My Process for creating a finished design: Woodland Santa

Hello again, constant reader! (Always wanted to say that) Stephen King reference. Ok, back on topic. I thought that I'd make this post about my process. My first window into my design process will be a Woodland Santa. I usually begin with an overall vision of what I want it to look like by searching for reference, and visualizing a general theme. In this case, I wanted a traditional Santa dress and design, with some woodland birds, holly, and pinecones. I also thought that it would be neat to show a Santa who is encumbered with loads of toys and even a long list of where and whom to deliver them to. I also wanted it to have a vintage feel with postage stamps and very subtle script in the background. I imagined the script in the background as letters to Santa. Those touches and layers I add in the final stages with Photoshop CS3. But, lets not get ahead of ourselves: begin with a nice light sketch. For making changes, I use a kneaded eraser. Never begin a sketch without a kneaded eraser handy, after all, you'll surely need it. Ha ha.

Once I have a good idea of direction, I begin with a loose sketch. I tend to like to draw on Strathmore spiral-bound sketch pads. Or if I feel bold, directly onto watercolor paper. Which is mostly how I work. It's better to be bold, I say! No guts, no glory. I prefer Aqvarelle Arches Watercolor Block, Cold Pressed, 140 lb. It tends to be pretty pricey. So for quick stuff I will work on other kinds of watercolor paper. Some other brands that I also work with are, Montval 140 lb Coldpress Watercolor Block by Canson, which is very nice, and also 400 Series 130-140 lb Coldpress Watercolor Block by Strathmore. Most art stores will have all three. Michaels is a good place to pick up supplies. And the people who work there tend to be very nice and helpful.

Once I am happy with my sketch, it's time to begin painting. I will usually lightly erase the pencil with the kneaded eraser so that the sketch is very light, barley visible, and to keep any graphite out of the watercolor when I begin to add layers. If I did not sketch directly on watercolor paper, I'll use graphite paper to transfer the sketch to the watercolor paper or block. If it is a very detailed drawing, then this is the preferred method.

After getting my brushes setup and my water, I have a small plastic watercolor case with small pans to hold watercolor. I squirt out my watercolor into this palette, and let it dry, then just add water to it as I go, rather than digging out a tube every time I am going to work. This saves time and minimizes wasted watecolor, which can be expensive. I use Winsor Newton Watercolors, professional grade. Student grade is fine if you're just learning, but contains less pigment and more other stuff like binders, which can make the paint look less luminous when dry. I use a standard palette mix of colors; cadmium red, burnt umber, yellow ochre, raw and burnt sienna, sap green, ultramarine blue, turquoise, ivory black, permanent rose, indian red, orange, cadmium yellow, dioxide purple, and rose madder. I think that's all of them.

Next I start working general to specific, and focusing on large areas, but keeping in mind the direction of the light that I want. That way I have a good guide for shadow areas. I work in a combination of wet-in-wet technique in large areas and a drybrush technique often used by my favorite watercolor artist, Andrew Wyeth. I work carefully, and slowly, allowing each pass of watercolor to dry before moving on to a new section. For brevity sake, in this lesson I'll just be showing the sketch, then the final painting after working in Photoshop. Next time, I plan to show different stages of a painting.

Below is the final art. That's it for now.


Enjoy!

Shawn