Today I went over to my old stomping grounds – Chemeketa Community College – to do a sketch. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to test out my new work method.
I started by taking a picture with my iPod Touch using the ProHDR app.
Next I used ArtRage on the Touch to create a quick color study working from the photo.
I then used Photogene to drop out the color to create a value study.
I used the value study to draw the major shapes in my watercolor notebook. I used a Pilot FriXion erasable pen so that I could erase the initial placement lines later if I wanted. Then I drew with my Mars 500 technical pen with Noodler's Bulletproof black ink. As I drew I looked at the scene to see the detail.
Finally I added watercolor using a small flat chisel brush. I looked at both my color study and the scene before me to determine the colors.
There's no way to know what the sketch would have been like had I just jumped right in and started sketching without the preliminary iPod Touch studies, but I feel they helped with the layout and color choices and they got my creative juices flowing.
