3
REVISING AND REFINING
I begin revising the line drawing, making decisions
on the design of the characters, environment, placing the
blacks and using different elements to help navigate the
viewer’s eye – the shape of the fire, for example. I try to be
as economical as I can at this point, keeping the lines simple
and not investing too much time in the details.6
SETTING THE LIGHTING SCHEME
After laying down the colour flats I establish where
my light source will be, and how the shadows will play on
the figures and elements. I develop these with numerous
Multiply layers, using an adjusted oil pastel brush, building
the shadows of the piece in a very gradual way.5
LAYING DOWN FLATS
As my digital process becomes more and more
involved, it’s essential that I take the time to create aliased
colour flats. They serve to help make quick selections on
different elements of the image that I might want to isolate
and treat individually, especially in a dense composition.
Keeping them aliased also helps to ensure crisp selections.4
PENCIL TO PAPER
From there I print out the image to be traced, using
a lightbox and a 2H pencil, on to a 14x21-inch sheet of BFK
Rives. Once the basic shapes are down, I switch to a Faber-
Castell Schwarz Black and begin drawing proper. Along
with articulating the details, I want to solidify my blacks.2
DECISIONS OF DIRECTION
We narrow it down to two options: Mayan Cave and Airplane Escape. Either
idea would’ve been a joy to execute, but as exciting as the rope-ladder escape would
have been, it makes Tintin feel like an action star rather than someone who is being
swept up in the adventure, as he is in the comics.
7
PAINTING IN VALUES
While the image is currently poorly detailed, I’m
careful not to overpolish it. One usual pitfall is to render the
same level of detail throughout the image. Despite all the
articulation, it can feel static in the end. So I concentrate on
more expressive painting techniques for the focal points,
and limit the rendering in the secondary areas.SHORTCUTS
Inverting the
image
Cmd+I (Mac)
Ctrl+I (PC)
This helps me to see the
Black and White
balance.WORKSHOP
BRUSHES
PHOTOSHOP
CUSTOM BRUSHES:HIGHLIGHT
HARDROUND 351
A simple Round
brush, with Flow and
Opacity settings,
used for blunt work
and highlights.OIL PASTEL LARGE 8
A brush that offers a
raw drawing line and
texture for rendering
and fills.ROUND SKETCH
BALLPOINT PEN 5
This is like the Round
brush, with additional
texture and frayed
tips to give a
traditional quality.Workshops