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David Garcίa Vivancos Illustration Process (view source)
Revision as of 05:45, 5 August 2020
, 05:45, 5 August 2020Created page with "==Article Transcript== Sometimes I receive messages, comments or e-mails in which fellow caricature artists (or simply people who like my work) ask me about how I prepare a ca..."
==Article Transcript==
Sometimes I receive messages, comments or
e-mails in which fellow caricature artists (or
simply people who like my work) ask me about
how I prepare a caricature, so I’m going to
explain my process from the sketch to the
finished piece with this step-by-step article.
As a caricature artist, I’m “obsessed” with the abstraction of facial features and I
always try to improve on this: only a few lines, a few colours, a few textures. To illustrate
my own view of this fascinating art form, I’ve prepared a tutorial on my tribute
to Steve Jobs, who sadly passed away last October.
Though it is kind of obvious, I first of all think about the person and the type of caricature
I want to prepare. I usually draw my caricatures in a three-quarter pose, but in
this case, I decided on a frontal caricature because I wanted to prepare an iconic image
of Apple’s genius. With the idea “icon” in mind, I begin with the drawing:
'''Rough sketch:''' I have a common
and simple school notebook, DIN
A5 format (148 × 210 mm / 5.83
× 8.27 in), with white 60 gram
pages, where I sketch all my
caricatures with a black Bic pen
(I don’t know if it’s well known
abroad, but in Spain it’s a very
popular tool). At this stage my
drawings are always very unruly,
but in this example the drawing
is a bit cleaner. I look at the
sketch and then decide what to
change (for instance: I like the
top middle part of the face and
the nose-beard solution, but I
think all should be wider) and I
go to the next stage.
'''Refined sketch:''' I scan the
refined sketch and open it
in Photoshop. I then clean
the lines a bit and adjust the
drawing to my standard size,
DIN A4. (210 × 297 mm / 8.27
× 11.69 in) Now, I modify the
rough sketch, especially the
jawline and the neck. I finally
draw the new ears with the
pen and tablet, because I
don’t like the original shapes.
'''Colour areas:''' The most important
part. I make the sketch
blue with less opacity (it’s easier
for me to work this way) by
creating a layer over the sketch,
filling it with blue and changing
the layer mode to Screen. I
then create paths with the pen
tool for the different shapes
and I fill each shape with a flat
colour, with each shape/colour
on a different layer. Finally, I
make the lines with the same
tool (except the eyes, which I
simply draw free-hand) and my
own Photoshop custom brushes.
'''Main texture:''' With all the coloured shapes finished,
I put the basic texture, a cardboard photograph
I took a few years ago (4a), on the top
layer. I change the layer mode to Linear Burn and
Opacity to 60% (for viewing on the screen this is a
perfect percentage, but for print I need to lower
it to 40%, because the texture makes the colours
darker). Finally, I hide the sketch because I don’t
need it anymore.
'''Colours:''' I adjust the colours and I also paint the
lines with all layers in Normal mode and opacity
at 100%. I have my own colour palette but I also
find Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation command very
useful. Now, I can go to the next stage to prepare
some “effects.” The lines are on the topmost
layer: it easy because you can lock transparent
pixels (the little checkerboard icon in the Layers
Palette) and you can paint the lines with a normal
rounded brush. At this point, I have 11 layers
(main texture, lines and the rest for the shapes
with the colours) in this caricature.
'''Shadows and textures:''' With the final
colour, I create a shadow below the head
and the glasses. It’s a very easy trick: I fill a
layer under both shapes with solid black, I
apply a Gaussian Blur and I set the percentage
to 20%. Then, I use two more textures
to complete the image: a scratched metal
texture (6a) with modified levels and Hue/
Saturation for the hair and beard (6b) and
a concrete texture (6c) which I also modify
for the black T-shirt (6d). These textures
are from specialized websites like www.
cgtextures.com, probably the best source
with tons of really useful files. To use the
textures, I first open the file with the texture
(for the beard, for example) and I drag
it into the file with the Move tool. I select
the shape (in PC with Control+click in the
layer; Command+click in Mac), then I invert
the selection and I delete the rest of the
texture (with the eraser tool or pressing the
backspace key).
'''The false end:''' I delete the remaining cardboard
background texture by selecting all the
layers, inverting the selection and deleting
the rest of the background texture with the
eraser tool or by pressing the backspace key.
The caricature is finished. I like it, however,
it isn’t as iconic as I have in mind so I decide
to do one final touch: I really think that it
will look better as a duotone.
'''Grayscale:''' I change the colour mode
to Grayscale (Image->Mode->Grayscale)
because the file must be in
grayscale before creating the duotone.
The image looks very dark, but
that’s no problem because it’s only
an intermediate stage and I go to the
next one (the real ending).
'''Duotone:''' I change the mode
to a Duotone (Image->Mode-
>Duotone) using black and
gray which I love. I usually
work with similar duotone
curves for black (9a) and gray
(9b) but, of course, I modify
it if it’s necessary. Only when
I really think the drawing is
finished do I put my signature
on it.
I hope you found this
information useful and
the process enjoyable!
