Watercolor WIPs- Sharing and Learning

[Steve B]

My understanding and memory, from looking over the linked-to thread, is that Juz provides the Artrage pack with the stickers in a post lower down (its there through a link), and that screenpainter provides the presets through a download link as well. Don't you just drag and drop them into Artrage?

If it needs to be done manually, then I think you can put the stickers in place by--
open the Tools bar> User Content> User Content Folder. Then in Stickers> make a folder, mine is Juz's Stickers. That's where I put her stickers.

You can put the presets in place by--
User Content Folder> Tool Presets> Sticker Spray> there you can make a folder "Juz's Stickers" or whatnot, and put the presets in there.

Or, atleast, I think that's how you do it manually. That's where my stuff is placed. I guess this is why its so nice to have art packs. Eventually, I'd like to make an art pack where I'd cobbled together those things that I use all the time that aren't "normal". I've never done that though, and so have dedicated the time to learn it yet. I'm sure its real easy.

[Steve B]

Well, last week was very busy as I tried to get my work into shape for a portfolio review. I did get some stuff done, and I just wanted to post a few images to share.

First, here's the final version for the Dragon and Child image I posted last week. I needed to change the format, and I pushed the contrast, made the girl bigger, etc. Color work done in Artrage, line work in Paint Tool Sai.

I'd thought I'd share the series of versions of I have of this. You can see I add the the dragon, it gets darker, I make the woman a child, the clouds get highlights as does the dragon, I move the text, I change the format, I enlarge the girl, I add "flying grass seed", etc.

[Steve B]

And here's one I did in a different style but a similar theme. Pen and ink was done with natural media and scanned in. Watercolors done with Artrage. I'm planning on coming back to this one and pushing the contrast more, making it darker and more "night", maybe giving her a flashlight, that sort of thing. But this is the composition for now. Changes I made from the original so far include- flipping the image to move left to right, changing the format for a 2 page spread, moving the text, enlarging the dragon head and dragon tail.

[Steve B]

This last one wasn't actually done in Artrage, but it was so fun, I thought I'd share it. I actually imported an abstract watercolor painting of mine, found the composition, inked over it digitally, and added the boy and terodactyl.

[chinapete]

... the drawing is so spontaneous and I wonder whether that was behind the choice of natural media for line ... color doesn't depend so much on hand movement or hand pressure or even the manner of application ... but line does ... so you have the best of both worlds ... ps I'm talking about the dragon in the room picture, I see another has just been posted ...

[silvy]

Bellissimi
It's a pleasure to see the work in progress. Thanks!

[Steve B]

Thanks Silvy. It's definitely been a learning experience. I thought the works were pretty good when I took them to be critiqued, so it was a rather humbling experience, frankly.

Hopefully, the WIP of the Girl on the Hill is engaging for others.

I'm working to push the contrast and the lighting in the images, as I think that seems to be the straightest path to pulling out the most interesting drama in a painting, speaking in terms of technical activity, not in terms of, say, the actual situation or setting or characters of an image. I look at stuff as different as, say, Rembrant and Nickullus, or Frank Miller and Monet, and if I like the image, it's almost always because good lighting and strongly placed contrast has created drama and tension. It's not that I don't like stuff like Paul Klee or Picasso, but art like that is largely "symbolic" rather than representative, IMO, as it flattens the image and goes more for color and pattern. If I'm going to go for something more illustrative, then I'm going to try for contrast. Hopefully, that process in coming across in that sequence of images.

The rest of the changes have mostly to do with format-- being the right size for a two page spread, thinking more about what's going to fall in the gutter where the two pages meet, thinking more about where the text is going to go, as well as how the image fits in the thirds-- that kind of stuff.

edit-- I added up above (earlier on this page) the original "He just got too big to fit under the bed anymore" image to compare and contrast it with the tweaked image after the critique.

[chinapete]

... "boy and pterodactyl" shows the power of broken, floating, calligraphic strokes over washes to create a sense of vibrancy and motion throughout ... also very much admire your ability to use black and near-black ...

[screenpainter]

I really love the dragon and child illustration. You really have a Quentin Blake kind of style... fun thing going on there. don't let the naysayers get you down.

[Caesar]

You've got a process which looks very effective and artful for drawing professional kids' books illustrations. A sort of déjà-vu, as for the style, in kids corner of bookshops, I think. Probably You're already in that business. Congratulations!