by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art, Process |
Yeah yeah, I know–it’s not Tuesday for a good many of you but it is Tuesday somewhere in the world. Like down under thataway. And Tutorial Tuesday has such a clever ring to it I might decide to make it a regular feature…at least for this week.
So, with no further ado, I bring you this week’s tutorial. Drumroll please…ta da!!! A behind the scenes look at digital painting, how a I created Women in Red # 5 on the iPad.
And my very first adventure with iMovie.
I apologize in advance for the fuzzy text. Apparently it’s an iMovie thing, something I only discovered after redoing this three times, the answer discovered after a midnight search of the interwebs. And yes, the formatting cut off her head–damn you iMovie (shaking fist at sky). Did I mention the dog ate my homework too? What the hell, I’ve been playing with this sucker all day, now it’s late and I’m going to bed.
You get whatcha get…
And in case you don’t remember this Woman in Red and would like to see her with her head–
Women in Red # 5
G’night my sweetums. As I’ve been telling the poor dear (sans her head) up above, I shall remind you as well:
We all are. That’s why I know you’ll talk to me in the comments below. Because it’s been a loooong day and I could use some lovin’ from my besties.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
Today was an audaciously AWESOME spring day. Everything about it was PERFECT, perfect enough to sit out on the patio and do nothing but savor being alive. Sun on my skin, breeze in my hair, birds chirping, garden starting to pop…what more could you ask…
It was a day for landscapes. These are from my iPad. Studies for paintings? Prints? What do you think?
Garden: View from the Patio
2014 Susan Lobb Porter
I did this one today. Plein aire ipad. The sun and the shadows were intense, emboldened me. This piece has a totally different feel than the one I made yesterday (arrow pointing down).
Meadow with Pond
2014 Susan Lobb Porter
This was from a photo I’d taken a few years ago of a nearby meadow (not my meadow). The photo was washed out and I think that influenced how I approached the painting. I remember the sky and pond in real life as being quite blue. The Scotch Broom was in bloom, bright yellow and the meadow was thick with purple lupines. I think I’ll do this one again in the style of the first just to see how it comes out. Check back next week and see.
Do you have a favorite? I’d love to know…we’ll call it market research. Let me know in the comments below.
Until next week–
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, day 26.
Oh my sweetums, it’s been twenty-six days. Painting a Woman in Red for every one of ’em. On my iPad, no less. Something I’d never done before. I started out with good intentions for this one. Figured her for a perky jaunt downhill, a gnarly old oak in the distance.
Mah-wha-ha-ha-ha!
Somehow she morphed into this:
Women in Red # 26 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
Da Muse wanted to get off her feet I guess. Sit a spell. Can guarantee she’s not wearing shoes. Not gonna speculate about the undies. Really, TMI, don’t you think?
Technical details: Created on an ipad 2 using procreate.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art, Process |
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 20
I took some screenshots today to give you an idea of how I created today’s painting.
How this (arrow pointing up) became this (arrow pointing down)
Women in Red # 20 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
Disclaimer: I’m not going to show you all the layers and all the tools I used to make marks. I go back and forth with tools and colors so much it would make you dizzy. And there isn’t enough room in cyberland for all the screenshots that would entail.
First thing I do is choose the size canvas and resolution I want to use. It’s always white and the next thing I do is change the background color (first photo). I never paint on white. I. Just. Don’t.
After that I use a variety of digital ‘brushes’ as I scribble, erase, smudge and have a good old time making marks, just like I do when working on a real canvas.
As you can see from the screenshot, I did this in a couple of layers. I do that so I can erase into the later work and not lose all those lovely scribbles.
When I’m satisfied with all the scribbles and texture I merge the layers into one. Then I rotate the canvas iPad, looking at it from all directions to see if there’s a painting in there waiting for me.
Aha! I saw the shape of a shoulder and an arm. I opened a new layer and did a rough sketch.
Blocked in the composition.
And stuck with it during the ugly teenage stage when digital death was just a click away. Trust me, it was tempting.
But some refinements, way too many app crashes and half a bag of Pepperidge Farm to die for Coconut cookies later, Women in Red # 20 is done.
This screenshot shows the final open layers. You can see that there are three for the composition. The early layers have already been merged with the original color blocking.
The reason I open new layers as I’m working? Experimentation. If I want to try something, even a major shift in the image, working on a new layer allows me the freedom to protect what I already have. Because sometimes experiments don’t work. And when that’s the case, I can just delete ’em.
So there you have it, the condensed version of Drama in Arty Life: How I create My Digital Paintings. For those of you who have been following this blog for any time, you’ll see that the tools and technology are different but my painting technique remains pretty much the same.
That should give you a general idea of the process involved. Thoughts? Questions? Have at it in the comments below. You know how I loves me my comments!
xoxo
Technical info: This was created on an iPad 2 with the Procreate app.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 18
I’m on my feet when I paint in the studio. Rocking out, hopping around, playing a mean air guitar. Painting, for me, is a physical process.
Or was, until I started spending time creating art on the iPad. For 18 days now I’ve been sitting on my butt way too much. Bum planted firmly on the sofa. Feet up on the coffee table. Maybe a bowl of popcorn by my side. And a cuppa tea sans (accidently) soaking paintbrush. As studio conditions go, well, it’s not a studio.
This digital stuff is a whole ‘nuther way of making art.
Women in Red # 18 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
But today was different. This is Women in Red # 18 and she wasn’t created like the rest of the series. Oh sure, she was made on an iPad 2 using Procreate. But for the better part of her creation I was spinning my wheels–
on this–the ancient and sturdy stationary exercycle, the one that was already old when I bought it 25 years ago in the Salvation Army store. But today I had an AHA! moment that was sheer genius. I bought a used over-the-bed hospital table, rotated the handlebars on the bike and now have a totally fine bicycle desk. I’ve adjusted the height so it’s perfect or sitting up straight, not the usual slouch I have when working on the laptop or iPad.
It’s not a workout workout, I don’t envision raising a sweat as I blog. But it keeps the blood going and after almost an hour of light pedaling tonight I ended up with jello legs.
Buh-bye chair-butt. Buh-bye.
Oh yeah, about today’s painting. I don’t know who she is, there was no reference photo, just my imagination. I dunno, I think she looks Greek. Or maybe Roman. What do you think?
