I have had so many people write me with questions about how I create my drawings I thought I would put together a section about it. To begin I will say that I have never placed very much importance on "tools", after all they are just that. In my opinion being an artist is about being present and doing the work. I have seen brilliant work done with a 10 cent bic pen on a piece of found cardboard. It also feels a bit limiting to me to be tied down to one specific medium, I like to be experiementing all the time with new products and techniques. That being said, there are some that I am drawn to more than others. So I will list those here. I like using things that are not too expensive (read: precious), so I don't have to worry about making mistakes. But using these items will not necessarily make you draw like me. For that you would need my eyes and my life experiences. Use your own eyes. They will see in ways that are unique and beautiful to you. Use your life. It is the source of a great work. Try these things if you are drawn to them.
pens - For my daily journal excerpts I use a simple pen with a watercolour wash. For years I used a pentel pen (with the technical like tip) but recently switched to one that was waterproof so I can use them with the watercolour. My favourite pen is now the Rotring Art Pen but I discovered that it leaks badly while travelling on planes. So I have been using a uniball Vision Elite, which is specially designed for air travel, guaranteed not to explode or leak. *the journal drawings are an exercise in being present, contemplating one thing for a time. they are not about making great art, but about enjoying the moment. They give me little hints at the daily events of my life. When I look back at them I can remember where I was and who I was sitting with. I seem to be drawn to a lot of packaging these days.
brush and ink - For my comic work I like a thicker line so I use a store brand brush #3 #4 and #5. The tips must be good, so often I will wet them in my mouth while in the store to check. (If you see a girl sucking on brush tips in the art store it might be me.) By far my favourite ink is Dr. Ph. Martin's Black Star waterproof india ink, both matte and 'hicarb' versions. I believe it is the most opaque ink you can get commercially. I regularly joke about buying stock in the company I use so much of it.
watercolour and gouache - I have always found the expensive professional tube watercolours to be a little on the drab side, not to mention expensive. I also find the tube thing tedious and messy. There is nothing like the old box style watercolours you had when you were a kid. The ulitmate in portability, you can throw them in your bag with a waterbottle and you are ready to paint anywhere! So my current pick is a box of Liebetruth Student Transparent Watercolors (24). It's the brightest set of paints I could find with large squares and comes in a tidy black box. cheap and cheerful. When I want really punchy, bright, opaque colours that seem to jump off the page I use Windsor & Newton Designers Gouache. You can make every colour you need with just the process primary colours (cyan, magenta, yellow) and black and white.
computer - Often I will take a black line drawing, scan it into Photoshop and do the color on a separate layer using a Wacom tablet. With commercial work it makes it easier to make changes (resize, change colours, etc.) There are times when I find it best to work with a vector image, (vectors can be easily resized, and you can work with true pantone colours), in which case I will use Illustrator. The black and white drawing is scanned into Adobe Streamline (which converts it to a vector image), then brought into illustrator. Then I will do the colour on a separate layer.
paper - when I do all my sketching and inking for a large project I work on a bright white layout translucent visual bond. This allows me to erase, trace, rework anything I need to. It is also affordable, since sometimes I can go through 100 pages (1 pad) in a week.
a word on sketchbooks - a sketchbook must open flat, it must take watercolours, and it cannot be too heavy. I love the moleskines, they are by far my preference, but I find the sketchbook version (with the thick pages) has some kind of sizing on it that does not take watercolours easily (even though they advertise it to be for water based mediums). You have to 'push' the brush into the page repeatedly or the water will sit on the top. So I tend to stick with the thin page version (which bleeds a bit). i really like the smell of the moleskines too.
Posted by kerismith at August 07, 2004 11:07 AMI draw & paint and carve wood, engrave anything that sits still long enough. I all kinds of pens, pencils, brushes, knives, a rotary tool, you name it. I've never understood people who believe a particular tool has one use and one use only and it can't possibly cross over into another medium.
People are strange.
One other thought on that entry - ever wonder, while sucking on a brush, how many people may have done the same before you? I'd rather use a cup of water to test a brush than my own mouth. *shudders*
You are an inspiration! My creativity level is virtually non-existent right now....reading your journal makes me realize there is something still in there, I just have to get it out somehow!
Thanks, and keep up your wonderful work!
Hi Keri,
Thank you so much for all that you share - it is a real inspiration. I signed up for your newsletter ages ago and your company (the newsletters with your words) have been a companion that I have needed. Thank you for being you.
Lou
P.S.
Thanks for sharing your process. I use a Wacom tablet but mostly as a mouse pad for the cordless mouse that came with it. Drawing in Photoshop on my mac is not as much fun as I thought it would be (though I wouldn't be without Photoshop CS for my photography). I haven't found how to get textures and the feeling of drawing from that brush that mostly seems to act like an airbrush. So, I draw/paint and scan. Anyway, thank you.
