Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Finally, a process video

At long last, after many requests I've finally found the initiative to post a process video. Its rough but here it is. 


This shows about 12 minutes of drawing compressed down to 90 seconds. Done in Photoshop but the principle is no different then working in my sketchbook.

The most important rule is to start out as general as possible. I start with a really rough circle just to lay out a starting shape/size. The circle becomes obsolete in no time but it served it's purpose. Then it's the big shapes, in this case the face and the hair. Next a quick center line and a nose, mouth and eye line. From there building it in with short geometric lines always following the general to specific rule. I do all this work with lighter lines and a softer touch so they are easy to remove as more solid lines are placed (particularly when working on paper).

People like my crosshatching finish work but this is the most important step to the drawing, getting the structure correct. Feeling confident with your foundation allows you to be bold with your polish work.
Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any questions and look out for more steps soon.


7 comments:

Chromi - Estevao Chromiec said...

Thank you for share this Malan! You work is great!

Philip A. Buck said...

Niiice! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Wonderful. I have a difficult time thinking the same way using photoshop that I think while using a pencil and paper. This video reminded me how well the actions and thought process can be translated into digital work.

Kyle said...

I'm a new follower, and just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this and look forward to more steps :) Thanks for sharing!

Doug said...

Thanks for the video. Can't wait to see the next one. Do you rotate your document often? Do you an action set up or something or do you just use the same degree rotation so you can get it back straight?

David Malan said...

Thanks all,
Doug, yes, I find it useful to rotate my image constantly it give me the chance to see it at a different angle to analyze shapes/get a fresh look. I often close one eye and tilt my head as well. It also is useful to get a good angle for long sweeping lines.
In Photoshop I simply use the rotate tool, when you double click on it's icon it will pop you back to the original angle(I believe this was your question). Painter was easier for this and I used to do it even more, PS is a little clunky to rotate but I think it is valuable for me.

Doug said...

Thanks. I've used photoshop for 15 years and never knew that tool was there. Always used transform to rotate.

Unknown said...

Appreciate for the time n sharing.