anystar

Knuckles
Alright, just making sure (cause I get confused very easilly, as you can see)
For now, we just draw what we want on the bristol board, ink it, scan it, print it and post up the printed page here?

Ahhh...ink it, scan it, print it, color the print out, and post this colored print out. Yes. :D This is just a colorsketch to get an idea of how the markers work, and what colors you want to use for the final drawing.

ahh, so we color it for real and all? with the blender too? or do we just lay the base colors down and not do shading and things?

sorry for so many questions :P

Knuckles
ahh, so we color it for real and all? with the blender too? or do we just lay the base colors down and not do shading and things?

sorry for so many questions :P

Just the base colors. It's only a sketch, so you don't need to go any further than that.

I'm still slightly confused on what you want us to give to you (yikes, it's friday!)

So is this it?

1)sketch picture
2)ink it
3)scan it
4)print it out
5)colour print out, but only with the base colours--no additional shading or anything? This is the part I'm confused on.
6)scan coloured print out
7)post results here? (also slightly fuzzy on this part)

Yeah, that's all.

btw, I'm still working on the drawing >.> I had a small case of artists' block as to what I wanted to draw, so I'll have it all posted up here tonight sometime.

ran
7)post results here? (also slightly fuzzy on this part)

anystar
Instead of assignments being submitted first-post-first-critiqued, I'd actually like to have all the assignments in one post. I think this is a good method of having everyone's work "revealed" at once, and will cut down on clutter in the thread. So, when you submit your assignment, you will upload your image to photobucket (or whatever service you use to stash images), then PQ me with the URL of the image. Once I've made the post with all the finished assignments, the participants can comment/critique one each others work. I would like for everyone to make at LEAST one comment on every other person in the group (I will be commenting on everyone), but I understand if that doesn't happen. It actually takes practice to be able to word yourself well in a critique - I only ask that participants try because I think learning to critique is an integral part of any art class.

Ahh...does this explain better? XD basically
1. finish assignment
2. scan and upload to photobucket
3. send me a link to the url of your assignment via Private Quack

That kind of answered my question, but all that middle stuff about what the assignment actually consisted of is more simple terms, you kind of didn't answer u.u

Sorry for sounding so dumb, but could you re-explain the assignment in short, point by point sentences?

ran
That kind of answered my question, but all that middle stuff about what the assignment actually consisted of is more simple terms, you kind of didn't answer u.u

Sorry for sounding so dumb, but could you re-explain the assignment in short, point by point sentences?

Sorry!

1)sketch picture
2)ink it
3)scan it
4)print it out
5)colour print out, but only with the base colours--no additional shading or anything.
6)scan coloured print out
7)send me the results. :3

XD! I'll start putting something like this at the end of every 'lesson' to summarize and clarify things.

Aw snap. I just realized I boned this assignment after re-reading it this morning after submitting it yesterday. I did some shading I probably shouldn't have. XD

Oh well.

Oh yeah, lightboxes are the sex0r.

Is there any way I can turn it in tomorrow for half credit, Ms. Anystar? I swear I'm a good student. :3

Lin West
Oh yeah, lightboxes are the sex0r.

Is there any way I can turn it in tomorrow for half credit, Ms. Anystar? I swear I'm a good student. :3

Well, I've only gotten ShadowMyst and my's assignments XD So yes, latework is acceptable.

OMG I feel so bad >_< I wasn't able to finish it in time...

Knuckles
OMG I feel so bad >_< I wasn't able to finish it in time...

Just turn it in Late. :3 It's not a big deal.

I'll wait for..at least another two assignments to come in, then I'll post.

I had submitted on Sunday evening, but I didn't get a reply.. did you get my submission?

Knuckles
I had submitted on Sunday evening, but I didn't get a reply.. did you get my submission?

Ahhh..No, I haven't! O_o That's really weird. You sent it through PQ right? I only have the assignment from ShadowMyst turned in (besides my own). Please resend! :3

I'll wait until this Friday for late submissions, and the next lessony writing will be posted on Monday next week.

right-o. Resending now

Here we go! :D Assignment Turn ins:

Mine

I kept mine very simple. I like to use very light colors and then build up many layers. XD It might take a little longer, and sometimes be a litlte ..mmm...unnecessary? I just find this to be the easiest way. My background fire got a little smeary because I used copics OVER prismacolor black marker, but since I wanted the fire to be kind smeary and smoky looking anyways, I don't have a problem with that. When I go through and add more layering it'll hopefully be less noticeable. XD And I didn't paint/draw the markings on her parchment yet. I will XD I have to go dig up an image of it first, haha.

Shadowmyst's

Wow! Really nice. :3 I like these a lot. It's nice to see you started trying to shade and so forth :3 When you go to do a final version, that experience will be useful. It looks like you used the colorless blender on the kimono, is this right? It looks very nice. Like a real kimono that was painted, almost.

