This is where having a good artistic process comes in.
The artistic process is a formula for success when creating a work of art.
An easy and effective way to come up with your own version of this process is to steal it from the artist you most want to emulate. Keep in mind this is not about actually copying their style, but their process. See if you can contact them or see if they have written anything on the the steps they take to create a quality piece, which can serve as the basis for the way in which you create your own work. Over time your approach will evolve and various portions will be deleted, merged, or replaced.
For Example:
James Gurney paints fanciful, yet realistic, dinosaurs.
I want to be realistic and fantasy-oriented, like James Gurney.
I bought his book “Imaginative Realism” online and spent a great deal of time reading it and taking notes. I highly recommend this book to all artists but especially those working in traditional mediums who are looking to break into realistic fantasy of any kind.
Mr. Gurney has an entire section in his book about the artistic process. He describes the formation of his own process by copying the sixteenth-century painter Federico Barocci.
Here is a streamlined rundown of Barocci’s process:
1) Decide upon an idea or concept.
2) Make two dozen loose sketches to establish the gestures and arrangements of figures.
3) Sculpt miniatures with wax or clay, draped with tiny cloth costumes to test various lighting arrangements.
4) Do a small compositional study in gouache or oil, taking light and shadow into consideration.
5) Do a full size tonal study in pastels or charcoal.
6) Transfer the study in Step 5 to a canvas.
7) Using the decided upon and transferred composition, do some small oil studies to define color relationships.
8) Paint that sucker.
Bridget's note: This process is still considered a standard today and is nearly identical to what I have learned over and over as an illustration major.
This way of working must have worked out pretty well for Mr. Barocci as it led him to produce work such as this:
However fantastic his results, Federico’s process might be a bit strenuous or redundant for many modern artists given technological advances, therefore I have devised my own take on it. I am primarily a digital artist, but I think the following list could apply to many art forms.
1) Decide upon an idea or a concept without using a computer.
It is important to spend at least an hour producing concepts without any influence or reference. This allows your imagination to play without external influence.
Bridget's note: On steps 1, 2, and 3 spend as long as you can afford finding a great concept, and making a perfect sketch to base your work on. A piece without a good concept or base sketch is like an essay without a thesis. It has no base to stand on.
2) Make a minimum of 12 sketches to further develop this idea.
This stage is often modified or shortened per due date. Once again, no Google-aided brainwaves in this stage...not even for reference. You can fix anatomy later, right now just rely on your creativity and imagination.
3) Decide to develop one of the sketches.
If you are producing professional work, the client often helps make this choice.
4) Use 3D software to check perspective and/or play with lighting possibilities.
This step does not always apply, but when there is enough time it is very helpful and freeing.
CG software as an artist’s tool is often overlooked due to its possibility to be a bit complex.
My next post will be a video overview on CG packages and the super-basics on how to use them as a digital artist!
Bridget's note: For traditional artists, gather reference material, whether wax sculpture, or photographs. It's really best to take your own images but as long as the images procured are being used legally, photos from others are fine. Check to see if everything has similar lighting and correct perspective, in your sketch once all aspects have been added to the piece. Be wary of the fish eye effect of photographed images, these can be corrected digitally, but its much easier to avoid them simply by having multiple photos to base a particular sketch on.
5) Compile CG and Sketch in Photoshop and on three separate layers, rough out three different light schemes.
Use straight black and white with a large brush, this step should only take several min. The basics of the next several steps are covered in my video tutorial, Digital Paint Workflow.
Bridget's note: In oil painting, this is referred to as painting lean over fat. It works pretty much the same as a digital painting. One first lays down the darkest darks, then the lightest lights, then works in and adjusts middle range values, all the rest is glazes of transparent layers and details!
6) Decide upon a color scheme and create a rough color layer.
Can't decide on colors schemes?
Go here or find a photo/painting you love and use those colors!
7) Paint that sucker.
8) Perfect the color palette using non-destructive filters.
Happy Creating,
Josh Evans
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