I'm nuts about you! | Ninja vs Penguin

I’m nuts about you!

Ninja August 13th, 2008

It’s been a while since I’ve done a personal process post, and what better motivation than my very own Penguin! Penguin was having a crummy day, so I thought I’d make him a cheesy painting to cheer him up.

Materials used
+ sheet of letter-sized laser printer paper
+ 9 x 12 inch pine panel
+ HB mechanical pencil, 2B, 6B pencils
+ white gesso
+ Payne’s Grey acrylic paint
+ Raphaël Kolinsky Red Sable Extra Pointed Round, Series 8408, no. 3
+ 150 grit sandpaper

I start off with a very rough sketch on some scrap paper to get the basic form down.

I then flip the sheet of scrap paper over, and rub a 6B pencil on the back.

I place the paper onto my pine panel, sketch side up, and trace the form with my mechanical pencil. This will transfer the sketch onto my wood panel.

It’s pretty faint, but good enough to get started.

With my 2B pencil, I add detail to my little squirrel.

Then I add some gesso to brighten the highlights and give the surface area some tooth.

Another layer of gesso and a little more 2B pencil work.

Repeat. Add more gesso and more 2B pencil.

I got so into it, that I forgot to step back and take a look at it. Bleh, there’s too much grey and the tail looks all muddied and overworked. The texture gets lost. Time to simplify.

Besides adding a great one-off pattern, another nice thing about working with wood is the ability to sand off your mistakes.

I felt that I needed to distance myself from using the pencil for mark-making. It was a little too easy and fast. I didn’t want to overdo it again, so I switched to my brush and did the fur with acrylic paint (Payne’s Grey blends very well with the pencil line work). I also added some fur highlights with the gesso.

I went back with my 6B pencil to add specs of shadow in the fur and write the cheestastic line at the bottom. I know the position of the type is a bit off, but I like the weight and flow of the script as it is. I’m afraid that if I sand it off, I would not be able to duplicate my efforts.

Happy drawing and happy hump day,
Ninja ~__^