Knuckles'

A bit splotchy, but that's to be expected if you were just doing a sketch. It almost looks like water colors, too. Just a small observation. XD When we get to the thicker paper, it should be easier to layer colors and have less of that mottled effect. Although, sometimes it's nice seeing someone's marker strokes. It depends on what style of coloring you're going for.

The next lesson will be up on Monday! It'll involve pictures, and be involved mostly with layering and shading technique. Friday, the second assigment will be due. Hopefully there will be less late assignments since we already have half of it done? :3 Well, I can't wait to see what everyones finals look like. XD

:p yeah I was using alcohol-based markers on regular computer paper.

anystar
Wow! Really nice. :3 I like these a lot. It's nice to see you started trying to shade and so forth :3 When you go to do a final version, that experience will be useful. It looks like you used the colorless blender on the kimono, is this right? It looks very nice. Like a real kimono that was painted, almost.

Thanks. :) I tried two different color schemes, one warm, one cool. I generally feel really wierd not shading things at all. I did use the blender there, but I actually wasn't too happy with the pinks I used. I think I'd try to find a better set to do it again.

WEEK TWO: Small Scale Artwork II

What will you need? - Your finished lineart from week one, markers, scanner, photobucket, and your experiments from week one.

Step One: Fill in your Base Colors
All right, picking up from week one - you have base colors and a color scheme picked out. Now you can fill in your original lineart (which is on bristol board). Before you start, though, actively think about where you want your light source to come from. If your light source is going to be bright enough to leave white areas, you may want to leave some areas the white of the paper, that way you don't have to go back later or with acryllic/white ink pen to add highlights. This is true for water colors as it is for markers - you can always layer darker, you can't lift up.

However, as a corollary to this, you CAN use the colorless blender to lift SOME color. The colorless blender can lift up all or most of marker you laid down depending on the color - very very light colors can be removed entirely, while darker colors will leave behind a residue of color that often looks mottled - as if water has been spilled on it. HOWEVER, this works BETTER with copic markers. When I was using prismacolors, I did not feel that you could lift color easily with them, and I hardly used the blender at all - except as, I think someone mentioned before, a first layer prior to adding color, because it makes the colors go on smoother. I'll talk more about hte uses of the colorless blender in more advanced pieces when I actually have occasion to use it more.

Step Two: Shading and Blending
After you've filled in your base colors, you can go through and layer more of the same color in the dark areas to get a darker shade. After that, look to your markers for other colors that you can add to it. Nothing is ever ONE color. A good trick to know is to pull in colors from the background or the character's clothing into the reflections of other areas of the skin or clothing.

In my piece, I added pale lavendar, and pinkish white into the skin and white areas or her clothing.

Usually, after layering other colors in, I go over then with the base color again. I think this makes them blend together a little more smoothly. On th eskirt, the pink highlights were originally white space; this is going abck to the beginning where I talked about leaving open white space - you don't have to just use it for white highlights, but you can go through and layer other colors there as well to get darker highlights.
After adding those colors in, I shaded the bow of her outfit, which I had left aone up to this point. For the bow, I used amythest (A17) and the base color, which was grayish lavendar - or BV23.
Next, I worked a little more on her eyes and face. I took the colorless blender and removed some of the color from highlight spots in her eyes and skin.

Then I added darker shades of brown to the eyes to give them depth. The secondary colors on the eyes are maroon (E77) and light walnut (E57). The base color, I believe is chamois. After the eyes, I gave her a little lipstick. I always like tender pink (RV13) for lipstick, and dark pink (RV34) for the dark parts.
Now that the foreground has been entirely filled in, I pulled out several orange shades to mess around with the background. These colros were: Honey (Y36), Apricot (YR16), Salmon Red (R05) and Prawn (R24) going in order of lightest to darkest.

Step Three: Scanning Kills Markers
Now it's time to scan my piece! Unfortunately, because this piece has a very white backgorund, I'm going to have to toy with the levels a lot to get a decent looking scan. Why? Because scanners work through pixels - not vectors - and pixels work by relating to each other. What do I mean by this? A pixel will arrange itself (lighten, darken, etc) according to the color next to it. So because my piece does have white in the background, it's likely that this white will spread into the colored areas and give it a washed out effect. This doesn't happen as much when you have a completely full background, or some sort of background area, and you can always manipulate the piece with PS or (whatever program you use)if the piece doesn't have a background, but unfortunately it seems like it'll never look exactly like the real thing.

I've found that this is also true for printing. After spending several years working in my Uncle's art studio (he's an oil painter), and being involved in the very crazy process of getting the right color print, that technology today, while quite wonderful and advanced, ALWAYS seems to have a difficult time accurately representing traditional media. Perhaps this is because my uncle is a seascape artist, and shades of blue are particularly hard to reproduce, but we always went through many many trial versions of a print before getting a decent one. So basically, what I'm saying is, keep toying with your scan until you find the right combination of effects that'll flatter your work best, but do not expect it to look exactly like the original. There's always the chance the scan will look better than the original too. XD

Any case...here is my finished piece for this week.


