Flying Boat Cover Process Six

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2This is seeming a lot more involved and methodical then it is. The reality is I'm a lot more halting and sloppy when I work and this process is pretty vague and open. I'm quite easily distracted and find I need some kind of structure so I use this method based on the methods of artists whose work I love.

Number one is the tracing I used to transfer the pencil drawing on to nicer paper, in this case Arches 140 pound hot pressed watercolour paper. Arches has been my favorite paper since art school. It seems to have all the qualities to make it versatile and durable. I use pretty generic tracing paper and there is a fair amount of redrawing that goes on in the transfer. One thing Like about transferring a drawing this way is the opportunity it affords me to work on it in reverse where I can see if it's properly balanced and objects have enough symmetry.

Once the drawing is transferred and it is touched up and tightened on the Arches paper I ink it. Inking is probably my favorite part of the process, to me it's revealing the scene that's been hidden the whole time and it seems to develop like a Polaroid. I use a number of different tools for inking. Primarily I use a pen and nib. In this case I used a Zebra Comic Nib in a Tachikawa nib holder. For years I've been using Speedball drawing products but have recently switched to Zebra pens. The ink I use most of the time and used for this piece is FW Acrylic Ink, India ink and white opaque. I also used a variety of other disposable pens and brushpens.

Next step is the watercolours.