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A Traditional Caricature Commission in 18 Steps (view source)
Revision as of 23:48, 2 August 2020
, 23:48, 2 August 2020no edit summary
cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and
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
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