My Process

After reading the book and receiving the project parameters, I  assembled a moodboard of artists I wanted to reference in my pieces. Since this book is based on Christianity, Gustave Dore came as a huge inspiration from his artwork for various religious literature.  

The process of making thumbnails can be daunting, especially when I did three illustrations at once for this project. However I have found a workflow that suits me. Initial thumbnails are loose and simply get ideas down on paper. Once several new ideas have been put forward, I make variations of those concepts to explore new angles and points of view. I choose the best ideas and refine them further, coloring them in grayscale to make sure the values serve the composition. Minor adjustments are made at this stage and I begin thinking about the execution of all the minute details. 

This is less of a stage, and more of a continuous practice for illustrators. I find myself constantly searching for references at every stage of the process, though after the thumbnails is when I do it the most. Searching for references online can help a lot, but I find creating your own references to be the best. Whether you pose models in a poser app, create structures in Blender, or take photos of you and your friends posing, being active in the reference process greatly expands your understanding of the subject.

The biggest questions about values and figure-ground relationships were solved in the thumbnail stage, but I can make more dynamic changes and figure out the relationships of a wider value scale in my comps. I also take the time to explore new options. Value is one of the most important aspects of any illustration, so I take the time to make sure it is being used affectively.

After the values are set, I make color choices. It is important to do these studies in the medium plan to use for the finished illustration, so in this case I used color overlay layers on top of my value studies. Color can be tricky, so it is imperative to have everything planned out beforehand. This illustration however, has a much more forgiving way of colors being applied. Gradient maps can sometimes be unpredictable, but I made these color comps with that in mind.

After all my design choices have been made, I refine the lineworks to begin the final version. For large traditional works, I use a projector to transfer digital lineworks onto the final paper. 

On 11x17inch watercolor paper, I use waterproof India ink to add detailed linework around the pencil sketch. To create a soft or glowing affect, I dilute the ink in water to create lighter lines. After it is complete, I scan the pieces as a way to save my progress. If anything happens in the ink wash stage, I have a backup.

I use a water-soluble ink to add large washes in layers, starting with the darkest and largest areas. I love the bloom affect that happens with this medium, so I use lots of water to encourage it. I also use paper towels to dab wet areas to control the way they dry.

After scanning the pieces for the final time, I touch everything up in Photoshop. I brighten the light areas, create depth, and remove any blemish areas.

Using Photoshop, I first apply a gradient map to the whole image. Then I use color overlay layers to change the hue. This stage is very quick because there isn't that much that needs to be done. The values carry the illustration, so the color is just an added affect.