Road Abelgeym

Step by Step: traditional artwork "The Corinthian" (+my comments)

Added 2022-11-28 21:37:47 +0000 UTC

I thought that someone would be interested, so I took photos of some of the steps in the process. (2 GIF animations with comparison of the original and final version edited in Procreate at the end of the post)

I always use different traditional materials within the same work. Because each type of material has its own limitations and features. Therefore, I can reach the desired result by mixing them.

1. During the first step, I sketch with a simple graphite pencil (B or 2B).

2. I erase the sketch with kneaded eraser. This allows me to make the whole sketch very light in tone. The sketch becomes translucent, so I can easily cover it with the next layers of materials.

3. I draw sharper lines with watercolor pencil. The color of the pencil should be matched with the color scheme of the future drawing.

4. I do underpainting with watercolors. I use watercolor because it allows me to cover large areas smoothly. Also the translucency of the watercolor allows me to build the color scheme I need.

5. I paint finer details with a thinner brush after the previous watercolor layer has completely dried out. I also decided to change the color of the shirt to black.

6. I continue to build the colors. I add shadows and additional colors, draw folds and details of the hair using layers of watercolor.

7. I draw the line after it is completely dry. I can line with fineliner/ink/rapidograph/capillary pen. I choose sepia colors for skin and light warm colors. I use black for everything else.
I usually use "Drawliner edding 1880" and "Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Brush" (here i am using it).

8. I'm using СOPIC (ciao) markers for the next step. I add brightness to colors and saturation to shadows. I deepen the shadows by painting details and adding tints (for example, making the fingertips, lips, ears and cheeks more red or making shadows more green).

9. I paint blood with watercolor and make highlights with white gouache. I add some details with watercolor pencils.

10. I fill the background with a solid color using gouache. Gouache gives a steady dense matte layer after drying. I also added water-diluted gouache over the already painted blood, because the color of the watercolor did not match the background shade.

11. Magic! (editing in Procreate). I draw details and fix mistakes. I use the "liquify" tool to correct the shape and "curves" tool to edit the colors. I also decided to change the background a bit and add some extra paper texture.