Drawing Watercolor Cartoons- Halloween Witch

I was in the Halloween mood lately so I decided to have some fun with the concept and create a watercolor picture to match. For this one, once again, start with a pencil sketch, then go over in pen. To give it the spooky look requires adding A LOT of detail, such as adding the grain of wood on the house, the swirls in the witch's cloak, and drawing every blade of grass. It can become tedious, but this helps give an older look, so I suggest watching a movie to distract a little from the work. Halloween pictures tend to lean towards the unusual, so you want to add at least one interesting aspect to catch the viewer's attention, such as making the witch larger than life, just enough to make the viewer look twice. Then finally, stick to autumn colors, browns, and purples and oranges work great, even green, if you can find the right shade, to give it the picture the festive look of sneaking around on Halloween night.

Get to Know the Artist- Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Today I am starting a new subject in SavvyArt, where I'm going to be comparing the distinctive styles of different artists by drawing similar to their published works and talk about the different methods you can see being used by that artist. So, for my first one, I'm going to start with a fun one, cartoonist Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes.

Watterson, Bill. "Calvin and Hobbes." N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Calvin and Hobbes has always been a favorite in my house to rouse up the giggles of an adventurous boy with his stuffed tiger for a friend. But now that I have come to view the comic from a more artistic point of view, comes the idea to learn to draw the characters and scenes from these comics. So I have taken one of the illustrations from the book and have worked to mimic its style, and added my own finishing touch.

For this painting I did have to use a bit of an artist's license in order to fit the entire square illustration onto a rectangular page, making Calvin and Hobbes a little more equal in height, and adding a couple more leaves in the background and the title. It does take some time to draw the characters in the immediately recognizable form as the original artist can do, but don't get discouraged! The way it is specifically drawn is all part of the expression of the artist.

Now, for learning from the artist, Bill Watterson, in this case there are a few things you can take notice of from learning to draw in his style. His style, being a cartoonist, is somewhat impressionistic, especially in the textures he implies. (notice the round curves around the right branches and the black leafy background on the tree) In drawing the characters you find that their proportions are surprisingly specific if you want to get them right. (Notice how tall Hobbes is in the original illustration in comparison to Calvin) bringing out how specific Watterson gets in drawing his characters. As his work was made primarily for the funnies section of the Sunday paper, this is little shading involved, black and white with little in between, giving it a simplistic look. That is, until you try to draw it. Hats of to Bill for the dedication of keeping the funnies coming for ten solid years.

I hope you enjoyed this side to side comparison of this artist, and if you have any suggestions on any other artists I should do next please leave them in the comments below. 

C

Photography-Adding A Quote

Using your photo to display a quote is always a fun way to test your ability in photography, so let me give you a quick run through of how I got to this point.

It started with a simple heart I noticed that someone had drawn on the ground that I, being the trigger-happy photographer I am, decided to snap a photo of. But the heart was faded, the stone is far from presentable, and the dirt and pine needles distracted from it, so it was going to need a little help.

I fiddled around with some of the settings and effects (the one above being one of my saved tries) until I found that the reddish tinge went well, and when I cropped, to put more stone in than cracks. Another challenge  was picking out the corresponding quote. Yes, I know there are a lot of fun quotes out there, but you want to try to stick with one that matches the image. Finally, after a lot of messing around with lightness and highlights, I winded up having to go over the heart specifically with brightener to match the chalk text, and that made all the difference. 

Photography-Continuous Collage

I had time to mess with my camera setting during a rainstorm when I came upon the "continuous" button on my Nikon. It takes rapid pictures that create a moving flipbook. I inserted some of them into a collage format using Plixr editor, creating a neat display format. Make sure that the photos stay in the same format and position, especially in this square model.

Photography-Creating An Unicolor Photo

Making one of your photos into a unicolor one is very simple, most photo editing software will have that option, or you can simply adjust the color setting yourself with a little messing around in the RGB formats. But deciding whether or not you should convert the photo to that format is a different story. For one thing it tends to need to be a simple photo, one that you could easily make into a silhouette if you chose, otherwise the sole color would probably make the photo too busy. Also the single color you choose should somehow reflect in the original photograph for a more believable appearance, such as the sky, in this case, expanding to reach the trees.   

Painting-More Pen and Watercolor with Crosshatch

I have recently purchased a new watercolor sketchbook and had fun making use of it's pages. The pen and watercolor technique are simple and easy, even on the go, and I had fun applying the crosshatching technique to it. I would recommend trying it with an actual photograph or an internet photo to compare the lights and darks for the crosshatching. Check out all the rest of my work on my Pinterest Account: https://www.pinterest.com/savannarstewart/

Painting-Mixing Landscapes with Abstract

Now that it is summer, I have decided to work on my acrylic landscapes. For this one I used a bit an abstract look by adding an orange sky to contrast with the blue water. I used a fan brush to add the grass, trees, and white flowers and waves on the water. Make sure for this project to add less detail to the trees, flowers and such the farther away they are. Don't be afraid to use your own fingers for the final touches, like the snow on the mountains.