Time to add color to the Penny pen and ink drawings. The drawings are on Arches 140 lb. hot pressed watercolor paper blocks, ready for wash. But before I apply paint to the relatively expensive surface, I like to test my palette choices with colored pencils on photocopies of the final drawings.
Here are the two images with colored pencil treatment:
(I'm using
Dick Blick colored pencils. I have the 72 pencil set, lots of rich color choices and of a good quality for blending - even on cheap copy paper - and very reasonably priced.)
I'm fairly pleased with the look. Of course, watercolors won't be exactly the same. I'm not talking about wet vs. dry - this exercise is about finding the color not texture. I'm talking about how my paint pigment choices are different from my pencils, but I expect to be able mix good approximations using these pencil mock-ups as a guide.
I've decided not to fill in backgrounds this time, not even with a light wash. I don't want anything to compete with the definition of the characters. I may ink in more detail after the watercolor treatment, which I'll start tomorrow...
I think so far you are right on with your color choices. Nicely balanced, and I agree with your instincts about leaving the backgrounds uncolored. I am looking forward to seeing the watercolor versions. Thanks for sharing a little of your process.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rose! I hope to be posting the final versions in a couple of days.
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