Conceptual Self Portrait
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I opted for Ink and Wash to complete the Conceptual self portrait. The image depicts me with my four cats which is a nightly scene as we relax at home after dinner. I love the cats. I love all my pets (dog, alpacas, sheep and goat) but I love the cats most of all. They are never far from me and I can’t imagine life without them. I chose ink and wash because watercolour is my favourite medium and I feel that the ink outline is excellent for an illustrations.
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Project Process
The process to create the illustration was straight forward. I drew several images on transfer paper and when I was happy with one, I transferred that image onto watercolour paper with a home made transfer sheet (see method below on how to make the transfer sheet).
Once the transfer was done, I outlined the drawing with water resistant Ink.
I then painted the inked drawing with watercolours and re-inked where required.
The illustration was then scanned, imported to Photoshop, cropped and adjusted to enhance it for screen and/or print.
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Project Details
- Client: Personal Project
- Category: Illustrations
- Project Media: Watercolour
- Software Resources: Photoshop
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Home made transfer paper
Required Materials: 1 transfer paper sheet, 6B or 8B graphite pencil or stick, Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton swab.
Method: completely cover the transfer paper with graphite, pour some alcohol on the swab and gently rub on the graphite in a circular motion to muddy the sheet. Allow to dry. Once dry, you will have a long lasting transfer sheet that you can use over and over. Being made of graphite, the tracings will be erasable. Place a marking on the graphite side so you know and when you use it, ensure that the graphite side of the transfer sheet is facing the paper where you want the drawing transferred.