Rendered PencilI don't often get a chance to do rendered pencil drawings these days. Mouse Guard keeps me inking away. but after I finished my Free Comic book Day story, I took an evening to just draw for fun, with no story or subject in mind. This pencil drawing was the result (well, I got 70% done that night and finished the other 30 a few weeks later). After finishing, I decided to try splashing some color on it in photoshop. I'm pleased with the result and wanted to share it with you.
Materials UnlimitedFor several years I worked at an architectural salvage and antiques store in Ypsilanti, MI called Materials Unlimited. I left to work on Mouse Guard full-time, but after a recent visit, I realized how much I missed the constant aesthetic bombardment of the past. The shop is full of the craftsmanship of people long since gone, but I loved pouring over the details of materials and techniques, and patterns, and color on all the mantels, light fixtures, fencing, furniture, stained glass and other oddities. It is and will remain one of my favorite places to become inspired and find motifs and visual cues for the world of Mouse Guard.
(click the link above to browse the store virtually...unless you live in south-east Michigan, in which case it's worth the trip!)
2011 Appearances
C2E2: March 18-20
Phoenix Comic Con: May 26-29
Cherry Capital Con: June 25-26
San Diego Comic Con: July 20-24
Baltimore Comic Con: Aug. 20-21
New York Comic Con: Oct. 14-16
4 comments:
That's a beautiful, and very charismatic, creature indeed!
Do you ever find that the colouring process removes the finer details (of the pencil sketch)? Or is it just an illusion...
Fantastic as always Dave!
Jensas. Adding color to a drawing like this reduces the contrast a bit and therefore the eye may not pick out some of the finer details as easily.
The color adds a whole new element that needs to be processed, and may take precedent over the beautiful linework in the hierarchy of vision.
I have had this happen many times. A drawing I really like has turned to mud after applying color.
To me, Dave found a great balance. Really beautiful.
Jensan: Thanks! Like KMB mentioned, it's a give and take between lowering the contrast too much, and making something new with color. I think a 'alive' quality came to the eye with color...but I lost some wrinkle detail here and there.
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