'''David García Vivancos, DGV, is a professional caricature artist from Madrid, Spain, who works for press, magazines and private clients with his particular style based on flat colours and textures. Find more of DGV’s caricatures at [http://www.dgvivencias.com www.dgvivencias.com].'''
Sometimes I receive messages, comments or
e-mails in which fellow caricature artists (or
simply people who like my work) ask me about
how I prepare a caricature, so I’m going to
explain my process from the sketch to the
finished piece with this step-by-step article.
As a caricature artist, I’m “obsessed” with the abstraction of facial features and I
always try to improve on this: only a few lines, a few colours, a few textures. To illustrate
my own view of this fascinating art form, I’ve prepared a tutorial on my tribute
to Steve Jobs, who sadly passed away last October.
Though it is kind of obvious, I first of all think about the person and the type of caricature
I want to prepare. I usually draw my caricatures in a three-quarter pose, but in
this case, I decided on a frontal caricature because I wanted to prepare an iconic image
of Apple’s genius. With the idea “icon” in mind, I begin with the drawing:
'''Rough sketch:''' I have a common
and simple school notebook, DIN
A5 format (148 × 210 mm / 5.83
× 8.27 in), with white 60 gram
pages, where I sketch all my
caricatures with a black Bic pen
(I don’t know if it’s well known
abroad, but in Spain it’s a very
popular tool). At this stage my
drawings are always very unruly,
but in this example the drawing
is a bit cleaner. I look at the
sketch and then decide what to
change (for instance: I like the
top middle part of the face and
the nose-beard solution, but I
think all should be wider) and I
go to the next stage.
'''Refined sketch:''' I scan the
refined sketch and open it
in Photoshop. I then clean
the lines a bit and adjust the
drawing to my standard size,
DIN A4. (210 × 297 mm / 8.27
× 11.69 in) Now, I modify the
rough sketch, especially the
jawline and the neck. I finally
draw the new ears with the
pen and tablet, because I
don’t like the original shapes.
'''Colour areas:''' The most important
part. I make the sketch
blue with less opacity (it’s easier
for me to work this way) by
creating a layer over the sketch,
filling it with blue and changing
the layer mode to Screen. I
then create paths with the pen
tool for the different shapes
and I fill each shape with a flat
colour, with each shape/colour
on a different layer. Finally, I
make the lines with the same
tool (except the eyes, which I
simply draw free-hand) and my
own Photoshop custom brushes.
'''Main texture:''' With all the coloured shapes finished,
I put the basic texture, a cardboard photograph
I took a few years ago (4a), on the top
layer. I change the layer mode to Linear Burn and
Opacity to 60% (for viewing on the screen this is a
perfect percentage, but for print I need to lower
it to 40%, because the texture makes the colours
darker). Finally, I hide the sketch because I don’t
need it anymore.
'''Colours:''' I adjust the colours and I also paint the
lines with all layers in Normal mode and opacity
at 100%. I have my own colour palette but I also
find Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation command very
useful. Now, I can go to the next stage to prepare
some “effects.” The lines are on the topmost
layer: it easy because you can lock transparent
pixels (the little checkerboard icon in the Layers
Palette) and you can paint the lines with a normal
rounded brush. At this point, I have 11 layers
(main texture, lines and the rest for the shapes
with the colours) in this caricature.
'''Shadows and textures:''' With the final
colour, I create a shadow below the head
and the glasses. It’s a very easy trick: I fill a
layer under both shapes with solid black, I
apply a Gaussian Blur and I set the percentage
to 20%. Then, I use two more textures
to complete the image: a scratched metal
texture (6a) with modified levels and Hue/
Saturation for the hair and beard (6b) and
a concrete texture (6c) which I also modify
for the black T-shirt (6d). These textures
are from specialized websites like www.
cgtextures.com, probably the best source
with tons of really useful files. To use the
textures, I first open the file with the texture
(for the beard, for example) and I drag
it into the file with the Move tool. I select
the shape (in PC with Control+click in the
layer; Command+click in Mac), then I invert
the selection and I delete the rest of the
texture (with the eraser tool or pressing the
backspace key).
'''The false end:''' I delete the remaining cardboard
background texture by selecting all the
layers, inverting the selection and deleting
the rest of the background texture with the
eraser tool or by pressing the backspace key.
The caricature is finished. I like it, however,
it isn’t as iconic as I have in mind so I decide
to do one final touch: I really think that it
will look better as a duotone.
'''Grayscale:''' I change the colour mode
to Grayscale (Image->Mode->Grayscale)
because the file must be in
grayscale before creating the duotone.
The image looks very dark, but
that’s no problem because it’s only
an intermediate stage and I go to the
next one (the real ending).
'''Duotone:''' I change the mode
to a Duotone (Image->Mode-
>Duotone) using black and
gray which I love. I usually
work with similar duotone
curves for black (9a) and gray
(9b) but, of course, I modify
it if it’s necessary. Only when
I really think the drawing is
finished do I put my signature
on it.
I hope you found this
information useful and
the process enjoyable!
'''David García Vivancos, DGV, is a professional caricature artist from Madrid, Spain, who works for press, magazines and private clients with his particular style based on flat colours and textures. Find more of DGV’s caricatures at [http://www.dgvivencias.com www.dgvivencias.com].'''
