Talkin' About Tools

I asked on facebook what people would like to see me discuss on this blog and the topic of tools was one that many people were interested in.

There are MANY tools that can be used on scratchboard, and your imagination is the limit.  I have scratched with a bobbi pin, spoon, dremel bits, electric eraser, pencil eraser, heck... you could even use a screw!  Anything that will remove the top layer of ink can be used :)

But I am going to touch on my primary tools that I keep in my tool box, both how to use them and where to get them.

LINE TOOLS

First we are going to talk about line tools.  The vast majority of MY work is done with the line tools, which I have photographed above.  I use them for fur, eyes, tongues, leather... well just about everything!  The fiberglass brush is not really a line tool, but I will get into its use in a moment.  The rest are used for... well lines :)  You really can get a very long ways in scratchboard with just a standard #11 exacto and for a very long time it was the only tool I used.  Older works of mine, such as "Dress Attire" were done all with an exacto.  You can see that even with just this one tool I was able to do a lot of different textures and shading.

In more recent years I have added to my tools to give more diversity in line width.  About two years ago  I got turned onto speedball scratchboard tips #112 and 113, which are available from http://www.danielsmith.com/.  These two tips produce wider lines than the exacto and are great for course fur and whiskers!  Then about 10 months ago I started working with a scalpel which yields finer lines than the exacto.  The blade is not as stiff as an exacto blade and required some getting used to.  The diversity of line widths that can be produced with these four tools adds to the realism of my work since fur does vary in texture and coarseness, and realistically I rarely reach for my exacto anymore, mostly using the speedball and scalpel blades.  Exacto blades can be purchased at any tool or craft store and scalpel blades at any medical center or veterinary supplies store (or many sources online as well).

Like all cutting tools, blades will get dull after some use.  You can resharpen some of these tools, but others you will just need new ones.  Since exacto and scalpel blades are pretty inexpensive I usually just replace them if dull.  You can tell if a blade is dull if it requires a moderate amount of pressure to remove the ink or is skipping.  For most of these tools only very light pressure should be needed to remove the ink.

SHADING TOOLS

As I said before you can get a long ways with just line tools, but there are certain effects that are tough to do all with lines.  Fortunately, unlike pen and ink, we have some additional tools that yield some softer effects than just lines.  The challenge with all of the shading tools is control, as they don't allow the finesse of the line tools.  At times masking off finer scratched areas may be required.

Sandpaper/foam nail buffer can take off a light layer of ink, but leave a toning of dark underneath with a fairly soft look to it.  Used in straight lines they yield a different feel and look than if used in a circular pattern.  For both tools use fine grit, as the courses grits leave an uneven look and feel.  Both of these will fill up with ink after a bit of use, so you will need to have multiple pieces on hand.  You can usually rip or cut sandpaper and use scissors to cut the nail buffers into the size/shape you want.  Sandpaper I purchase at hardware stores and nail buffers in the beauty supply section at the local grocery store.

Steel wool can be used for certain fur effects as well as shading.  It comes in several coursenesses and I personally prefer to only use the fine and medium.  Always make sure your steel wool does not have any oils or coatings on it.  It can be purchased where ampersand products are sold or hardware stores.

Fiberglass brushes can come in a variety of sizes.  I only use the very small and small sizes.  You will also find that different brands have different hardnesses to their bristles.  I primarily use a very small one that I buy from http://www.micromark.com/.  This tool requires some practice to get down and the tiny bristles will break off and can embed in the side of your hand (ouch!)   Gloves can help, but those bristles are so tiny they go through most fabrics as well.

Adding to the Supply Box

Another item to add to the supply box is black repair ink.  I use it for ink washes to tone down areas that are too light or can be used in concentrate to totally get rid of something.  I apply it with a small, inexpensive paint brush.

Here is a sample of the different thicknesses of lines from each tool.  The furthest left is applied with minimal pressure (to yield the thinnest line I can) and the right is with heavier pressure (to give a thicker line from each tool).  The dime is for size comparison.

And here is a close up on the mountain lion's legs with indication of what tools were used in each area... and some areas have more than one tool used in any specific area.

If you have additional tool questions please post them as a comment and I will try and address them.

Pros and Cons of Using Zoo Photos for Art Reference

Zoos can be an amazing and invaluable resource for wildlife artists.  While most of us would love to travel to Africa, Asia, Siberia and other exotic locations to photograph our favorite animals in the wild, for most people, including myself this is not realistic.  However a trip to the zoo can give you some great references to work from.  Below are some of the advantages and things to be wary of when using zoo photos as reference for your art.

Pros of zoo photos for reference:

Readily available- most large cities and some small ones have zoos.  Cost to get into them is usually between $5 and $25.

Animals are in close proximity, enabling you to get close photos with even a medium sized zoom.  I often use my 70-200 lens on my DSLR, and occasionally make use of my 100-400mm lens.  The less expensive 70-300 lenses will work great too and since at most zoos the animals are outside in natural light the slower lenses do ok.

If one species is not active or sleeping, find another one!  Lots to choose from and check back later to see if your favorites are awake.  Most animals are more active earlier and later in the day and in cooler weather.  Winter can be a great time for a zoo trip!

Capturing the moment can be a challenge sometimes due to bars or plexiglass, but sometimes you can capture some unique behaviour up close and personal without risk of injury to yourself.  I have been just feet away from young grizzly bears wrestling- something I would never do in the wild!

