This is my current approach at painting with watercolors. There are as many ways to use watercolors are there are artists, and I in no way claim that is is the best way or the right way, if such a thing exists. This is the process that I have found works for me; and I keep modifying it as I try new things and learn more.

Once I have an idea for a picture, I start doodling in my sketchbook. Pencils are usually the tool I use for sketching; sometimes a light red-, violet-, or blue-colored pencil. Sketches start with vague thumbnail-sized impressions of the whole painting. This is when I consider the composition of my future painting. Is the general shape pleasing to the eye? Do the shapes help guide the eye around the image? When I get to actually sketching the picture in the size and aspect ratio of the painting, I often use reference photos; of myself, of models from magazines, and of landscapes. I sometimes look up and sketch specific objects that will be details in the final painting.

There is a lot of re-drawing in this part, but eventually I find lines that I like enough. I use Micron pens for these final outlines, and I usually find tracing paper the most appropriate paper for this part. Then, it's time to transfer the outlines to the paper where the final painting will live. I use a lightbox to trace my ink outline onto the watercolor paper with an H3 or similar pencil. And then the actual painting begins!

Well, almost. I usually like to do a color study. The general tone of the piece will more or less dictate what hues should be in the painting and where. Do I want to pick duller hues or brighter ones? Do I want all hues to be in the same family or does the picture call for contrasting colors? What areas of my image should be darker? Where are the highlights? I need to figure all this out before I even put down the first layer of color because, as a younger me found out and an older me is still occasionally reminded, it is very difficult to make corrections with a watercolors.

A note on materials. I have been using Princeton brushes from their Heritage series. They seem to keep their shape well. As for paints, what I've been using recently is a travel set of Koi watercolors, a set of granulating colors from Kuretake, and a few colors I own from a local artist who makes her own paints. I tend to use a mixed media visual journal for my practices and experiments. But I also like trying different sets of watercolor papers.

The actual painting starts with a wash of very light color, usually across the whole paper. In general, when I paint watercolors, I start by painting the highlight and progress to the darker parts. After the base color, I do a second layer that is similar to color blocking. In this layer, I divide the paper in areas that have similar color hues and apply a very light hue with smaller brushes (anything from size 6 to size 3). These should be as light as the highlight of each area. This step is essentially painting the highlights.

This is followed by layers and layers where I darken the areas that need it, leaving alone the areas that are already as dark as they need to be. This part of the process is like when you are looking through a camera lens and are slowly turning it into focus. What started out as a monocolored blob turns into something else as the paint marks its shadows/dips/texture. Last are tiny details with tiny brushes. And usually, I am done when I think any other brush stroke will potentially ruin it.

The OG space babes were made in 2022 on pages from an old book the math department at my university was throwing out. The book is (was?) called Mathematical Reviews and contained reviews of math research papers. You can see several languages but it's mostly English, French, Italian, and German.

I had used a set of Aquacolor watercolor pencils from Stabilo and Pigma and Micron markers. This spring, I decided it was time to make a new version on watercolor paper. For the paints, I decided to use only five colors from my two current favorite sets. And for the outlines, I decided to use India ink, applied with a liner brush. I also decided to try out some line shading in the newest rendition.

I also recorded its the creation process, something I haven't really done with any other piece. I used a document camera (normally used for teaching remotely), my MacBook Air, and OBS Studio, which is free and open source. To edit the video, I learned how to use DaVinci Resolve.

Here is a step-by-step of the first one I re-created.

1. Pencil outline

Using a light box and my outline, I transferred the line work onto a 9x12 inch Strathmore Watercolor Paper (from their 300 series). I used a Darwient Graphic 3H pencil, a personal favorite for watercolors' base sketch.

2. Base layer

For the base layer, I used a chocolate-y Burnt Sienna from Good Honey Handmade Watercolors. (She is a local artist who makes her own paints by hand.) Both brushes I used here are are from Princeton's Lauren series.

3. Color-blocking

In this layer, I laid down watercolors on a solid layer on the pinup. For this gal, I used four colors: Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Blue from Good Honey Handmade Watercolors and colors #022 and #004 from the Pocket Field Sketch Box from Koi Water Colors.

The brushes I used for painting are mostly from Princeton's Heritage series, while a few are from their Velvetouch series. And the brushes I used for mixing paint are from the Lauren series.

4. Shading

In this layer, I used the same four colors to certain deepen the hues in certain parts of the previous layer.

5. Details

Added in some cobalt blue details.

6. Ink outline

I outlined the pinup with Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Ink and Princeton liner brushes (a #2 from the Heritage series and a #20/0 from the Velvetouch series).

7. Ink shading

This is the last step. Still using India ink and the #20/0 liner, I added some line shading.

Final work

This is what the pinup ended up looking like. I'm mostly satisfied with how the colors turned out. I tried to keep the color palette very simple; some neutral-ish black and brown shades and the bright and contrasting pink and blue. I think it worked out well enough. I don't particularly like how I did the line shading. Line shading is a new skill for me, so there's plenty of room and time for improvement.

If you liked the Space Babe, you can commission an original in my Etsy shop!

You can also visit my Esty shop to see other paintings and art prints. (There are Space Babes in blue, red, and white coming next.)

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