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A Traditional Caricature Commission in 18 Steps (view source)
Revision as of 23:44, 2 August 2020
, 23:44, 2 August 2020Created page with "==Article Transcript== When I was 12, I took a painting class. I had been drawing my whole life and had gotten pretty good, but painting just didn't come as easily. I needed h..."
==Article Transcript==
When I was 12, I took a painting class. I had been drawing my whole life and had gotten
pretty good, but painting just didn't come as easily. I needed help. I ended up in a class
with a gaggle of older ladies and a bitter, middle-aged-man teacher. After the first class,
he told us all to go home and paint something, anything we liked. My mother had been working on
an impressionistic puzzle by Monet. I thought ,“Hey, that must be what painting looks like.” I started
plopping thick acrylic paint all over a canvas board. I used every color. The next week, when I took
in my "monsterpiece," the teacher said, “Son, you should never paint again!” That comment could
have destroyed me, but it only fueled my desire to master the art of painting. Therefore, this article
is more about painting techniques than drawing. So here's how I do it now.
1. After getting a job, settling on a price and doing the
sketch, I start with a relatively tight drawing. I make
certain it has been approved by the client. I always show
the drawing at this stage in case the client wants changes.
Everything can be modified easily at this point, plus it lets
the client feel the power of being in charge.
2. Using a 1/2 or 5/8 flat angular brush, I wet the skin areas
on the cold press illustration board. I use clean water to wet
one section at a time. Notice I've avoided wetting the teeth
and whites of the eyes. I allow the water to soak in some
but seek to keep it at an even level of wetness. I get hungry
at about this point.
3. I paint all of my studio commissions with gouache, which is an
opaque water color. We used it in art school and I love it for its
versatility. The Winsor & Newton brand offers a premixed color
named “Flesh Tint.” I use it as a departure point when painting
light skin subjects. I continue to use a flat angular brush to spread
the paint out. I leave more pigment around the nose, cheeks and
ears so it dries darker than the thin areas. Even if the paint starts to
dry unevenly, it remains malleable. Therefore, you can manipulate
its smoothness and create the same effect as airbrushing if you
just work wet paint around on the damp surface. Sometimes I also
dab or rub a dry paper towel into the damp painted areas to create
the illusion of highlights.
4. It doesn't do you any good to paint anything else until
you get the heads right. That's why after the skin has
dried, I move on into the eyes and hair. Be careful to avoid
painting wet eyes or hair near wet skin or they will bleed
into each other. Once you are sure that's not a problem,
cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and
color. Little or no modeling is necessary.
When I was 12, I took a painting class. I had been drawing my whole life and had gotten
pretty good, but painting just didn't come as easily. I needed help. I ended up in a class
with a gaggle of older ladies and a bitter, middle-aged-man teacher. After the first class,
he told us all to go home and paint something, anything we liked. My mother had been working on
an impressionistic puzzle by Monet. I thought ,“Hey, that must be what painting looks like.” I started
plopping thick acrylic paint all over a canvas board. I used every color. The next week, when I took
in my "monsterpiece," the teacher said, “Son, you should never paint again!” That comment could
have destroyed me, but it only fueled my desire to master the art of painting. Therefore, this article
is more about painting techniques than drawing. So here's how I do it now.
1. After getting a job, settling on a price and doing the
sketch, I start with a relatively tight drawing. I make
certain it has been approved by the client. I always show
the drawing at this stage in case the client wants changes.
Everything can be modified easily at this point, plus it lets
the client feel the power of being in charge.
2. Using a 1/2 or 5/8 flat angular brush, I wet the skin areas
on the cold press illustration board. I use clean water to wet
one section at a time. Notice I've avoided wetting the teeth
and whites of the eyes. I allow the water to soak in some
but seek to keep it at an even level of wetness. I get hungry
at about this point.
3. I paint all of my studio commissions with gouache, which is an
opaque water color. We used it in art school and I love it for its
versatility. The Winsor & Newton brand offers a premixed color
named “Flesh Tint.” I use it as a departure point when painting
light skin subjects. I continue to use a flat angular brush to spread
the paint out. I leave more pigment around the nose, cheeks and
ears so it dries darker than the thin areas. Even if the paint starts to
dry unevenly, it remains malleable. Therefore, you can manipulate
its smoothness and create the same effect as airbrushing if you
just work wet paint around on the damp surface. Sometimes I also
dab or rub a dry paper towel into the damp painted areas to create
the illusion of highlights.
4. It doesn't do you any good to paint anything else until
you get the heads right. That's why after the skin has
dried, I move on into the eyes and hair. Be careful to avoid
painting wet eyes or hair near wet skin or they will bleed
into each other. Once you are sure that's not a problem,
cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and
color. Little or no modeling is necessary.
