My Drawing Process

​The main stages to all of my finished art are:  The Sketch, The Inks, and The Colors.  Each of those stages are broken down into several steps.  I may follow these steps exactly, I may skip a step, or blend two together.  It all depends on the drawing and the look I'm going for, but this is how it usually goes:

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Stage 1 - The Sketch

• Step 1:  2-3 Rough Sketches​​

  • This step is very dynamic and allows me to just let the creativity flow.  I typically start every project with 2-3 very rough sketches to help give me a sense of form and composition.  I can do these sketches either on paper or digitally - I don't hold myself to any one medium.  The sketches could be as simple as basic shapes, silhouettes, and stick figures, or if I already have a good sense of the idea, I'll add in some minor character details.

  • Much like a photographer or a movie director, my job is to think about the cinematography of the whole piece.  What is the character doing?  What setting are they in?  What sort of emotions do I want to convey?  How are they posed?  Where should they be on the page?  Do I want an up-close shot of their face, or do I want to see the full figure?  Is there an interesting "camera" angle or perspective I can use?  I'm not really using a camera, but it's basically the same thing.​

• Step 2:  The Refined Sketch

  • Now that I have a good idea of what I want to draw, it's time to tighten it up.​

  • Using my digital software, I'll create a new layer on top of the rough sketch and draw it again using a digital drawing tool that looks exactly like a regular pencil.

  • It's important to note that even though I'm using a "simulated pencil", I do that for a reason.  Regardless of whether it's done on paper or digitally, pencil sketches have a unique, free-flowing energy to them that is sometimes lost in the inking stage.  So I like to put as much of that energy into the sketch as possible in an effort to keep that energy later down the line.

  • In this step, I pay attention to all the foundational details of the drawing.  I first map out any perspective lines I may need, and make sure the body proportions and anatomy are looking correct in relation to that perspective.  I pay special attention to things like facial features and costume design.  I also incorporate light and dark values to help convey a sense of roundness to the forms.  I may also start to add render lines, but not always.

  • Once I've gotten the sketch to a point that I'm satisfied with, it's on to the Inks.

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Stage 2 - The Inks

• Step 1:  Base Line Art

  • In a new layer, I change my digital drawing tool from a pencil to an ink pen, and start with thin contour lines throughout the form(s).

• Step 2:  Line Weights

  • Next, I go over the drawing again, this time adding line weights.  This means I'm adding varying degrees of thickness to the base line art to convey a sense of roundness to the forms.  This is based on the light source(s) within the shot, where thinner lines are used in areas with the most light, and thicker lines are in areas with the most shadow.

• Step 3:  Shadows & Rendering

  • In my opinion, this is the most time and labor intensive step in the entire drawing process because it's all about the nitty-gritty details.​

  • ​I start by adding in block shadows, or large areas of pure darkness.  The amount and size of the shadows depends purely on the composition and style I'm going for.

  • Next, I go back over the drawing with any render lines that I feel is necessary.  Rendering is basically a way of creating a gradient of light to dark using techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and/or blending.  Again, the amount of rendering I do depends purely on the composition and style I'm going for.

  • Once I'm satisfied, it's time to move on to the final stage in the drawing process.

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Stage 3 - The Colors

• Step 1:  Flat Colors

  • In another new layer - this time below the ink layer(s) - I add in flat, solid colors.  If I were to end the drawing at this step, it would have a nice, old-school comic book vibe to it.  In the old days, printers only had a few color options to work with, so keeping it simple was always the way to go.  That said, I usually don't stop here.

• Step 2:  Sculpting the Form​

  • In much the same way as rendering, I add gradients of color on top of the flat colors to accentuate the light and dark areas of the form.  This is my favorite step because I believe it truly breathes life into the drawing!  Think about it - we don't see the world in flat colors, we see it with a multitude of gradients - and that's exactly what I try to convey.

• Step 3:  Effects​​​

  • This is where I tie everything together.  I will typically add in abstract shapes such as smoke, clouds, stars, focus lines, or whatever to give the drawing an extra layer of depth.  Depending on the composition, I'll also add special glowing effects to certain areas of the drawing, and/or add different lighting or color filters to give it an extra bit of pizzazz that I might not have considered at the start of the drawing.  These extra effect details serve to take all the pieces of the drawing and make the whole greater than the sum of it's parts (so to speak).

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That's it!  Drawing pictures is simple, right?  This process is exactly why the pricing of commission projects can be so tricky, and why I have my prices organized into different levels - each of those levels relates to a certain stage, or combination of stages, of the drawing. 

 

One of these days, I will actually record my drawing process in real-time, so you can see it in action.  Until then, head on over to the Single Image Pricing page to see examples of each of these stages.

 

Wow - I know that was a lot to read, so thanks for sticking around!  I hope that helped give you a sense of what's involved with creating this kind of comic-style art.  Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you ever have any questions.