Steve Gibson technique

[PfeifferNC]

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity get instruction on this, but as an Art Director for some 25 years the concept makes total sense to me. Working on a Baltimore Ravens guitar for a friend and thought I would try it out. My question is to anyone who uses this Grisaille technique is: Do you or should you use a transparent base on the Createx C,M,Y illustration colors? I really don't want to over reduce them, but I also don't want to lay it on heavy to where you lose the underpainting. WIP shot below. Still working out the details and values.
Thanks!

 

[musicmacd]

They are transparent already, but you could mix some trans base if you want to, to provide a buffer as such

 

[erwin de pan]

Coloring a black / white underpainting. Is repeating what you have already done.
More color on the darker parts. Less on the light parts.
In this way the balance remains the same. And your details remain visible.
The trick is not to go too dark on the light parts.

 

[musicmacd]

Coloring a black / white underpainting. Is repeating what you have already done.
More color on the darker parts. Less on the light parts.
In this way the balance remains the same. And your details remain visible.
The trick is not to go too dark on the light parts.

You’re last sentence sums up the reality of what we are all trying to learn - Subtle - seems easy but it’s so not! I’m so guilty of going too dark too soon or seeing the “pretty colour” and wanting more

 

[PfeifferNC]

Thanks all! I agree, when I get to color I freak out like Jojo the Dancing clown and always go too much. So I gave it a shot, first try and all. I decided to hit up a quick portrait on canvas of the lead of a renaissance festival singer before going to the guitar. Learned a ton on how everything lays down and I really love the way you can massage the colors back and forth from warm to cool to gray to brown. Don't mind the lacking detail work, I found the canvas doesn't hold super tight lines. Here is the BW with Cyan and then where I am now. It'a funny, I realized that I went too dark on the black, that actually alot of the shadows- eye sockets and around the nose are actually created with the 3 colors. But, hey this is all learning, right?