This was so interesting! Thank you for a peek over your shoulder :) My first-page-dread weapon -- I glue a nice find onto page 1. Some sugar wrap from the cafe maybe, or some intersting small label I have saved from last shopping [preferably some exotic label]. Or a wonderful clip off a magazine. Sometimes this becomes a collage, sometimes it stays a single clip, sometimes it inspires me to add a drawing to it.
Posted by: mademoiselle a. on August 12, 2004 05:00 AMyes yes a photo of your work space...! ~Fern
Posted by: fern on August 11, 2004 04:26 PMThank-you for sharing your process! Dr. Martin inks rule!--although Rotring makes a Payne's Grey that gives a lovely purple wash. When I'm feeling stumped, I like to wet a piece of paper and drop blobs of the Payne's Grey ink randomly and watch it spread. When it dries, I add colored pencil, conte crayon, whatever it inspires me to see. Lots of fun!
Posted by: frog on August 10, 2004 07:16 PMI am such a pen fanatic that I went out at lunch to buy a uniball vision elite (I've loved the vision exact for so long but, because it wasn't waterproof, would have to switch to a Micron when I knew I'd be painting over the lines). I got such a thrill writing in my journal with my new pen -- until I dropped it on the cafe floor. When I went to use it again, the tip was messed up. I started to get upset until I remembered that the pen was only a couple bucks, unlike the Rapidoliner that I've been using lately. Guess what I'm doing at lunch today?
Posted by: Christine Castro on August 10, 2004 11:22 AMI have found a certain RoseArt pen that is waterproof (and truly so, does not bleed brown at the edge when wet). It is small, compact and does not bleed blops at first touch to paper as some other pens do. I use tube paints, but find them a pain to make consistent tones, especially with the red. I scan my art and then tweak if necessary with Paintshop Pro 7. Guess I shall go get me a Kid Set of watercolors to pack along in my backpack with me on my adventures. Thanks for the Faq's!
Posted by: sparkmonkey on August 10, 2004 09:58 AMDo you have to go into Toronto for supplies?
Is there a good Canadian place to order supplies by mail?
Yours,
Lani who lives in a fishing village in Nova Scotia with no Dr. Ph Martin around.
Your generosity is wonderful. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Posted by: jin on August 9, 2004 11:38 AMGreat! As a fellow artisan I have wondered about the process. I did read in an article that you use the Wacom tablet. I never had any luck with them in my past but never really gave them a chance. I work as a graphic artist and tried to actually draw in illustrator with it. I think that it would work wonderfully in photoshop. Thanks so much for sharing. I really want to start my own drawings!
Posted by: nine_ah on August 9, 2004 01:06 AMHey there! I love to do brushwork, and then Streamline it and put it into Illustrator for coloring, too! Fun to hear you talk about it... I'm always surprised that Adobe hasn't made more out of Streamline-- I think it's just the best.
But of course, nothing beats that lovely feeling of sweeping watercolors over an ink line... your mention of the Black Star ink set me out in search of it, and it is truly a good thing. Thanks for that tip!
Next up-- gouache. Haven't tried that, but I sense that I might enjoy that too. Thanks again for sharing.
Re: The First Page Dread
I fear both the new blank journal, and the loss of the old journal (that I have bonded with and has been my companion for the last few months). My solution is an 'overlap' technique. I will purchase a new journal a few weeks before the old one is done and carry them both around for a time. The first page is always a title page that says the book number (eg. book #14). I doodle on it, write quotes, paint it, as a way of breaking it in. By the time I am ready to put away the old journal the new one has already been injected with life.
There is also a great excitment in starting a new one, I always wonder 'what will happen in these pages?'.
Posted by: Keri Smith on August 8, 2004 01:08 PMHi Keri, Your art and voice inspires-- thanks for sharing the process, tools and behind-the-scenes! It's all so interesting!
:)maia, art-inspired civil engineer
Thanks for sharing!
(I'm a portuguese fan of your work ...and of olive oil too :)
Posted by: rosa on August 8, 2004 06:43 AMhey! thanks for this. i love reading how other people do their stuff.
and i totally understand the 'first page' dread of notebook or sketchpad. that's why i've started, symbolically, leaving the first pages blank.
next, we need a photo of your workspace!
Posted by: matt on August 8, 2004 05:17 AMThank you Keri, for letting us see behind the scenes of your work. I've often wondered about your process. I admire your work and your words so much! I find you very inspiring! I also have an affinity for moleskines. I recently purchased a new one ... the first page is always the hardest. I haven't been able to 'spoil' it yet! Do you ever have a difficult time starting a new journal?
Posted by: Poppy on August 7, 2004 10:51 PM