Last year I was commissioned by a Chinese Editor to illustrate a children book, a version of the Little Red Riding Hood.
Before I finished the project they asked me to build a short tutorial of my work based on one of the illustrations, for the book marketing.
Final image
I draw the sketch on cheap paper
I report the sketch on watercolor paper.
First I display the sketch on the screen of a very old and big laptop then I tape the watercolor paper on the screen. I can see the sketch lines through the paper and I draw exactly as if I was using a light table for drawing. After that I improve the illustration, add details, etc...
I tape the watercolor paper on a plexiglass sheet to keep the paper from warping then I apply a first layer of color with drawing inks. It’s a very rough and flat first layer, for the moment I don’t add a lot of gradient, shadows or highlights.
I apply a second layer of color with watercolor pencils. This time I add gradients, shadows and highlights. I use a wet brush to dilute the watercolor pencils color when I want a smooth gradient, and I don’t when I want to keep some texture.
I scan the illustration and edit it in Photoshop to find the right final palette of colors and to enhance the shadows and highlights if needed.
Thank you :)
