Thursday, September 1, 2011

Lion and the Mouse Process A

Mouse process
I am in the process of Illustrating a picture book for Benchmark Press based on the Aesop Fable-Lion and the Mouse. I wanted to throw up a quick process image from the book. This will quickly show my transition from rough sketch to final image of a lone character. I'll show more process later about backgrounds, layout and type. But till then here's the Mouse!!!

This was the initial rough sketch.


This is where I really went in and tightened the sketch before going to finals. (BIG difference huh!!)

Here is where I lay in the base colors of the mouse and establish his/her color scheme. I do this by having a second layer beneath the tight sketch. The tight sketch is set to multiply. This allows only the black portions of the sketch to show up when the layers are viewed together.

The final step is the finished painting. I paint this on a layer on top of the tight sketch and base color. If need be, I merge the three layers to create the final file. 

Let me know if you have any questions!! :)

7 comments:

Albert Sorrentino Jr. said...

Wow!!! It's nice to see the process, lots of life to your character here!!! There was a time when all I would use was photoshop, now I'm all watercolor. Your post is inspiring me to mix it up!!! Thanks!!

WilsonW said...

Thanks so much!!! I am forcing myself to draw more in the computer. I admit to there being so much more flow to work when it's done traditionally. But as is becoming more and more common, this client wants digital files and they want everything on different layers so that they can move things around like they want or need to. (Which scares the bejeezums out of me!) But I'm researching brushes and other tools to try and emulate traditional mediums as much as I can.

Kit said...

wow, lovin this, looks great
Kit Grady

WilsonW said...

Thanks Kit!!!

Matthew Gauvin said...

Love it!More adn mor eI'm realizing I may eventually have ot make the leap into digital. I deffinetly want to keep texture in it as much as possible. I've been rading a lot of Dani Jones posts about digital art and used to watch her ustream channle. The mor edigital art I see, the more I want to jump in and give tia shot. Loved seeing your process. Thanks!

WilsonW said...

You should definitely give it a shot Matthew! If you have the programs already, go for it!!! You'll be surprised how much your technique will translate to digital.

Anonymous said...

I like your very sensitive drawings. The mouse tooooooo :0)