Capt. Hook in progress, 4" x 4"What you see here are the first, second, and third steps in the process. I start by creating a drawing that I transfer to tracing paper using a Pigma Micron pen. I generally use the 02 pen (0.3 mm line) unless I have an extremely detailed drawing, in which case I use an 01.
Then I tape the tracing paper to my lightbox and tape a piece of 140 lb. cold-pressed paper over it. Using an HB pencil, I lightly trace the image. When I'm finished, I "blot" the excess graphite off the surface using a kneaded eraser. That prevents graphite from contaminating the painting and also makes the lines faint enough that they don't attract attention in the finished painting. The next step -- soaking the paper to stretch it -- permanently fixes the pencil lines, so it's important to make sure your lines are quite faint before you soak the paper. You won't be able to erase them after the paper dries.
I soak the paper for 5-10 minutes in cold water, let the excess water drip off, and staple the paper to a support. In this case, I'm using gatorboard, but I sometimes use wooden boards that I've coated with several layers of polyurethane to make sure they're waterproof. (Just a note of caution -- the polyurethane must be fully cured before you use the board. I once had a student who attached her paper to a still-tacky board and ruined both the paper and the surface of the board.) I lay the board flat, someplace out of the way, and let the paper dry thoroughly.
I'll post more pictures as work progresses. Stay tuned.
