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| Pentel Pocket Brush Pen filled with Platinum Carbon Black ink, 13x44" mural drawing |
Here's a fun challenge for you Megasketchers. One day, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to draw. I felt like working from nature, or nature references. I wanted to do something creative, and not just copy a reference. I wanted to force myself to go right in with high contrast and ink, and for the sketch to be able to evolve.
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| Scene near the beginning of the mural |
Here's a little video showing some detailed images from the full sketch.
The temptation to add color was strong, but I didn't want to risk changing it. I realized that since I'd done it in black ink on white paper, and I have a light box, I could always trace over the composition, then do another one in color. This started a whole flurry of ideas. I could do several in different media, using various crops of the mural-like drawing, or combining sections. The one long drawing could be used in countless ways, limited only by my own creativity.
I think this was the day when the true power of a light box dawned on me. I always thought of a light box as something that stifled creativity, rather than enhancing it. When I drew this mural, I was on about page 500 of my 600-page project. After this light bulb moment, I started to do a lot of my larger ink drawings on just one side of the paper. That would allow me to use them on a light box in the future, without a ghost image coming through the paper from a sketch on the other side. I'll discuss more about the light box benefits in a future installment, and how the Megasketch drawings further served my art after the project ended.
- For an overview of Project Megasketch and what it entails, see this post.
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This is wonderful Jamie. I do wonder where/how you store it :-) I wish I had your tight control over the Pentel brush pen; I still struggle with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't work large so I'll often do a sketch in ink and then print it on watercolor paper with my laser printer. This allows me to play with different watercolor approaches as I attempt to figure out that medium. Making copies of one's work is very useful in my opinion.
Larry, the pages fold inward and are the same size as the sketchbook, so it folds up from sides to center, then tucks right into the sketchbook. If you look at the video, one of the images (the manikin opening the door) shows the center opening, where the wing pages would then open out to reveal the full mural. Pages are taped on edge to edge from the back.
DeleteWorking larger was one of my Megasketch goals. I'm so glad I did that. In general, I tried to continually work outside of my comfort zone. By the time I finished the project, even 9x12 felt really small. We are most comfortable with whatever we do most often. If you do want to be able to transfer a larger sketch, you can always tape it to a window, and use the outside light as your light box, or use transfer paper.
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ReplyDeleteI love this Jamie. I really like that you can look at sections as a separate compositions or appreciate the mural as a whole story. I have been working with pen and ink on a very small scale. You have inspired me to try something on a larger scale. I, too, am tempted to use color over the ink, but you have given me a reason to keep the black and white as is. Thank you so much for your posts. I am learning so much from them. (P.S. I re-posted my comment to correct a typo.)
ReplyDeleteCathy, I'm glad this is a source of inspiration to you! As I said to Larry, if you don't have a light box, or need a larger one, you can tape the sketch to a sunny window and use the glass as your light box. There are accordion sketchbooks for those who like to work this way all the time, but I find them very cumbersome to hold; I'd rather just tape the pages as needed! The accordion books are very simple to make yourself. I'm sure there are tons of YouTube videos about that, if you like working that way.
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