Art Process

Step 01: Planning & Conceptualization

My goal is to create a visual that helps the viewer to elevate the text and contributes to the story.

When starting an illustration, the very first step is to research every aspect of the subject to determine what the image needs to say to the viewer. That is how the mood, focal point and overall message gets defined. Based on these results, several rough thumbnails get created to find the best compostion and idea. Once the decision is made, a sketch will be drawn from the thumbnail. Details will be worked out, values added if needed and lines optimized. This sketch gets digitalized in order to play further with values and color.

Step 02: Painting Preparations

The digital sketch gets carefully transferred via lightbox or tracing paper onto high quality watercolor paper. Additionally, the color palette gets optimized with watercolors and additional mediums if necessary. Once the sketch is ready, the paper gets stretched overnight with water on a wooden board.

Step 03: Planning the Painting Process

With watercolor, you slowly build up colors and values. I work with very light layers in order to have smooth color areas and striking values. For this process, it is often needed to block out some areas with masking fluid and tape. This keeps selected areas clean while working on a smooth background, for example. In this case, the very bright character stays clean while the dark background and ground layers are painted according to the digital color proof.

Step 04: Building Layers

Layer after Layer, the illustration is getting more and more depth. In watercolor, you have to work from light to dark. I usually use colored pencils to add structure, additional color ranges or define areas. I also like to use Gouache or Acrylics in order to create opaque details or help some lighter areas to stand out even more.

Step 05: Digitalization

The very last step is to scan the finished artwork and adjust the digital file according to the original. If necessary, some corrections can be added digitally.