Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ostrich - WIP01


Hi Everyone,

Here's my first update on this piece, this is just a portion of the drawing.  The finish drawing will be 16" x 16".  So far I'm using Prismacolor Pencils and Derwent Colorsoft Pencils on UArt.  This piece will be done with 100% colored pencils.

I'm also using my Icarus board to help blend the Colored Pencils.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Icarus board... it's a heated board that has a cool area and a heated area.  You can lay down your the color on the cool side and then move the piece over to the heated side to blend the layers using a stump.  Using the Icarus board gives you a feeling of painting rather than drawing.  You can also keep the painting in the heated area even while laying down the colored pencil.  I really like the way the colorsoft pencils react using the Icarus board.  If any of you are interested in learning more about the Icarus board here is the link:  http://icarusart.net/.  If you have any questions at all let me know.

Keep Scribbling,
Gemma



8 comments:

  1. This is looking amazing already Gemma! A big thank you for sharing your technique re:Icarus board...that is extremely interesting and worth exploring!

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  2. Thanks Colette!! I just love the Icarus board. The artist that invented it is Ester Roi, she is a wonderful person and is very helpful with the techniques in using the board.

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  3. i SO NEED TO TRY ONE OF THOSE BOARDS! lOOKING GREAT!

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  4. Thank Nicole... the board it really fun to use. I just love mine.

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  5. Gemma,

    I've tried the Uart paper with less than polished results, so when I saw that you were using Uart and how it was coming out, I wondered what you were doing different. Sounds like maybe it's the Icarus.

    Love that eye, by the way. The life of the painting!

    Carrie

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  6. Hi Carrie,

    Actually I'm only using the Icarus board on the background and blending in the edges of the feathers to the background. The main reason I like to use the icarus board for that is it helps speed things up a bit. Or when I want to apply white, or a much light color, on top of a darker color.

    As far as the rest of the piece.... On the first layers, I tend to keep a real sharp pencil and hold it perpendicular to the surface I don't blow or brush off the debri for quite some time. I also use a bristle brush, where the length of the brush has been cut down to about a quarter of an inch, to blend in the layers together. Once the first couple of layers are laid down and blended, the surface really doesn't act much different than other surfaces except you can apply lighter colors on top of darker layers much more easily. That is why I like this type of surface. It gives you the feeling of painting more than drawing.

    If you should have any other questions feel free to ask.

    Gemma

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  7. That eye is amazing Gem!!!!!!! WOW, it just pops right out at you! O_O i was surprised to see you working on something other than suede board. I see you use almost the exact same technique as I do with the cp's, sanded paper, and brushes. nice results you got there.

    .... but that eye ........ man ....... makes me speechless .....

    Nancy

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