Now then, this illustration is
pretty straight forward, as far as how I do things but has some
cool elemets. FIRST, let's start with the initial sketch...
I like this a lot. It's got
good energy and the composition really works. You'll see
better in the more refined pencil stage
I pulled back so you can see little marks/dashes on the side.
Those are to line up where the vanishing point is when I blow it
up. Normally there’s just two sets ( left side and right side),
this one has three, since the camera is looking up I need a
vanishing point above. A bit overkill maybe for something like
this…but to be fair, it’s not that uncommon for me to have four
or five set of vanishing points for the sake of effect/eye
movement.
This composition is REALLY good. and
I'd like to lie and say I planned it all out, but most of it
just happened, we'll say my subconscious planned it all out.
Either way, the skeleton of an effective illustration or
painting is how the composition ties everything together or
leads the eye/draws the eye into it. I'll show you what I
mean...
First off, at the core of this one, the
figures create a triangle. Visually triangles imply power.
Different shapes and colors convey different messages
subconsciously...that's a whole other art
theory/lesson/technique that I'm not gonna get into, right now.
All that's important is, the figures create a simple visual
shape...
That gives is a solid foundation, BUT
the other cool thing is all the hoops/loops. Repeated visual
cues give a piece harmony and movement...
So, the whole things really works
composition wise. Now to draw and ink it without losing
the energy...
finished pencils...
and onto inking. This is 11x17 inches,
so as you can imagine, I'm not too excited about trying to ink
some of these lines with my trusty sable hair brush...BUT what
the hell, "dance with the one that brought you", as the saying
goes...
The worst line, is the side of the candy can on the left hand
side, that's about 9 inches tall.
That is a long line to try to get straight with a brush in
one stroke. So, I'll show you a little cheat here. If I
don't think I can get it in one pass, I'll pick a half way point
somewhere...where there is something else touching that line. In
this case where a stripe from the candy cane is touching.
That way if there is a bit of a glitch where I start the second
half of the line...it will be less noticeable visually...as
opposed to if I tried to connect the top and bottom somewhere
else where is nothing for the eye to see except my screw up.
actually...I nailed that pretty good, so that's not a great
example, but you get the idea. Pick a spot where if you
make an error it won't stand out.
and...onward....
Broken glass is one of those things that you either get right
without half trying or...you're doomed to redoing it over and
over and over...reflections in water are like that too. They are
"don't over think it" type tasks. I got this one pretty
good first try and then stayed the hell away from it. Hahaha, I
wasn't about to scratch it, accidentally spill ink on it,
accidentally drag the brush across it. Nope, I finished that and
didn't go anywhere near that part of the paper again until it
was done and ready to scan in.
Anyways...this one just, for whatever reason, all came together
and worked out. "luck is the residue of desire"?
On a side note...there was a reason I put the clock is at
10:50...but I can't remember what it was. (shrug)
Editions of this piece will be at
this link....ONLY until Dec.25th
https://makersplace.com/arseniclullaby/
Back
to Arsenic Lullaby NFT landing page
