Hi Steemers!!
Today I want to share with you several illustrations I did this week.
All my illustraions are done on location. At least the initial ink sketch. Some of them I painted on location too. Like the watercolors I try to upload daily , in others I follow a process of coloring first with digital tools like the Ipad.
And then do another watercolor version on the studio.
Both methods are equally valid in my opinion. One is more fresh and real. The classic aproach of painting on location and enjoying the day outside.
The other aproach its more to study values and how color works and its more a secure methodology if you are learning.
This week I focused on drawing the classical area of the city. Where all the famous buildings are located. Most of this buildings were designed in the. SXIX. When the Goverment did a new expansion of the city from the sea to the mountain. So the buildings are classical and nice..made of granitestone.. Very popular this material ln this country. Most of the them are central banks and cultural places like museums or theatres.
The first illustration I share its this one. Done in Vigo, Spain.
Its one classic building of a theatre in the monumental area.
The original pen and ink drawing was done on location. For entertainment purpose I added a bus. Its a typical local bus that you take to move around the city.
The color palette is limitted and mostly blues and greys with the green of the bus.
This is the final watercolor painting
Digital version first.
One of the virtues of this process is that you can take your time to create the shadows and lights like the reflections on the windows of the bus for example . and if you mess up you can undo because you are working digital.
Another advantage its working in black and white first stablishing the values of grey. You dont have to worry about color until the final part, when you do a color balance adjustment to do whatever palette you like to create.
Coloring process with Procreate.
Watercolor painting
Once I have the digital version ready I work on the watercolor. I retrace the image with a light table and work from the lighter colors like the yellows to the darker and cooler ones like the blues
Here you can see some photos of the process.
This one was done very close to the first one. In another building. All the banks are located on this street and their architecture its beautiful to contemplate and draw.
I remember this afternoon. It was a Sunday. And it was a really hot day. Everybody was on the beach thats why there its no people on the illustration Lol. The city was desert! Only me and a few tourists were walking around the city center.
So the color palette was very warm. With reds, yellows and oranges.
Here you can see the drawing done on location .
Digital illustration
Here is the color illustration. I like to put foreground elements. Well. I admit thats its a very usual thing that designers on the movies do when composing the shots...so its not that Im very unique.. But it worked..and you put the things that you see on the drawing, and also change and exxagerate others... Like it was a animation film...
Digital color
This is a classic lampost.. In the past was located in another location but now they moved it to the centre of the city.
They rebuilded this area to make ot more walkeable to the people and they decorated also with things like this classical lampost.
Digital coloring
Like always. I started with a value studie in a Digital format. The palette is mostly orange and grey .
This illustration is the watercolor version of one I share some days ago here.. Its the Berbes. Some fisherman houses . The original digital version had a warm palette with yellows and browns.
The good thing about doing in this way its thats you can change the colors instantly, so I use this time a light blue palette. Just like the colors of the galician flag.
The ink drawing on location
Digital coloring
Watercolor painting
The Sea man (el sireno) in spanish. Its a recently kind of new statue.. So its not as classical as the buildings before.
But still represents the monumental area of Vigo.Its one of the symbols of the city. Even its one of the ugliest statues I ve ever seen..
Anyways...all the cities have their ugly spots..and this one I think its one of them..
But I want to a design creation to represent pictorically.
I did a drawing on location first with a few lines ..
And then I follow the same process as before. Coloring with the Ipad in Procreate and coloring later with watercolors in the final traditional version
Digital coloring
Thats all ! I hope you liked this post. I would like to continue drawing this city or other ones in my future travels... Hope you still there to read my future adventures..
Have a nice day!!
Carlos.
