I’ve been showing a lot of Corel Painter work, like The Flying Kid and School Days illustrations. I also do a large amount of vector illustration, using Adobe CS5. I’m in the midst of a couple of Christmas projects and this is a sample the style I’m using.
When I do these, I work differently than when I’m painting on the Wacom tablet. The digital tablet art is done with a number of preliminary thumbnails and rough sketches, with the finals painted on my Mac.
The vector art shown in this Christmas piece involved no preliminary sketching on paper. I “sketch” right on the finished product, scrapping anything I don’t like and revising as I draw. What I like about working this way, is that it forces a direct graphic approach that retains spontaneity. It keeps me from over thinking the concept.
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I do make changes, but they aren’t enslaved to an original sketch, because there is no original sketch. It reminds me of the primitive color forms I had as a kid. You might remember them, those vinyl cut-out shapes, mostly in primary and secondary colors, that were used for making art on a black background.
Mine were simple geometric shapes, rather than the later illustrated images. Working directly in vector shapes takes me back to my color form days. Recalling my inner five-year old self is a great way to make art.