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snowunmasked — Figure Work Walkthrough - I by-nc-nd

Published: 2011-01-01 15:51:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 11344; Favourites: 406; Downloads: 179
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Description


Click for Part II


my contribution to DACipher 's 2011 grand release



It is not at all a custom of mine to publicly share work-in-progresses of work that is not yet complete. However in this instance I think that what went into one of the key elements in this piece makes for a good walkthrough, and with DACipher in mind, who are awesome, I thought "why not?"


Those of you who have followed my work here on dA for a few years or more might recognise this being a redux of an older piece :)


Again, this is a walkthrough, not a tutorial, and the only reason why I submitted this to Resources & Stock Images > Tutorials is because I can't find a more suitable place to put it

So thank you for viewing this, and happy 2011 to all of you!






. . : :   katherine-cheng.com   : : . .





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Comments: 158

jasonbrian007 [2013-02-24 12:04:39 +0000 UTC]

Brilliant!!

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ShannC [2012-08-25 14:01:05 +0000 UTC]

great tutorials, im new to watercolor and this is very helpful and intimidating haha

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snowunmasked In reply to ShannC [2012-10-01 14:58:51 +0000 UTC]

I did use watercolours in a way that kind of defied the medium. But I'm glad you found these helpful!

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GraphicFoundry [2011-09-18 14:36:01 +0000 UTC]

You are one detailed artist, that's for sure.

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snowunmasked In reply to GraphicFoundry [2011-09-19 14:47:57 +0000 UTC]

Yes I enjoy very much working on high details Thank you for taking a look!

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GraphicFoundry In reply to snowunmasked [2011-09-21 12:58:07 +0000 UTC]

Well, ex minimis patet ipse Deus: God is revealed in the smallest of his creations. They always criticised me in college for being too detailed . Damn them! Details ruuuule!

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Emzeeverse [2011-06-07 09:13:02 +0000 UTC]

HOLY CRAP I DIDNT KNOW YOU DID YOUR STUFF BY HAND DX I WAS EXPECTING DGITAL ART

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snowunmasked In reply to Emzeeverse [2011-06-07 16:22:47 +0000 UTC]

Nope all my works from 2009 onwards are traditional

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Emzeeverse In reply to snowunmasked [2011-06-08 10:41:12 +0000 UTC]

AMAZING XD

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TiffanySamanthaLewis [2011-05-14 18:06:49 +0000 UTC]

i love this tutorial. i have one question: how do you get the skin tone like that (shading, etc)? i cant even get the basics down i have such a hard time w/ that. it always come out too watery & the texture of the watercolor paper gets ruined & the colors don't come out evenly the way i want it to.

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snowunmasked In reply to TiffanySamanthaLewis [2011-05-14 20:26:56 +0000 UTC]

Watering down watercolour paint is a very "individual" process, depending on personal preference. I like it the consistency of heavy cream (before it is whipped).

As shown here in this walkthrough, the even skin tone that you see is a result of many, many hours of stippling with a tiny brush. I am basically simulating the effect of airbrushing, one tiny little dot at a time, resulting in perfect gradients.

Watercolour paper tends to get ruined quickly if it's not heavy enough. I use at least 140lb paper. Arches is the best brand.

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TiffanySamanthaLewis In reply to snowunmasked [2011-05-14 21:24:57 +0000 UTC]

ohhhh....thanks for the insight. if you have the time, can you check out my "enraged storm" painting & give me your advice on it? by the way, isn't there stippling paintbrushes that are in art stores? or is it not as good as your method?

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snowunmasked In reply to TiffanySamanthaLewis [2011-05-15 03:07:53 +0000 UTC]

I tend to do things the hardest way possible lol. No shortcuts!

And sure I'll take a look.

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Tadpole7 [2011-04-20 18:58:10 +0000 UTC]

Nice show of progression.

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snowunmasked In reply to Tadpole7 [2011-04-21 17:13:21 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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CathieGraphy [2011-04-07 11:23:55 +0000 UTC]

Wow, and I thought I had patience .. 5 hours roughly per section. That is loving dedication

Q: Do you keep the pencil lines in your drawing? If not can you erase them out even after watercolouring? I have zero painting skills so these are just questions of curiosity. I have an all abiding love of anything creative form that can be undone!! As such traditional arts are something I haven't explored yet like drawing and painting lol .. but I'm thoroughly loving my new journeys into crafting

LOVE the two walkthroughs to see how you work
Very nicely done Katie

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snowunmasked In reply to CathieGraphy [2011-04-07 16:26:21 +0000 UTC]

yeah this painting is almost finished... took about 4 months and maybe 500 hours. I lost count lol.

The pencil lines get covered up with the colours. I lay on watercolours pretty thick, kind of like working with oils

Glad you enjoyed this!

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ChavisO2 [2011-03-02 23:00:24 +0000 UTC]

Just Excellent!

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snowunmasked In reply to ChavisO2 [2011-03-03 01:33:09 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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ChavisO2 In reply to snowunmasked [2011-03-03 01:34:28 +0000 UTC]

Your Welcome ^-^

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XRainbowIceCreamX [2011-03-01 18:42:57 +0000 UTC]

impressive work!

