i-m-a-g-i-n-efx-august

Workshops
Points of interest: bring a scene to life
a ragged silhouette
The sculptor in the novel is a fallen wizard of
sorts, using his skills to carve stone with his bare
hands. The juxtaposition of torn cloak and wild
hair with his magical gift makes him come alive.
Tape Tip
Turn up The heaT
Even though I do use a
sturdy paper, peeling the
masking tape off can lead to
disaster. The solution is a hair
dryer. The heat softens the glue
and enables the tape to come
off without scalping or
otherwise damaging the
paper underneath.
MaterialS
Media
n Ink
n Watercolour
n Coloured pencils
n Airbrush
PaPer
n 300gr all-round
drawing paper,
stretched
Miscellaneous
n Masking tape
n Clear plastic
Warm vs cold
I prefer to use the white of the paper for warmer
colours, but cold ones are best done with
gouache or coloured pencil. The hands
themselves are painted in gouache, while a
touch of airbrush helps them to glow.
Wrapping the light
Masked contours are hard and flat; few
things in nature are. Softening the edges of
the rock and the dragon, and bringing a little
of the background light on to the surface
itself adds depth and believability.
rocks aren’t dull or dusty
Like so much in nature, grass, wood and stone are
kaleidoscopes of complementary and opposing
colours. In a greyish-brown rock, there are
hundreds of tints. It’s best to let all those colours
resolve themselves, rather than choosing one
tame colour and then simply sticking to it.
112 August 2017