Fall, Winter and the Holy Grail








Here are a few promotional illustrations I did for my wonderful agency, New Leaf Literary & Media, as well as a character sketch to test out a digital painting technique.

Finding a method of digital painting that's easy, loose and works well with my sketchy style has always been a holy grail for me. I can spend a kazillion hours and paint something that looks like an oil painting, but I don't have a kazillion hours these days. Besides, that sort of approach doesn't lend itself to the children's books I write, and is far too labor-intensive for comic work -- other than covers. The above technique feels comfy, cozy and very me. And even better, it's super fast! I don't want to jinx it, but I think I possibly just "chose wisely." We'll see as I continue to test it out... :)

Comments

Ricky Montero said…
Are there any sort of story behind your paintings? Or are they purely spontaneous thoughts?
andreamichelle said…
I love your use of color. I feel like I need to take classes on color theory, because I really seem to struggle in this area. I can see what I like in others work, but doing it is another thing.
adreanaline said…
What program and brush do you use for the effect at bottom? It looks like watercolors -- very impressive! :)
sarah said…
Ricky - Often they are. These, though, were for seasonal themes, and the last one was just random. :)

Andrea - Thank you. I struggle with color, too. I find a big help to me is to use mostly colors in the same family (like blue or green) and then use a bright complimentary color as an accent. Starting with a color wash in the background helps me too.

Adreanaline - Thanks. It's actually mostly a photoshop pencil brush I found online. I like the watercolor effect, too. :)

Ahh the turquoise colors are magnificent Sarah. And I really dig your sketchy style, it shows how you think and lets me know its alright to be sketchy at times too. Hope you are well.
andreamichelle said…
those sound like good ideas. I find I'm getting better with practice and learning through my mistakes...
I guess I hadn't realized you started updating your blog more often, because this is the first time I've seen these. I love love love the fall and winter drawings especially! I'm glad to see more of your artwork.