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snowunmasked In reply to XRainbowIceCreamX [2011-03-02 17:09:36 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much

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XRainbowIceCreamX In reply to snowunmasked [2011-03-02 17:29:26 +0000 UTC]

you are welcom ^^

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keikei11 [2011-02-23 03:37:37 +0000 UTC]

Why are you so AWESOME?? GAHHHH! AHAHA AMAZING. I love seeing works in progresss yeah and water colors are a much more difficult medium for me compared to using acrylics hooo! AMAZING

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snowunmasked In reply to keikei11 [2011-02-25 21:11:07 +0000 UTC]

Acrylics is for me more difficult that watercolours, they just dry so fast

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keikei11 In reply to snowunmasked [2011-02-26 00:53:05 +0000 UTC]

although you can edit them still if they dry fast.. in water color it's difficult to bring back the highlight (or the whitepart)if you screw it up wahahaha once you've covered it you're screwed.. get it ahha

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snowunmasked In reply to keikei11 [2011-02-26 04:17:47 +0000 UTC]

Actually there is such a thing called bleed proof white ink, by Dr Ph Martins, that I use for creating lovely highlights. Great for detail work

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keikei11 In reply to snowunmasked [2011-02-26 05:13:30 +0000 UTC]

whoa! amazing wahaha

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cheale [2011-02-14 02:01:40 +0000 UTC]

Wow you are so genereous to give this insight into how you build your brilliant gorgeous work ... I feel grateful to you for this insight ... thank you

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snowunmasked In reply to cheale [2011-02-25 21:26:05 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for checking this out

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Silly-Lady [2011-02-12 19:11:26 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful work! Also very nice technique and images!

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snowunmasked In reply to Silly-Lady [2011-02-12 20:45:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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SeaWhisper [2011-02-07 14:35:32 +0000 UTC]

you should get DD for that one

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snowunmasked In reply to SeaWhisper [2011-02-07 19:09:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for your high compliments my friend

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SeaWhisper In reply to snowunmasked [2011-02-07 19:18:31 +0000 UTC]

you deserve it, it's the most complex and detailed tutorial on this subject I've ever seen + your husband wonderful photos the only thing I'd add is the link to final version of the painting, btw tell me how long did it take to make this tutorial? I mean overall with taking photos, editing, writing? More or less, I'm curious

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snowunmasked In reply to SeaWhisper [2011-02-07 22:27:42 +0000 UTC]

Oh, the actual making of this tutorial didn't take long at all, I would say about an hour and a half? Taking the photos and sorting through them to find the best ones took a bit longer. But yeah overall it's a very painless procedure. I just set up a file in Photoshop, laid down tons of guides against the ruler and set everything to snap.

When I finish the painting I will definitely link it in the description

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SeaWhisper In reply to snowunmasked [2011-02-11 18:37:41 +0000 UTC]

go go, I could stare at your works for hours, and I think you should create more tutorials, not only it's a joy to watch you at work, but also your husband photos are so clean and artistic, beside one can learn a lot (eg. this trick with Ox Gall, I knew it but I remember that long ago I had problem with paint drying too fast, if I knew it then it would be life saver )

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snowunmasked In reply to SeaWhisper [2011-02-12 20:53:42 +0000 UTC]

Ox gall is slightly tricky to use, can't add too much of it or the water feels a little "slimy" A few drops makes a slight difference, it's not something that should be heavily depended on in terms of slowing drying time. But it does help

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fiacra [2011-02-04 10:41:44 +0000 UTC]

great tutorial, I enjoyed seeing the process and have gotten some really useful info.

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snowunmasked In reply to fiacra [2011-02-07 19:14:15 +0000 UTC]

Glad you enjoyed this!

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kaotickell [2011-01-26 10:48:10 +0000 UTC]

Two weeks ago I had every intention of coming to this page to comment, fave and download this walkthrough.. oh how life has messed me around.

That stippling looks like one of the most frustrating things, but it's so worth it in the end.

Next step is buying myself a few pieces of the famed Arches paper!

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snowunmasked In reply to kaotickell [2011-01-27 01:27:34 +0000 UTC]

It's not frustrating, just one of those things you don't want to think about doing. But once I sit down and do it, its quite meditative...

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kaotickell In reply to snowunmasked [2011-01-27 08:50:51 +0000 UTC]

Yeah agreed! I remember when I was 15 at work experience they asked me to colour an image solely by stippling with a 0.4mm nib pen. When I was doing it, I started getting cabin fever, but seeing it finished.. it was so worth it.

As far as watercolours go though, stippling definitely makes sense to help clean things up.

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FaMz [2011-01-24 02:53:01 +0000 UTC]

I would so love to watch you paint!!
that sounds kinda creepy but it's nice watching someone when they're painting...since I cant even do it myself (not like I really try, I don't have the patience for it), I like the way you shade your figures and apply the colours

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snowunmasked In reply to FaMz [2011-01-30 18:49:42 +0000 UTC]

Was thinking of doing time-lapse photography next time And since I'd be working in oils, it should be a lot easier to achieve. That way it would look as though the painting were painting itself :O

Haha a lot of the times I need so much motivation... it's just one of those things that I don't want to -think- about doing but once I just sit down and do it, it's so... natural. Very little thought process now...

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phoenixleo [2011-01-17 09:51:27 +0000 UTC]

This is my first time seeing how watercolour is done like that! o__O

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snowunmasked In reply to phoenixleo [2011-01-17 18:03:36 +0000 UTC]

Yeah it's pretty asinine but it works for me!

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phoenixleo In reply to snowunmasked [2011-01-18 02:48:08 +0000 UTC]

It's new for me too I haven't completely learned how to do watercolour properly ._.

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LucieOn [2011-01-12 11:36:10 +0000 UTC]

May I have a question? I hope you don't mind... what weight of Arches HP do you use? 140 lb or 300 lb? Just curious... I usually use 300 lb, I have couple of sheets of 140 lb home and they didn't seem useful to me at all... but if you can create such a beautiful paintings on them, I would consider giving them another shot

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snowunmasked In reply to LucieOn [2011-01-12 17:26:27 +0000 UTC]

140lb

What trouble are you having with them?

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