How This Moth Took Flight: My Artist Process

A couple of weeks ago I announced the winner of my contest. Jeannie Pauly (@rovingsprout on Instagram) was the lucky winner with her submission of her huge moth photo.  A perfect Autumn subject (and yes, kinda creepy). The original art will be en route to her this week! image

I figured I'd take this opportunity to not only show the final illustration that Jeannie will be receiving but also show a bit of my process. I know that as an artist I love to see other artist's process. So here we go:

First, I go right to drawing out the moth and surrounding pole / background with my Staedler pens (black waterproof ink - 4 pen set sizes .1 .3 .5 .7). I start with a .3 in size and work my way up to a .7 where I want to add a little thicker lines and darker areas. I used to start with pencil, but found that I erased too much & was too noncommittal in my line. I switched it up after reading a book challenging me to go right for pen, as it helps you with more confident line. And it forces you to work with the line you've made, rather than to get stuck in constantly erasing & redrawing, never moving on to the rest of the process.

Photo Sep 29, 3 19 15 PM

Then I lay down some watercolors - starting with lighter colors and hues. A little wash here and there. A happy little moth. For brushes, I primarily use water brushes like these. But on this one I also used a few watercolor brushes I have kicking around. Nothing special.

Photo Sep 29, 3 24 57 PM

I build that up getting darker and darker, defining more of the shadows.  I have several sets of watercolors I use. It usually is more about selecting the right colors than sticking with a certain brand. I used a few different pan sets for this one. I tend to like colors that pop, and didn't want to keep the brown and almost monotone feel of the original photo.

Photo Sep 29, 3 38 53 PM

Then once the watercolors are dry, I'll go back in to a few spots to hit with a darker black Take-sumi ink (that isn't waterproof). I use my TWSBI pen for this finishing touches stage. And, voilà...

Photo Sep 29, 4 11 57 PM

And there you have it folks.  Here's the original and the final art! I give you "Moth-er, May I?"

FINAL_MOTH

 

 

And the Winner is...

confetti Jeannie Pauly! Congrats Jeannie! I'll be working on your sketch in the next week or so.

To everyone else, thanks so much for submitting your photos & being a part of this little experiment of mine.

Jeannie's entry was a HUGE moth from an Instagram photo she titled "nightlife". Speaking of Instagram, follow Jeannie @rovingsprout

image

 {photo credits: Juditk  /  Jeannie Pauly}

Something's Sketchy

3431352 If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I've recently renewed my love for drawing. I've been filling up art journals like crazy and posting my sketches on the web. Part of the challenge is to keep finding interesting subjects to draw, whether from real life or photo reference. That's where you come in...

I want to invite you to be a part of the process. Are you ready?

Here's your chance to pitch something for me to sketch. Between today and September 15th, 2013, I will be accepting photos from you - things you want me to sketch. After all the submissions are in, I will randomly pick a winner and sketch their subject matter. When I finish, I will post it here and on Twitter/Instagram and then will mail the lucky winner the original artwork!

Are you in?

A few rules:

** Open to US only. I'm paying the shipping charges :)
1. You MUST enter a comment below introducing yourself - your name, where you are from, a twitter name / website and why you want to be the lucky winner.
2. Email me (MBsketchme at gmail dot com) ONE image only (must be your own image - no googling images or stealing from others).
3. Image specs: must be a high resolution and clear image. I need to be able to see details!
4. Image content: NO Explicit images! // No landscapes or crowds // Iconic images work best (IE - an object or person, part(s) of a person, animal, plant. machine, etc) Look at my sketches to see the types of things I've done.
5. The final artwork will be my artistic interpretation (I may exercise "artists rights" to crop or colorize, etc.). Ink & Watercolor medium. Final dimensions TBD but will be no bigger than 8.5 x 11.
6. There is nothing legally binding about any of this. It's just pure fun!
 
You must abide by all rules to have a valid entry! Good Luck!