Friday, January 28, 2011
I came to work on Thursday to start putting drawings on watercolour paper. I print out my layout sketches, which have been touched up where things are the wrong size or in the wrong place. I blue tack a draft page onto the window in Grimmos old office, and trace onto the watercolour paper on top of it. It's a pov sort of light-box, because the blood drains out of my arms! You can't see through the watercolour paper to trace without light, because it is too thick.
So I just finished tracing the last sketches for The Birthday Party today with a little friend watching me. I don't have my camera to show you a pile of drawings but this is an example of what is on each page.
A neat pencil outline. Pretty dull. It is one of the more awkward drawings, because it's busy, and it was a challenge to draw a child squatting (I draw always from my head, but in this case I had to find some photo examples on the web of squatting children to get some clues, but the right age child from the right angle was hard to find so it's still a lot imagined and it only just works).
I don't like drawing stuff. I like drawing people, particularly cute little kids and especially their feet, but I don't like drawing rooms, walls, furniture, toys. Gardens I don't mind as much. I think the trouble with furniture and stuff is perspective and people have to interact with them. It is much easier to have people in white space. Which looks good, anyway, and we are trying to avoid giving away too much in terms of wealth and class. I think in terms of Kmart, not Myer or DJs, and not too aspirational.
So that is why you have a lot of bare feet and not much furniture.
So I just finished tracing the last sketches for The Birthday Party today with a little friend watching me. I don't have my camera to show you a pile of drawings but this is an example of what is on each page.
A neat pencil outline. Pretty dull. It is one of the more awkward drawings, because it's busy, and it was a challenge to draw a child squatting (I draw always from my head, but in this case I had to find some photo examples on the web of squatting children to get some clues, but the right age child from the right angle was hard to find so it's still a lot imagined and it only just works).
I don't like drawing stuff. I like drawing people, particularly cute little kids and especially their feet, but I don't like drawing rooms, walls, furniture, toys. Gardens I don't mind as much. I think the trouble with furniture and stuff is perspective and people have to interact with them. It is much easier to have people in white space. Which looks good, anyway, and we are trying to avoid giving away too much in terms of wealth and class. I think in terms of Kmart, not Myer or DJs, and not too aspirational.
So that is why you have a lot of bare feet and not much furniture.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Yesterday I coloured in clothes. Just a bit of fun. But better than leaving it till I'm painting, because if I use a colour on one person and then realise I should have saved it for another person, it's very annoying. Red is the most special colour, and everyone wants to wear it.
I can never think of anything for the Dad or the boy to wear that isn't boring. Girls and babies are easy, even if you limit the pink, and the Mum just wears what I wear. I've given Dad a red polo shirt, but I think I'll switch it to navy blue wide stripes. Stripes are easier to paint than blocks of colour, because big areas of paint can be blotchy and uneven (I hate grass) and stripes also add contours. And I noticed at Summer School that wide horizontal stripes are popular with middle aged people.
I can never think of anything for the Dad or the boy to wear that isn't boring. Girls and babies are easy, even if you limit the pink, and the Mum just wears what I wear. I've given Dad a red polo shirt, but I think I'll switch it to navy blue wide stripes. Stripes are easier to paint than blocks of colour, because big areas of paint can be blotchy and uneven (I hate grass) and stripes also add contours. And I noticed at Summer School that wide horizontal stripes are popular with middle aged people.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I've been working on other things like our 2011 resource guide, and been on holidays. I'm going to start the proper paintings soon. 45-odd illustrations are a little bit intimidating... they're starting to loom. So today I'm taking a small step, and finding out how much paper I have, and where my brushes are.
1. Find materials.
2. Trace draft sketches onto nice paper, finishing any details I left out.
3. Watercolour everything, except skin tones.
4. Skin tones.
5. Pencil around illustrations again.
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