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
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 21
Women in Red # 21 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”
–Eleanor Roosevelt
Technical info: 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 |
You know the Peanuts cartoon where Snoopy is doing the happy dance?
Well, that’s me tonight. And this is the reason:
Women in Red # 15
Women in Red # 15. Oh, I luvvvvv this one. She makes me happy. I feel like I’m getting this style down, getting comfortable with working in the iPad, working with Procreate.
I even like the way my signature turned out.
And I owe it all to the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. Because without that commitment I don’t think I would’ve sat down every day and stuck with learning Procreate. Never would’ve gotten past the frustrations of the early learning curve. I know I wouldn’t have painted (if that’s what you call this digital image making) every day. And would have never come up with the Women in Red theme.
But I did and I have and I’m here. And I’ll continue being here with a new painting every day until the 30 days are over. And then I might just set myself up with a new series, a new challenge. Who knows?
Prints of this image and the rest of the Women in Red series are now available in my Society 6 shop. The link is up above and to the right on the sidebar.
Technical info: Created entirely on my iPad 2 using Procreate.
As always, I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments below. And if you like this post please share it with your friends.
xoxo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 7
Quote stolen from fellow artist and internet friend Judy Shreve.
“Creativity is not the possession of some special talent. It’s about the willingness to play.” –John Cleese
Oh man, I needed that today. I was beginning to get lost and frustrated in the digital side of the 30 Paintings 30 Days challenge. And that’s not what it’s about.
It’s about having fun and showing up every day.
So tonight I pulled out the iPad.
Women in Red # 7 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
And had fun.
Seven down. Twenty-three to go. Love to hear your thoughts about this.
