In the process of revamping this web site, I decided to re-evaluate the content as well - in looking over the original step by step demonstrations I found that although the technology for creating these online presentations has evolved, the actual process by which the artwork itself is created has remained the same and as such the information within is still as relevant now as it was then.
I originally created this how-to/step by step tutorial in 1998, and as a way of honoring the past, I have decided to simply 'remaster' this tutorial using the original content, and revitalize it using today's technology - you could call this; " The Director's Cut "
1. ) The jacket having been stretched and clamped secure, is then masked and prepped with a coat of Extender Medium. This flattens the nap of the garment thus minimizing the effect of over-spray, and gives the paint an additional surface ("tooth") to adhere to. I allowed the Extender to air dry and then heat set it.
Using my trusty Artograph AG-100 Projector, I transferred the outline of the design onto the jacket. The use of two different colors of chalk is not significant - it is simply used to illustrate more clearly the areas being referred to. My intent is to lay in a base White undercoat in the area where the Jaguar's head will be, as a means to create a more dimensional perception.
2. ) Using Titanium White, I fill in just the area where the Jaguar's head will be.
3. ) After allowing the White area to air-dry, I heat-set this area, and then add the reference lines with a Sienna Conté Crayon (colored chalk) to finish this stage of the work.
4. ) Using a 1:1 mix of Anthraquinone Blue and Carbon Black, I lay in the darkest areas of the Mayan stone head. These would be the cracks and crevices, and those areas that would be in deep shadow because of the filtered light that would be prevalent due to the jungle undergrowth.
5. ) Using Raw Umber, I move my shadow areas into the light a bit, to give these areas a sense of depth and dimension. All of these darker colors are to serve as ‘under-painting’ for the lighter values that will be layered over them later on in this demonstration.
6. ) Since the greatest part of my background area is still basically the blue of the denim, and knowing I want to create a moss covered stone effect, I continue to extend these darker areas with a mix of Titanium White, a couple drops of Paynes Gray and a drop of Carbon Black, for a "stone gray" base, and I further tint this mixture with a couple drops of Hansa Yellow Light. When layered over the denim blue, it creates a gray/green mossy stone look - you could mix this gray/green color, but the interaction of the Yellow of the paint with the Blue of the denim gives a more ‘dimensional’ perception to the eye.
7. ) By continuing to systematically add a couple more drops of different yellows (Hansa Yellow Medium, Yellow Oxide) to my 'gray' mixture, I bring certain raised aspects of the stone head 'into the light' (so to speak.) The head is beginning to take on a definite mossy look.
8 & 9. ) At this point I begin to move into the lightest values needed for creating the detail of the raised areas of this stone head as well as the ‘dappled’ effect of light filtering through the leaves of dense rain-forest undergrowth. Colors used here are; Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Violet, Hansa Yellow Light - in each case, a drop or two of each colors is added 1:10 (1 drop color : 10 drops White) with Titanium White to create pale shades of each of these colors. I also ‘cut’ each color with twice the necessary amount of Airbrush Medium for more transparent shades where I want my moss effect to show through. After applying each color, there is a noticeable difference in the perception of depth. (these steps apply to both 8 above and 9 below)
10. ) At this stage, I use a mix 20:1 mix of Airbrush Medium to paint, and I go back with a bit of the original blue/black color used in the beginning, to redefine some of the original dark shadow areas. I also retouch the areas furthest in shadow, adding any further shading where needed, and touch up any little cracks and crevices to refine their appearance as such.
11. ) One last effect: Using some of the Golden Fluid Acrylic Colors (Hansa Yellow Light, Green Gold, Turquois (Phthalo), Ultramarine Blue, Violet Oxide and Titanium White) and a couple other colors for tinting (Burnt Sienna and Yellow Oxide) - I squirt a little bit of each of these into a 'butcher's pan' (flat, ceramic coated pan - good for mixing colors) and using a dry sea sponge I just sort of randomly mix these colors and then dab them onto areas of the stone head to represent the various lichens and fungus that grow on stone. After applying these colors, I use the same blue/black tinting mix from Step 10 and I add a little more shadow detail to give these fungi dimension. The background is now done for the most part.
