A Traditional Caricature Commission in 18 Steps - Revision history

TheChairman at 03:48, 3 August 2020

2020-08-03T03:48:53Z

TheChairman at 03:44, 3 August 2020

2020-08-03T03:44:33Z

TheChairman: Created 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..."

2020-08-03T03:44:00Z

Created 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..."

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==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.

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:48, 3 August 2020
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	cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and		cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and
	color. Little or no modeling is necessary.		color. Little or no modeling is necessary.
		+
		+	'''5.''' Though it's funny, this is not a joke. You could be working for
		+	hours, maybe all night, so drink lots of fluids and keep your
		+	nutrition and blood sugar up. Yum! I like music too, and I
		+	personally put the cat out!
		+
		+	'''6.''' After covering all the skin and hair with a layer of paint, I proceed
		+	to paint a light layer of color over everything else except anything
		+	I want to remain white. Teeth, the white of the eyes or white
		+	clothing are good examples. I let the white paper be the white of
		+	the painting.
		+
		+	'''7.''' The circle is the most powerful graphic shape known to man.
		+	I use it whenever possible. I employ a circle template for pupils,
		+	the iris, suns, moons, buttons, beads and bubbles. I love bubbles!
		+	Why wouldn't you use perfect circles every chance you
		+	get? Ovals too? Thank me later.
		+
		+	'''8.''' Everything is going to look pretty flat at this point. Black
		+	creates a hole right into another dimension within the art. Here
		+	is where I find all those perfect little places where black ink can
		+	serve me in adding depth. Black is perfect for pupils, nostrils and
		+	well placed gaps between teeth.
		+
		+	'''9.''' Now it's time to add some magic to the hair.
		+	Here I'm putting in what I call "directionals,"
		+	which are lines that help make the hair look
		+	like it's flowing. I use a round brush with a flexible
		+	tip to make dozens of long strokes that can
		+	be extremely thin or extra thick at the same
		+	time during the same stroke.
		+
		+	'''10.''' For a softer, more
		+	believable painting, I'm not
		+	going to use a lot of black
		+	lines in this piece. I'm going
		+	to use color lines instead. For
		+	instance, I'm painting dark
		+	brown lines around light
		+	brown hair. For the faces I
		+	have here, I've used a dark
		+	orange burnt umber for the
		+	line work.
		+
		+	'''11.''' It's OK to turn the art at any angle necessary to get the
		+	brush stroke just right.
		+
		+	'''12.''' Though this is a color painting, I use Higgins Black Magic
		+	Ink anywhere I need a little punch. Bam! There it is!
		+
		+	'''13.''' The piece really starts to come
		+	together once all the line work is done. If
		+	you have a good drawing, you will have
		+	a good painting. Why? Because just like
		+	a coloring book, lines will hold everything
		+	together. Dang...maybe I didn't
		+	learn anything about painting except
		+	to stay inside the lines and that impressionism
		+	is stupid! Arrrrrrgh!
		+
		+	'''14.''' Don't forget the details.
		+
		+	'''15.''' Just like using perfect circles, using perfectly straight lines
		+	will add an irresistible strength to the piece. I've opted to put a
		+	black border around the art, but I'm letting some elements break
		+	through it just for the fun of it.
		+
		+	'''16.''' Now it's cleanup time. I use a kneaded eraser to clean up
		+	unwanted pencil lines remaining in the art. This especially
		+	holds true in the white areas of the eyes and teeth.
		+
		+	'''17.''' Use a cover sheet to protect your new “baby” before you abandon
		+	it in a basket down the river. I even cut my tape neatly to make
		+	sure the protective flap looks as professional as the art. It's things
		+	like this that separate the men from the mice.
		+
		+	'''18.''' If you must ship the art, do it right! I take my work
		+	to a local pack and ship company, where I can choose
		+	the best rate and best service to deliver my work safely.
		+	I let them pack it professionally, and I always insure
		+	and track the package. If this sounds expensive, it's
		+	not—especially if you make the client pay for it. You
		+	are in the art-making business not the art-shipping
		+	business, so just add that expense into the original
		+	quote. Always remember “CHARGE ENOUGH TO
		+	MAKE IT WORTH YOUR TIME, AND WORK HARD
		+	ENOUGH TO MAKE IT WORTH THE CLIENT'S DIME.”
		+
		+	See more of Michael's work or get in touch with him at
		+	http://michaelwhiteart.biz
		+
		+	{{2016.1Navbox}}

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 is more about painting techniques than drawing. So here's how I do it now.
-. After getting a job, settling on a price and doing the
+'''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
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 the client feel the power of being in charge.
-. Using a 1/2 or 5/8 flat angular brush, I wet the skin areas
+'''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
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 at about this point.
-. I paint all of my studio commissions with gouache, which is an
+'''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
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 the illusion of highlights.
-. It doesn't do you any good to paint anything else until
+'''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