Pencil to Digital

"Pencil to Digital" Cedar Park, 2017
“Pencil to Digital” Cedar Park, 2017

I’m getting more comfortable using the Wacom tablet in Photoshop. For this one, I scanned the pencil sketch, then brought it into Photoshop, set the sketch as a top layer, with the Transparency Mode set to Multiply, and locked it. That let me see the lines on top as I painted on layers below.

I also used a technique for picking colors, which is to basically create your swatches on the canvas (like a traditional paint palette) instead of using the color picker or swatches window. It’s fast and keeps the overall palette consistent. Not that I have a lot of experience yet, but it’s a neat technique that I think I’ll keep using.

I only used color for this digital sketch, and left the existing pencil lines. My intention was to just practice with shading and using the tablet, and I spent maybe 40 minutes on it, but I like this look. And it’s fun to try new things!

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

First One Done

"Digital Studio" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
“Digital Studio” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I finished my first Digital Painting in a long, long time. I believe the last one I did was back in 1998. So, almost 20 years! I actually think it is more incredible that I had a Wacom tablet back then, as I do today. 🙃

I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out. As with most things, you can keep working on it to refine it, but you gotta call it done at some point! And for a first try after a long time, I think this will do just fine.

I created a little slideshow so you can see the progress and some changes over time. It is really fun to use the Wacom drawing tablet and Photoshop. Very satisfying! I hope to continue it for the rest of my life, as well as sketching on paper. It’s fun to combine the analog and digital.

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And here’s the finished piece, with my signature seal applied.

Hair work and final color adjustments. All done!

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Thursday!

おやすみ

RIP Frog, and some Digital Drawing

"RIP Frog" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
“RIP Frog” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I hardly ever write negatively, but alas, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies here! I was cleaning out the garage this weekend, and I notice this poor frog, dried and flat.

I’m guessing it was resting right by the tire of the Prius, and when Mariko silently put the car in reverse, the frog didn’t move a muscle. And what makes it even grosser is that the frog must have been drying out, unnoticed in our garage for a week or more!

Rest in peace, little buddy!

In other news, I worked on a drawing on the computer the past couple nights. I started using my Wacom tablet with my desktop computer a while back, but my computer would freeze up and I’d have to reboot after a short while in Photoshop. (Also happens in Diablo 3). So, I have been wary of doing any digital drawing. But I did a bit of research and figured out that the problem was with the video card, so I dialed down some settings in Photoshop. And tonight I was able to draw for a few hours with no crashing! Woohoo! Of course, I am still saving my work every 30 seconds or so, but I am confident that I’ve solved the problem.

Anyways, I worked on a drawing which is based on the pencil drawing I did a few days ago. I’m happy with the progress I am making, and working on stylus technique, making new brushes in Photoshop, and using the pen tool for some really refined lines. I still don’t know how to draw hair, and the face looks pretty flat, but I am pleased so far. 😀

Here are three photos that show the original, the start of the digital version, and where I am at so far:

"2017.09.04 Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
“2017.09.04 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

As you can see, I’m at a loss as to what I should do below the neck and how to finish the hairstyle. 😕 And I just noticed that I lost her ear somewhere along the way. Oh well, I’ll figure it all out someday.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

おやすみ