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Step by Step
Markers With Tom Strom |
List of Supplies
Saral Paper
Pigment Liner
Prismacolor Markers
Pantone Markers
Letramax 220 Cold Pressed Illustration Board
I have found markers to be a lot more deliberate and less forgiving than paint. When painting you can cover mistakes or change colors by layering more paint over what you've done. You don't have this advantage when using markers so you have to give your piece a little more forethought. You only
get one chance to work an area because the marker is a lot harsher on the paper, which only allows for so much workability. Learning to use markers effectively was a difficult process for me. I had to do a lot of trial and error to figure this out. I went through at least nine or ten different papers and a handful of different brand markers. Prismacolors were the first brand that I liked, mostly because of they're vast color selection. Pantones are definitely my favorite though because they have three tips versus the prismacolor's two, which gave me more control. For a while though, the pantones color selection wasn't quite as good but they've been building that up more lately. The only other drawback with the pantones is that they're usually about a buck to a buck and a half more expensive than the prismacolors but I think the third tip is worth it. So after landing on some good materials and fucking up a few pieces here and there I came up with sort of a system. I'll do what I can to explain it to you.
Generally I'm pretty anal about my drawing and usually have it worked out in full before it gets colored. Once I get that down I transfer it on to the board with Saral Paper. I like the Saral Paper because you can go over the lines it leaves real easy with a pen and they erase fairly easy as well without a big mess.
After the transfer is complete I line it with a #3 black pigment liner. These seem to work the best on illustration board because they don't bleed whereas a Rapidograph pen will and sometimes gets caught up in the fibers of the paper. For some parts I like to line with a colored
pigment liner (i.e. using blue for the clouds). Some other parts, such as the woman's face in this piece, I don't line at all. This allows me to get more of a painterly effect without any harsh lines in the face. Once it's all lined, I'll erase the transfer lines with the exception of the ones I need for reference later on (such as the woman's face).
Now it's time for color.
I usually start with the background, which allows me to know how light or dark to do the foreground pieces. You can buy markers in various degrees of shade in each particular color, which helps in the gradations between colors, keeping the image from looking choppy or having hard lines of color where the transition should be smooth. After choosing the right blues, blacks, violets, and pinks, it's time to get on it. I start areas and work out to the highlights, carefully blending each shade in to the next just like you would a tattoo. After the first layer is done, which will look a little rough and unblended, I go back over it completely in the same manner while the paper is still wet. This will start to smooth the blends. After that, a third layer ensures that smooth look. Doing this while the paper is wet is essential.
If you allow the paper to dry between layers it will tear when you add the next layers. I suggest that you work on one smaller section at a time. Working too big of an area at once will result in the paper drying out too fast between layers.
When the background is done, I can see what colors I need for the foreground. A lot of times when you pick out your colors, you can figure out different blends and gradations on a scrap piece of paper or board and eye it up to the actual piece. This helps before you make a permanent decision on the board and regret it.
With this piece I wanted to give some brightness to the foreground so I went with a lot of yellows in the dress. Here, I worked a little differently and worked light to dark. I slowly built up the layers to make them deeper and eventually added the shadows on top of that almost like you would when using watercolors. You have to give multiple layers to get the markers to smooth out. After I finish the yellows I added some red and green striping to the dress. I love little detail shit like that.
After finishing the bat-girl and smaller detail stuff, I can begin to work on the other girl. This was tricky. I wanted somewhat of a darker face because she is behind the moonlight so I worked out some colors on scrap first. Then I erased the transfer lines that were left from earlier and replaced them with a few light colored ones. When working on faces, I like to work from light to dark here as well and start with a base of light flesh tones. Next, I work the midtones and basic shadows and then one more layer to smooth it out. This can really be a pain the ass because you have to do it while it's wet so you can't be screwing around watching Sponge Bob while you're doing it. After this, I start to lay in the basic details (i.e. nostrils, eyeliner, pupils, etc.)
At this point I work in the heavy shadows and pink in the cheeks. I like to play with different colors for eye shadows and what not. Lastly, I give her the final details like eyebrows, eye color, eyelashes, and I usually use a little bit of thinned out white acrylic paint for the highlights in the eyes and shit.
Finally, I do her hair. I love doing hair but it can be a slow process. I work it the same as the rest of the piece, except line by line. When I'm done, I use my pigment liner and put in all the fine loose hairs for a
little more realism and naughtiness.
So that's it. I'm sorry I rambled on a little bit but I hope that it helped in explaining the process thoroughly enough to everyone. It's about as good as I'm going to be able to explain without actually sitting down with someone personally and going through it. So if something isn't clear enough or if anyone has questions, feel free to email me at stromfu@msn.com.
One last thing, as you may have noticed, the girls face looks a little rough, which means I fucked up and overworked it a little. Prime example of how hard markers can be, even after you've been using them for a few years.
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