HOMEWORK: Finish your original piece of work from Week One, the one on the Bristol Board/Cardstock/whichever paper you used.

Question! *raises hand*

How do you make grey? I don't have a grey prisma marker, so I'm wondering how do I go about making a light grey and some darker versions of it (for shading). On the first pic I colored, I had to use a light blue for his vest, because it was the closest thing to grey I could find.

heelp! :D

Knuckles
Question! *raises hand*

How do you make grey? I don't have a grey prisma marker, so I'm wondering how do I go about making a light grey and some darker versions of it (for shading). On the first pic I colored, I had to use a light blue for his vest, because it was the closest thing to grey I could find.

heelp! :D

Ahhh...XD;; I actually have no idea. I have two sets of greyscale markers. I would assume that if you have a black marker, you could use the blender to lift some of the black.But you might want to test that one a scrap of paper beforehand. Oooor..you could put black marker into the blender by pressing the tip of the black marker to the tip of the blender. Like so:

Again, I'm not sure how well this would work @_@ So test it first. and I wouldn't try using a black marker that's not prisma/copic/whichever brand you use.

Alrighty, thanks :) I'll experiment a bit

um.. wow @_@ is it normal to have to color so hard?
I had to color hard when I used the blender just to blend the colors a little >.> My hand cramped from pushing down so hard....

anyway, do we send these to you when we finish?

Knuckles
um.. wow @_@ is it normal to have to color so hard?
I had to color hard when I used the blender just to blend the colors a little >.> My hand cramped from pushing down so hard....

anyway, do we send these to you when we finish?

Yes :3! and you shouldn't HAVE to color so hard @_@;; That's a little worrysome. Then, if you're using the prisma blender, it doesn't really work that well e_e; not like the copic blender. If it's with the copic blender, I'd be worried O_o;

Yeah I'm using the Prisma blender. I don't think they sell Copics around here, but I'll look around for some. Can I mix Copic blenders with Prisma markers?

Knuckles
Yeah I'm using the Prisma blender. I don't think they sell Copics around here, but I'll look around for some. Can I mix Copic blenders with Prisma markers?

I have never tried it before. O_o If you're just looking to get a grey shade though, I would just buy a gray marker. X3 You can layer the same gray marker over itself to get dark areas, and try to use the blender for lighter areas.

Is there another lesson coming up?

Yes :3 I'm waiting on ShadowMyst to send in her homework. X3 I'll post up the next lesson then. I guess I could go ahead and just edit the homework post to add her drawing in later O_o Mmm. OK :D That's what I'll do. I'll put up a new lesson in the next two days. I have a lineart prepared already.

Homework from Last Time:

My Piece, again, just for refrence.


Here's Knuckles' Piece

Mmm..to me, this looks like its been gone over with the blender a lot -- or too much, really. The blender is best used sparingly, because of the way it tends to smudge and 'bleach' color. But it could just look washed out because of the scanning, as well. But I can see that you DO have a sense of where the darks and lights go - expand on that and use combine colors to form a better sense of depth and shade. While the blender can create different shades, the most vivid shading comes from color mixing. At least, that's my belief. Altho, I do understand you have a limited palette of colors to work with. Its good to see you experimenting and trying to find solutions using the materials you already have.

I'll post ShadowMysts' homework here when she sends it in :3 When I spoke with her last, she didn't have access to her markers (oh noes!) but she'll get to it as soon as possible. My finished piece is at the end of the lesson. I'm typing up this week's lesson immediately after I finish posting this. Yay!

WEEK THREE: Medium Scale Artwork

What will you need? - your markers, paper for dabbing, acryllic paint and small detail brushes and a finished piece of lineart that you can color.

Step One: Color
I already discussed coloring in detail in the last lesson, so this time I'm going to give a condensed version.

Here is my lineart:


Simple enough :3 after figuring out what sort of a color scheme I wanted, I started laying in basic colors. Then, I layered on other colors to give more depth.


This is about halfway through finished with the skin.


Here is the hair filled in flat.


And here is the hair when I added in some darker shades. Since this is a Mucha/art nouveau inspired piece, I wanted the color shades in the hair to be ...gradual. For the tail and the background, I used a lot of heaving blending to create gradients. Gradients are one of the most effective ways to create a simple and still viable background.

Here is the finished piece:

the LAST thing I did was add white acryllic paint specklings to give the highlighted parts a bit of extra punch. I added them in tiny speckled dots on the tail, arms, and face to give the illusion of glittering scales, but white paint and pen can be used in loads of other ways as well. Just keep an open mind and experiment away!

HOMEWORK: Friday, send me a completed marker piece using either a gradient background OR white acryllic (or both)