View source for Lively Digital

==Article Transcript==
Marion Van de Wiel shares how she manages to keep the spark alive in her digital
drawings just as she does in her traditional caricatures.

For more than 10 years now I’ve been working
as a live digital artist. I have been using a
Wacom 17" monitor and Painter Classic, the
oldest version which only runs under MacOs
9. I like a very natural “sketchy” style and
Painter is the perfect software for this.

'''Studio work'''<br>
When I make a caricature I start by drawing
the outlines with the “scratchboard tool” and
then I colour the drawing, using a watercolour
brush.

In Painter Classic there are no layers, but this
“problem” can easily be solved by drawing the
lines first and then adding the watercolour.
This watercolour doesn’t erase the lines, it just
leaves them as they are, AS IF there is a layer.

You might ask: why use this prehistoric software?
Well, I have never found a program with
the same pressure sensitivity and beautiful
brushes as Painter Classic. I have bought an
old MacMini just to be able to keep working
with this software. I love it!

'''Diving into live digital'''<br>
In October 2011 I started my career as an iPad
caricaturist, merely because a client asked for it.

I must say it was very challenging for me to
start drawing on a new device.

First: an iPad is so much smaller than a
Wacom Cintiq. I didn’t feel comfortable with
this size. Second: the styluses are so clumsy
with their broad tips. Third: there are so many
different drawing apps. Which one would suit
me best? I just bought them all to be able to
make a comparison. Right now I have on my
iPad: Sketji, SketchBook, ZenBrush, ArtStudio,
Auryn Ink and Procreate.

For me it was very important to:
#be able to make a caricature that has a natural and sketchy style.
#work in layers.
#scale and zoom and
#work with colours.

After a few hours of doodling with all the different
apps I found that SketchBook suited my
needs best. The colours and brushes are very
natural, like sketching on paper.

'''How do I work?'''<br>
I use two layers in Sketchbook. I start making
a b&w line sketch in the top layer. Because I
also still work as a “traditional” artist (14 x 20
inch paper) I usually make this sketch too big.
So there’s always a point where I start scaling
a bit. I do the colouring on the bottom layer,
which usually goes fast and not very accurate.
This lack of accuracy, however, keeps the
liveliness in the caricature.

My speed for both methods is about 8 or 9
caricatures per hour.

When comparing these two methods, I must
say I have developed a preference for working
with the iPad, because the fingertip sensitivity
makes it so easy to scale. As I said before, I
don’t care much for making ‘clean’ caricatures.
Of course I can only speak for myself
and I think every person should find out for him
or herself what he or she likes best.

''Marion van de Wiel is a live caricature artist living in The Netherlands. She won a Bronze Nosey at the ISCA convention in 2007 in Reno. You can see more of her work at www.sneltekenaars.com (dutch) and marionvandewiel.blogspot.com (english).''

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