12. ) Now I begin the foreground figure of the Jaguar by laying in the basic dark values. Having had the experience to see Jaguars ‘up close and personal’ - I know their black spots to be very deep browns for the most part, so the basic dark values here are created using a 10:1 mix of Raw Umber and Carbon Black. These areas will have more depth later on in conjunction with the colors that will be layered over and around them.
13. ) Moving to the nose - I start with a 10:1 mix of Titan Buff to Burnt Sienna, then add a couple more drops Burnt Sienna, then a drop Red Oxide, then Raw Umber, and finally Dioxazine Purple. With each successive shade of this color, I move more into the areas that would be further away from the viewer, leaving the original first shade of this color as the areas of highlight. This same ‘nose color’ has also been applied to the tongue and gums accordingly, and on certain areas of the head where the sunlight will fall, causing a different perception to the color of the fur.
14. ) A general base coat of a 'tawny' yellow color is laid down on all those areas of fur that would be so colored, as well as the teeth, and a little highlighting on the nose. This base color consists of mostly Titanium White, a couple drops of Hansa Yellow Medium and a drop or two of Yellow Oxide.
15. ) I continue to build on the basic coloration of the fur area by creating deeper, darker mixtures of my original fur base color - White, Hansa Yellow Medium & Warm Yellow Oxide, then a couple drops of Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Red Oxide and Raw Umber - with each successive darker value, I add more detail to the fur, leaving the original base coat exposed in certain areas to give the perception of the highlights in the fur. It is more a matter of an allusion to the idea of fur, than painting every individual hair follicle.
16. ) Using a mix of Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber and a drop or two of Quinacridone Violet, I get a nice sort of dark, purplish color which is ideal for detailing the gums and around the teeth as well as adding a bit of depth and detail around the nose and ear.
17. ) Having finished adding depth to all the darker areas, this is the point at which I begin to add the contrast with the lighter colors. Individually, I use a 10:1 mix of Titanium White and Hansa Yellow Light (highlights in the fur, eyes and nose) and the same mix ratio with Titanium White and Anthraquinone Blue (depth in the White areas of fur to further the illusion of hair, and also as contrast in certain areas such as the bridge of the nose/muzzle) and again with Titanium White and Violet Oxide (both as highlights in the white fur and on the nose and tongue) and finally Titanium White to strengthen some of the white areas of fur into the foreground.
18. ) I use a 1:1 mixture of Dioxazine Purple and Carbon Black to create a ‘deep black’ that will be used over certain areas of the original dark under-painting. The contrast between the original under-painting and this "deep black" creates the perception of depth in the fur in the area of the dark spots that would not be there if one just painted one color, flat, ‘black spots’ instead. This "deep black" is also applied to certain dark areas such as those around the eye and the inside of the nose, and around the mouth and gums. I go back with Titanium White to add the whiskers and outstanding hair strands that will overlap certain black areas, and finish up using Carbon Black for the pupil in the eye closest to the viewer, on the area of dark fur on the lower jaw, and most important, to add the ‘signature’ of the Jaguar depicted; “Maya"
The paw print was provided by Maya, and a stencil was cut from a tracing made of that paw print, thus making this an ‘authorized’ portrait.
19. ) The last detail; Using Titanium White, I add the highlight in the eye and the small drops of moisture in and around the eye and nose.
END ) Using Golden GAC 900 as a 'top binder' - I spray this over the completed painting and allow it to air-dry, then heat-set with a heat gun for a few minutes.
Golden Fluid Acrylics blended with Golden Airbrush Medium do not require heat-setting for launderability, while equaling the performance of fabric paints that do. The "top binder" is basically insurance, and heat-setting will speed the curing time required and may increase washability.
Done!