Hi everyone,
Well I decided to write my first blog, someone requested that I spoke a bit about the wacom and how I use it.
I'll try not to bore you or make a novel out of this.
A little over a year ago I had seen somewhere on the net some beautiful art that was done on something called a wacom.
At that time I'd never heard of it, didn't have a clue what it was, so I did what anyone would do and researched it.
I decided to purchase one for a couple of reasons.
one being a new artist's tool, and 2 something that i could use in a laying down position, or sitting back in a comfortable chair, something that seemed to be made to order for someome that's disabled in other words...something that I could literally take anywhere with me and my laptop.
At first it was difficult, I won't lie to you about that, it took a while to get used to.
But once I did there was no stopping me. This is a fabulous tool for an artist ( that is if you're willing to let go of traditional methods and try digital )
I still very much love traditional art and always will, after all, it was my first love.
The wacom for those unfamiliar is a flat suface that plugs into your PC, the pen that comes with it you can use as a pencil, a brush, a pallette knife.
The first drawings and paintings I did were embarrassing, and I admit to getting frustrated with it.
But kept at it.
When I do a portrait, which is mainly what I use it for now with the exception of creating my own distinct digital art.
I use Paint Shop Pro 9 primarily because that program is what I'm most accustomed to.
I start out very much as you would with a sketch pad, I draw a rough outline of the face as a starting point and proceed from there. Everything I learned about drawing in the traditional way I apply the same techniques to the wacom, whether this works for other users of the wacom or not I could'nt say.
Then I proceed to the eyes, an outline, rough lines to get the proper placement and porportions.
For the next while I concentrate only on the eyes, sometimes as much as a week or two until they're finished and I'm satisfied with the results...now that I'm more accustomed to the wacom the time spent on the eyes has been cut down a bit...once you become familiar with it it becomes second nature.
Often times while drawing the eyes as well as every part of the face I have the opportunity to zoom in which is a great feature on the PSP program, it's then at that point where I can focus pixel by pixel....those little squares....so zooming in and out drawing and erasing is how I draw the features of the face using a reference photo as a guide taped to my PC.
When all the features are complete I begin the shadowing and shading/blending. This part is almost important as the drawing itself and it took a while to get all the settings right. When the settings are off you're going to have problems with blending and shadows etc.
After I'm done I leave it for a few days without looking at it and then come back to view it from a fresh perspective to see what I can add or change...but the most important part of any portrait for me are the eyes...If they aren't right..the drawing/painting fails....I strive for emotion in the eyes of each subject..they must appear 'alive' and full of life.
i tend to do most of my portraits in black and white, but sometimes overlay the finished drawing with a sepia tone...sometimes the sepia will oftem look better than the black and white.
A typical portrait can take anywhere from a month to 3 months before it's completed..I put an incredible amount of work and time into each piece working several hours a day every day.
Currently I have so many portraits lined up and ready to begin, some are requested, some are my own choices.
I've always been fascinated by faces, especially the eyes, and I have an ongoing series of celebrity drawings called 'Legends And Icons'
The only drawback to this process is what you have done is on your computer, there is no sketch pad , no canvas...so I save all of them to disc at a very large size so that when they're printed up the customer will get a good quality reproduction.
Well, I hope that was helpful...I hope I didn't bore anyone to death reading this.
The wacom is a great tool for any artist in my opinion....and if you're considering getting one be patient and practice a lot....I can't stress that enough :)
the sample I've attached is one of the first things i did on the wacom...'green apples'
After that I did 2 portraits of George Harrison, and up to my recent work. I think if you study each piece you can see how i progressed on the wacom...meaning the Harrison portraits have a rougher almost unfinished or amateur look to them....but at the time i was just starting out.
If you decide to get yourself one I'd love to hear fom you to see what you think of it and I'd be happy to answer any questions I may have left out.
Thanks for listening guys.
wishing you all the very best in your own artistic endeavours.
Barry
