Jaco’s Random Writings

Ooh, yeah. This is definitely going to be a multi-parter. So, in trying to keep up with the Blogenning, I’d decided to start a drawing. Not just a loose sketch, mind you. I mean a really serious drawing. All digitally. Usually these start with a pencil and paper, and involve me fiddling with a scanner. I really don’t feel like fiddling with a scanner, since my sketchbooks are not really good at being scanned. It’s the spiral binding; completely mucks with how cleanly it scans. So, I’m trying something new here.

So the subject matter deals with a mad priest and his summoning of Cerberus. It shows the priest sitting down with Cerberus standing behind him, being menacing. Cerberus is very good at being menacing. Hell, he’ll menace your leg right off of you (along with two other appendages that happen to be closest). But I’m not including gore or any of that nonsense. Instead, it’s just Cerberus giving the typical “if move any closer, you won’t be able to move away” look, while the priest simply sits there losing his bloody mind.

So this process includes 4 stages for the line drawing.

1. The blue sketch:
   This is the bare basics. Character rig lines. Orientation lines. Basic compositional shapes. Perspective lines. All the planning and layout stuff. This is where I start constructing the scene. Overall, the scene is pretty fluid at this point.
2. The red sketch:
   This is the rough draft. I start loose sketching the elements of the scene. This is usually pretty rough on the edges. Details start appearing. Erasing and redrawing when something doesn’t please me. It’s not quite as fluid as the “blue sketch”, but it’s not uncommon for the start of the “red sketch” phase to look pretty different from the end of the “red sketch” phase.
3. The final sketch:
   This is the last of the sketches. I take all the work laid down in the “red sketch” and clean it up. Additional details get added here. By the end of this phase, this will look pretty close to being finished. But ultimately, it’s still a bit sketchy and not ready for coloring, which brings us to the next phase.
4. The final inking:
   This is where I ink over the “final sketch” and give everything clean lines and smooth edges. For the most part, I’m just tracing over the “final sketch” with a steady hand. Or as steady a hand as a Wacom Intuos will allow me.

Those are just the phases I’m laying down for the line-art. Of course, shading and coloring comes after that. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

So here are the “blue sketch” and “red sketch” phases of “Cerberus”.

Blue sketch of Cerberus

Red sketch of Cerberus

So there you have it, the first and second phases of “Cerberus”. In part two, I’ll have the “final sketch” and possibly the “final inking” (can’t promise anything, though).