Sketching with different types of pen
Drips
Category: Technical Notes
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iPad Explorations
Introduction
The iPad has been part of my own workflow since 2014 . A key consideration in my workflow is a need to manage RSI and consequent constraints on how long I can spend at my pc with professional digital software like Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter. This review aimed to provide a focus for upgrading my iPad skills, looking in detail at recent developments and widening my range of software and styles, placing what I had earlier achieved in Procreate in a wider context.
The iPad has a number of advantages for painting and sketching:
- the ability to combine many different media on one image without needing to carry a lot of equipment.
- can sketch in airports and people think you are just reading on your iPad.
- possibility to work on very fine detail through zooming in and out of the image. fine control over transparency and ability to get very fine gradations of colour.
- delicate edge effects can be produced with transparency lock.
- ability to quickly explore many alternative styles, colours and compositions through manipulating layers.
Some textural effects of watercolour and gouache cannot be reproduced solely on the iPad itself. But using natural media and the iPad can produce very distinctive art that is impossible just using natural media.
Using photographs enables very different perspectives, vantage points and weather conditions to be captured – providing the photographs themselves are well thought through with potential final images in mind. It is also possible to exploit the effects of light on printed images to create atmospheric effects.
Procreate is the programme I have used most. throughout this course. Its key features include:
- fully customisable brushes with pressure and tilt sensitivity, including possibility to completely create one’s own brushes. Procreate 4 has added blend modes to the brushes
- good selection and masking tools
- alpha-lock and fill features
- effects and blend modes to enable rapid experimentation with different colours and versions of an image
- perspective grid and perspective assist – though I find this a bit difficult to use
It is not though so easy and intuitive to use for basic sketching as the colour palette is not as accessible
The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010. The drawing experience significantly improved particularly with the introduction of the iPad Pro, first released in November 2015 and Second Generation 2017, together with the Apple Pencil and improved camera. A further significant advance was made in autumn 2017 with introduction of iOS11 when iPad software made a corresponding leap in terms of both image quality and range of styles that can be produced. The iPad is now widely used by artists and illustrators to produce high end art like that of David Hockney and/or as part of an image design and development workflow. iPad portability and flexibility make it a very good tool for drafting and exploring alternative designs and ideas and travelling – potentially replacing both sketchbooks and pc digital work.
Most early Aps focused on varying brush size and transparency to produce Acrylic, airbrush, gouache and oil-type styles. David Hockney produced many small early sketches using the Brushes Ap on his iPhone – delighting in the speed with which he could record the colours and shapes of his surroundings just using his finger. He also used further software to produce very large gallery pieces as part of the ‘Bigger Picture’ exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2012. These resemble very large colourful gouache and oil paintings. Large pieces can also be tiled like his oil paintings to produce much bigger works. There are now a number of artists using the iPad to produce very large resolution paintings (eg Andy Maitland who paints using a tripod in the landscape) and hyperrealistic portraits (eg Kyle Lambert).
Images can be endlessly worked on in natural media, photographed, printed and worked on again.
Procreate Inspiration
Procreate is one of the more versatile Aps commonly used for professional work by digital painters like James Julier and illustrators like Stefan de Groot, Danny Glasgow and Austin Batchelor. The most beautiful and distinctive work I have found so far is by Ilya Tyljakov is a Russian concept artist who uses Procreate to create beautiful atmospheric work. He creates and sells his own ‘Pro Brushes’ on the ProCreate Community to produce very distinctive marks with a degree of randomness that make them very distinctive as a style.
Some artists and illustrators produce textured collage work. See for example: Michelle Brown: http://oldcellsstudio.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/iPad
But a lot of iPad painting found on sites like DeviantArt, Filckr, Tumblr and other social and illustration marketing networks has a very similar style – smooth blend, soft focus landscape and fantasy style. From my own preliminary explorations it is clear that there is much more potential to be explored to take my own illustration and artistic expression further.
More posts
Procreate Tutorials 2016
Resources
Wikipedia iPad gives a history of evolution of the specifications of the device. Specifically for the iPad Pro see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad#iPad_Pro_series
Ipad Artroom: http://www.ipadartroom.com
Cathy Hunt: iPad Art: Lessons, Apps and Ideas for the iPad in Visual Art : ebook on using iPad for classroom art education for Apple download
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Charcoal Drawing
I really like the dark moody tone of charcoal. In the past I have used a range of techniques. Using willow/vine, compressed and condensed charcoal on different types of paper. I do have to be careful though using charcoal as I have a lot of problems with the dust.
One way of overcoming this is to use pencil and then charcoal pencil.
Inspiration for improving technique
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Pencil Drawing
I really enjoy using pencil in different ways, exploring different types of line, mark-making and shading. I also use as graphite stick shavings for shading, and coloured and watercolour pencils and crayon. I want to significantly improve my pencil drawing, both dynamism of line and also hyperrealism.
Line and sketching
Shading with graphite
I also collect all the sharpenings from graphite sticks in a small container to use as graphite powder for shading – taking care not to inhale this.
graphote pencil 
pencil Coloured pencil and watercolour
Inspiration for pencil technique
JD Hilberry
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Gouache
Combine watercolour and acrylic techniques. Work dark to light or other way round. Washes and detail.
all about edges. Can work back in.
use mediums and then wash out. Print with kitchen towel and other surfaces. Lift off and blot out. Sgraffito.
texture and transfer effects.
See also post Jonathon Leyton Vera
John laws
Youtubesketching with gouache and making little gesture studies. Uses dry brush scumbling. Traditional gouache -
Urban sketching: approaches and materials
Urban sketchers website
Steps
Materials
Sketchbooks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1TmhHfyFUI
Techniques
Teo Yi Chie
based in Singaporehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxauEZsbzJM
Watercolour pencils
Styles
Alphonso Dunn
A very good series on the process of constructing a scene.
First think about the type of line – drawing with arm, wrist or fingers. Framing and focus. Can see things in different ways. Importance of simplification. -
Figure Sketching
Alphonso Dunn
Basic drawing
Gesture
Blocking in
PortraitHands and Feet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOIPWfTzlqk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXKb5c7iYdU -
Drawing Buildings
Architectural illustration requires a high level of observation, analysis, and accuracy in your
drawing. There are a number of ways you can achieve this, from using the principles of
perspective to represent visual space, measuring proportions by eye using an outstretched arm
and your pencil as a guide, or simply by taking your time to observe and document what you
see.
One of the best ways to understand how perspective works is through observational drawing,
so think about how the principles of perspective are working in your drawings. You can work by
hand or with the aid of a ruler if it helps. Identify your horizon line and vanishing points. Think
about how shadows might also be affected by the rules of perspective.
Like your previous reportage and sketchbook drawings the most important thing is to capture a
sense of place, so think about the physicality of buildings, their size, scale and weight. The use
of shadows is a good way of indicating this and helps to root a building to the ground.
