Treehouse - Many Months in the Making
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@AlliFaith Yes Thanks for the encouragement and you are right I doubt myself a lot, though I think I am beginning to change in regards to art and being an artist.
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@ArtistErin Lovely image Erin, it seems there are many of us using pencils in some way or another. It is great to see what you can do with pencils What type did you use for this image?
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@Kristen-Lango Thanks for your enthusiasm too. I am now on my way to submitting 2 images for the contest and that's partly due to all of your encouragement and helpful advice. So, thanks everyone for providing a safe environment to take a risk or two, or three!
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@ArtistErin
Nice work! Iād love to see more! -
@PenAndrew That is so awesome to hear! Can't wait to see both of your pieces
I feel the same way about this forum as a safe space to take risks, happy to have people to share that with 
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@Kristen-Lango Yes, tomorrow you can see, I am waiting to finish the second, maybe adding a few little creatures as I feel the treehouse feels empty of life.
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@Kristen-Lango No question is a dumb question! Although I say this, I also feel sometimes my own questions are silly and I try to figure things out on my own, yet things really do go faster if I just ask people that know. That is why we are all here together, helping each other!
Art to me is experimental to keep things fun I suppose, and that's how we learn... I've heard of artists using baby oil to blend pastels and charcoal however the cool thing about Gamsol is it's a solvent and "melts" the pigment in colored pencils, rendering the surface workable to allow more layers without destroying the paper. I imagine baby oil never dries totally so you are left with a "grease ring" around your image. So, starting out your composition with a generally clear idea of your color palette (ie skin tones are a mix of yellows, pinks, and browns, etc.) start in very light applications, going in circular motions (don't fill in straight lines or you'll have streaking) then lightly apply the gamsol to a q-tip or a brush, fill in only the section you are currently working. The gamsol melts the pigment and dries fairly quickly. Make sure your workspace is ventilated because gamsol is a solvent, however it's probably the safest on the market.
The attached image I did before I started with SVS, practicing portraits from a photo online to try to get the feel of the direction I wanted to go, and came to the conclusion I'd rather go the children's book route. Will always love colored pencil. It has its quirks however, and in doing this piece I think I was trying too hard! I want to achieve the softness of skin texture yet the graininess might be too much. So while I'm loving the versatility of digital and convenience of fixing mistakes and the incredible application of the various tools out there, I find I'm still not there as far as being satisfied with the results.
Anyway, this is such a great place to be where the feedback helps clarify what makes sense, anyone else feel the same split in how to move forward? Just knowing I'm not alone in this helps feel a little better!
Thanks you guys...
Erin Richardson
instagram.com/erinrichardsondesigns21
www.erinrichardsondesigns.com -
@PenAndrew I used mostly Faber Castell for this image however there were some browns I needed so I had to use my Prismacolor pencils for that. Of course the "fat over lean" rule applies, and it took some getting used to not applying too much gamsol especially if I have greens and blues over lighter tones. Muddying colors are tricky, especially when getting into the darks so the technique takes time and practice.
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@AngelinaKizz Thank you! Same here! Keep posting stuff:) your portraits are so good... you inspire me!
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Awe shucks, thanks!
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@ArtistErin Thanks so much Erin for taking the time to explain a bit about Gamsol, I really appreciate you passing on your knowledge
I totally agree about this being a place of learning and community - I've only been part of SVS for a little over a month and being able to communicate with other like-minded artists on these forums has made a huge difference in my everyday life as an illustrator.
Thanks again!
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@Kristen-Lango Yes for sure I am so happy to help and share, and learn also!
