C.F. Payne inspired this coloring technique that we are learning for this project.
A key part is once you develop the value fully we need to determine a color that can harmonize the whole picture. In the picture above, green was the mother color that all the other colors are blended with. That green is what helps harmonize the elements in the picture.
It doesn't matter what medium you use. Get the values correct and then picking a mother color is a good way begin your color process and establishing temperature and mood. Think of the mother color as the atmosphere.
This is an example of the process we are using as demonstrated by artist, Greg Newbold. He walks us through his process of creating an illustration of Clint Eastwood. I would like you to notice he always has his reference handy as you should too.
Every great illustration starts off with a solid value drawing. Without this, consider the bones of your creation faulty. So it is critical to have an amazing value drawing.
Newbold seals his drawing using acrylic paint. We are going to use Crystal Clear instead. The reason is mostly cost and ease as we are learning this multi-media process.
The next step is to add an oil rub. This is where you take an oil paint color that you are going to rub into the illustration board. Word of warning this is the scary part. If too much moisture has seeped into the board, the paint can absorb into the board which will destroy your drawing. However, if this step works miraculous things can happen to your picture! With great risk can come great reward. Hopefully, the crystal clear will do its job and the drawing will be sealed and the oil rub will look amazing.
Once you have rubbed off the excess oil with paper towel you are going to use an eraser to bring out the values even further. Cheaper paper towels work better than expensive ones. After you are done removing the oil for the values you need to let the board dry.
After the paint is dried you can start applying color pencil. This is where a color study becomes very important. You shouldn't apply color unless you know exactly what colors you are going to put down and tested in your study first. Accidents are hard to explain to a client and can be avoided through studies.
Once we have your color finished with the pencils we can apply gesso and acrylic paint to pop some highlights. It's important to never forget that this is a process, but the end result can be mind blowing.
