Visualizing three-dimensional forms allows me to
avoid flatness in the image and gives a lively feel.
04 Practice
Finding the right shapes is all about practice. You have
infinite possibilities to squash, stretch, and adapt shapes
to please your eyes. Now you know how shapes can 04
help you, try to add them into your drawing process!
02 Noses
There are infinite nose shapes you can play with.
Again, simplify them down into basic shapes. I
usually start with a circle to define the position
of the nose on the face. Then I add shape details 03
to the circle, such as a bump on the bridge of
the nose. Think of the bridge as flat planes
that you can view from different angles.
01
03 Mouth
Mouths can be drawn quite simply by suggesting
their volumes and form. Start off by drawing
a rough line (this will be the opening of the 04
mouth), then build the lips around it. This can
be done with a gesture line or by building up
02 Basic elements
In order to simplify the hand’s anatomy, I use
Use shapes. Think in three dimensions.
rectangular and cylindrical shapes for the palm
and fingers. This way it is easier to think in three
dimensions. Other important elements to consider
are the spherical knuckles. I usually simplify the
03
palm muscles into three big shapes. Build your hand
up using these basic shapes. Remember to choose
between round or square shapes to draw the fingers.
03 The process
When I sketch hands, I always start with a
basic rough shape, focusing on dynamism and
silhouette. Then I start adding some basic shapes 01 04
to define volumes. Finally I add some details,
trying to preserve the solid look of the shapes.
01 A readable silhouette
To test out whether your characters are readable
as silhouettes, grab a piece of tracing paper (or add
another layer in your digital painting software) and
trace around your character, filling it in with a solid
color. If you look at the examples here, it’s clear that
the first girl (01a) is holding a mug, but what about
the second one (01b)? It’s not as clear. A great way
to test your silhouettes is to show them to your
friends or colleagues and ask them what they see.
If the answer is correct, the silhouette works! 01b
02
03
02 Variety is key
Now that you’ve learned the basic form of a curl, try
01
to add some variety to the shape and make your
curls lively and bouncy. Change the width of the
ribbon, make it slimmer or thicker, split it and pull the
curl together, or loosen it up. Most importantly, look
at hair and how it behaves, simplify, and then draw.
03 Curly hairstyle
To make the curls look natural and lively, add a
bit of curve to your guidelines to give the hair
some direction and flow. Now draw in the ribbon
as described earlier and clean up the lines. With
this technique you can add one curly strand after
another directly onto the head. Try changing 02 04
the flow or width to add some variety too.
03 Finer details
Towards the end you can use your wrist
for the last touches to the hair, such as the
thin lines or corrections. Personally, I like
to add some short sketchy lines in order to 02 03 04
emphasize volumes and dynamism. But still,
it’s all about practice. My advice for learning
where to put what? Use photo references!
02 04
03 Suggesting volume
through value
Work smoothly and quickly to build up more
scales in areas where you’d like to suggest more
04
volume. Pay attention to joints and areas of large
muscle groups such as shoulders and thighs. 01
02 Cloudy shapes
Using the same technique, start darkening
some areas of the sky to define the tops of the
clouds. We think of both the sky and clouds
as being very bright, but if you think about it, 01a
they’re tonally quite different! Billowing cumulus
clouds like these are usually brighter on top. Start
sketching out the basic outline of the clouds.
03 Shiny surface
The consistency of your surface will have the
biggest impact on the reflection. In image 03 I
have drawn a tube made of a very shiny material.
Everything that’s surrounding the tube will have a
sharp reflection and you should use a sharpened
pencil to sketch it. Because the tube is round,
the things it reflects will appear slimmer. 01 05
01 Sketching a circle
Use an HB pencil in a tripod grip and sketch a circle.
Remember to draw the highlights, the core shadow,
and the cast shadow. In this step, you don’t need to
be precise, just capture the essence of your object. 03
02
02 04
02 First colors
Apply color as you would with a traditional
colored pencil - the more color you apply, the 01
more intense the value will be. Keep the pencil
point sharp and hold your tool at a low angle (not
perpendicular to the paper). Don’t be afraid of
colors! For the sky you can use not only a blue
pencil, but also yellow, green, purple, or pink ones! 02
03 Blending clouds
Brush clean water over the color to dissolve and
blend it. The more you stroke water over water or the
heavier pressure you use, the more the color will be
04
moved around. When blending colors, always start
from the brightest areas and move to the darkest.
02