A.D. Cook - Creating Eclipse - Step-by-Step Part 3

Creating Eclipse by A.D. Cook
( Part 3 )
Canvas Wrap Article, June 2005

[ CANVAS WRAP articles can be read at AirbrushTalk.com before they are added to this web site ]

Well, here we are in our third installment of CANVAS WRAP, where we’re going to finally get the figure started.

First off, before I can start any spraying, I need to replace the acetate to protect background, and reveal the figure. The background acetate pieces are replaced before the figure pieces are removed. This is where the Sharpie “X” marks come in handy to keep everything in register. Exact registration in acetate replacement is essential. If the acetate pieces are not replaced in their exact position, undesirable light and dark lines will appear in the painting, essentially outlining the figure. Once the pieces are in their proper position I can start spraying without worry of affecting my background.

I start off painting the figure with the same blue I used for the background. At this point everything is airbrushed freehand using an Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH airbrush. My air pressure is set around 10-12 PSI, which creates a slightly grainy effect. I don’t want my skin to lack texture. Too smooth a skin surface and my model will look plastic and fake – too much and she’ll look rough and manly. A little experimenting on a piece of scrap paper will help to determine a desirable texture. Simply adjusting air pressure can create tremendous variations in sprayed textures.

This is where saving all the acetate pieces come in handy. The original acetate pieces are trimmed as needed and positioned to create crisp edges and detail. At this point, I’m still keeping everything light. It’s easier to darken areas later. My goal here is to bring the color up globally, rather than completely finish any given area. By doing this, I’ll get a better idea overall of what everything looks like and can make adjustments accordingly.

Artool Airbrush Templates are used to add crisp lines and bring out details as needed. Holding the shield away from the surface a little while spraying can create edges with a bit of softness to them, which tend to look more realistic than overly-crisp edges. It doesn’t take much. Simply holding the shield 1/8” to 1/4” away from the surface will change the edge considerably.

I use “The Bird by Radu Vero” (RV-2), which happens to be one of my personal favorites for painting breast shapes. It’s perfect for the scale of my work. Using the shield’s different curves can create positive and negative shapes, which are desirable to create a convincing illusion – in this case, the inside and outside shapes of the breast line. I’ll use a lot of different Artool Airbrush Templates in the process of creating my paintings. I especially rely on the Freehand Match-Makers, designed by my buddy Michael Cacy. They make short work of painting hands and fingernails.

There’s still a long ways to go, but at this point things are starting to shape up overall, so I’m going to take a break from spraying and pull out some erasers to establish some lighter detail areas. Creating these paintings is a process of applying and removing paint to adjust everything as needed. Erasers are especially useful in establishing variety by creating convincing textures. Some caution should be applied when using erasers; a little goes a long way, and it’s relatively easy to do damage if patience and restraint are ignored. Erase softly and work slowly. In the same way that more paint can be added, more can be removed later as needed, but we’ll want be careful here to not add too much texture by erasing too much to fast. This shot shows a small sampling of the variety of erasers I use.

After a bit of erasing, I’m back to airbrushing some more color, so pull out the shields, rotate the art, and start spraying. Notice here that the painting is upside down. I rotate my art in process often during the course of painting. This helps me see details that I might otherwise miss – things become shapes, allowing us to see what is really there instead of what we think we know. Equally important to rotating art is keeping your reference images close to where you’re working. Here you see my reference photo directly in front of the painting.

Well, that’s it for this one. In the next installment of CANVAS WRAP I’ll show you how those Cacy templates I mentioned make painting the hand a breeze.

<<< Return to part 2

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A.D. Cook Fine Art Studios — Las Vegas, Nevada USA — (702) 875-5676