Experimentation: Part Two

The Prompt

This post will be showcasing the final 2 out of 5 mediums; Raster Illustration, and Traditional Medium. For the final 2 I continued to use the stock image as a reference for both pieces.

Raster Illustration

In regards to the software one could use for this digital medium, I had two that I have experience with; Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint. When I first started digital drawing, Photoshop was the program I used as it was the popular choice for many digital artists out there. However, recently I decided to try out Clip Studio Paint which is tailored more towards drawing and illustration, with the added capabilities for animation and 3D Design. I found that CSP was a much better user experience that made digital drawing a much smoother process. The system requirements for Clip Studio are;

Meaning just like with the Adobe Suite, my specs barely run short or the minimum. Luckily, I do not need to do anything extremely elaborate for this.

As this is an experimentation piece, I wanted to try out a style that I usually don’t go for in digital painting. So I chose to use the Rough Wash brush to have a much watercolour-like artstyle for my dragon fruit illustration. First though, I sketched out the stock image.

Then I began painting lightly, taking advantage of the pressure sensitivity that comes with using a drawing tablet to mimic traditional drawing/painting stroke techniques. When using this medium in real life, you start from lightest then go into the shadows and darker tones. The same thing has to be done digitally to give a more authentic look.

Afterwards I went in with another layer of paint and attempted a bit of shading. Using the lasso tool, I did a free hand inverted selection of the main subject of the illustration. This allowed me to paint in the dark grey background without contaminating the work done on the dragon fruit.

Traditional Drawing

For this last medium, I had the most freedom and control in comparison to digitally drawing. There is something about using a standard pencil on paper that gives me a greater connection with every stroke I create. And for this reason I kept the illustration strictly pencil. What I’ve come to realize is that when it comes to learning or practicing your skills, traditional methods will always be a more efficient forum. In my experience, the full hand-eye coordination allows me to develop muscle memory for drawing techniques a lot easier.

References:

• System Requirements | CLIP STUDIO PAINT | CLIP STUDIO.NET. (2020). System Requirements | Clip Studio Paint | Clip Studio.NET. [online] Available at: https://www.clipstudio.net/en/dl/system/