Cautions of zoo photography references:

The animals are sometimes obese- something they pretty much never would be in the wild.  If you draw the animal in a wild setting the way you see it in the zoo think about this kind of thing.  Wild animals also tend to me more muscular since they have to actively work to get food.

Know your critter and its environment!  While your zoo photo may have a red panda up in a pine tree, you should make sure that that is a tree that you would find it climbing in the wild.  Got a great photo of a cheetah in the snow?  Not something you are likely to find in Africa!  Sometimes it will take research and additional photos to make sure that the animal and the environment you put it into are going to match up.

The challenges of bars and glare or scratched up plexiglass can be frustrating.  For bars try to get your camera lens as close to the bars as possible and zoom in.  Also the further the animal is from the bars the less they will show in the image.  Sometimes even with the best efforts you will get some 'shadow' bars.  At this point try to make sure that the most important things, such as the eyes of the animals are not obstructed.  For plexiglass also try to put your lens very close or right up against it.  Try to find an area with less scratches or frosted look to shoot from.

Reflections in the eyes often show the cage bars in them.  Use artistic license to remove the bars and put a more natural highlight.  Also sometimes the bars will leave shadows- you wouldn't want to put these in either.

In this photo my lens is zoomed out and the wolves are about 20 feet from the bars.  The bars are very visible in the photo.  I can see enough details that this photo would still be usable for a reference.

This wolf is also about 20 feet from the bars, but I have now zoomed all the way in.  The bars are almost invisible.

A third wolf image, and again I quite zoomed in, but in this case the wolf is only about a foot from the bars.  As a result to the close proximity of the bars they are quite noticeable.  I try to make sure the eyes are not obstructed.   can use supplemental photos to get the nose and other details.

This mountain Lion photo shows some glare as a result of taking the photo through plexiglass.  Nevertheless, quite a usable reference as I can see all the details I need.

This cheetah has a look that will stop you in your tracks, but I could not paint him in the scene found in this photo.  This cat lives in Denver where it snows, but you are not going to find this in Africa!

This captive black bear is so fat that his stomach is nearly dragging the ground.  You would never find a bear this obese in the wild!

A bit on Correcting Mistakes (in Scratchboard)

Since I got two e-mails today asking the same thing I thought I would spend a brief bit of time to cover what to do if you make a minor mistake in scratchboard.

Many people believe (and many scratchboard artists like to propagate the myth) that once you put a scratch into the board that you can not do anything to get rid of it.  This is not really true.  Scratchboard is, by nature, white clay covered with black ink.  When doing scratch art we are scratching away the black ink.  So if we make a mistake... what do we do?  Well put the ink back of course! 

Now this isn't quite as simple as it sounds on the surface, as every type of black ink has a slightly different shade or color cast to it.  Some have a slight blue or brown cast, some look too shiny or too dark, so it is important to find an ink that matches the boards you are working on (try it on a test board before putting it on your art!).  It is also important that it be as archival as our boards and won't change colors over the years.  Since I work on ampersand boards they are kind enough to sell small bottles of black repair ink (which you can get directly from them or in with the color ink kits).  When trying to totally eliminate a line or area you can put the ink on full strength with a paintbrush.  If you want to just tone a line down you can mix the ink with water to create ink washes.  Sometimes the black ink will look a bit too dark and shiny straight out of the bottle, but once the whole board is sprayed with a fixative it blends in.  Also if you blot it with your finger when it is almost dry tends to take off the shine.

On a side note, to be able to remove a line or area so that no one will know that a scratch was ever there you must scratch with light pressure and not have gouged into the clay.  If you are pushing hard and pulling up clay as well as the black ink then you will be able to see a minor impression even after you re-ink the area.  If you are not sure if you are scratching both clay and ink look at what is coming off your board.  If the scrapings are all black, that is ink.  If you see white particulates mixed in there, that is clay.  You can also do the touch test by lightly running your hand over different areas of the board.  You will not really feel any texture in scratched areas if all you are scratching is the ink, but much more of an impression if you have scratched into the clay.

So while a good line drawing and feeling for where you are going with a board is very important, don't be afraid of making minor mistakes.  They can be fixed!  Its not quite as simple as a pencil eraser, but no need to trash that board just because of a few lines that are not as you intended.

Below is a small example of a 'fix' with ink from my large elk piece "The Challenger".  The top image was an area above the back that I was going to origianlly have steam coming off his back.  Well due to a variety of issues and problems with getting the steam to look the way I wanted I changed my mind and decided to go for a more subtle tree background.  You can't tell at all, even on the real board, that the steam was ever there.

Scratching Short Fur

Since most of my subjects are animals I am going to go into a bit more details on how I scratch short fur to create a realisitic look to it.

Steps 1-3 are done with a #11 craft knife or scalpel (depending how fine you want your lines to be).

1. I start out with light weight lines that are nearly parallel in structure. These lines go with the direction of the fur and will create the foundation for the fur direction.  Following fur direction is very important to help give the correct shape to the animal and realism to the piece.

2. Then I add hairs that are out of alignment and cross over the parallel hairs, some straight and some with slight curve or curl at the end. Since fur does not stay in perfect alignment this gives it a more natural look.  The longer the hair the more it will cross.  Short smooth hair will be close to parallel (only deviating maybe 3-5 degrees from the other hairs), while long hair will have much more crossing (many different angles).

3. Adding another layer of hairs with slightly more x-acto/scalpel pressure to make somewhat heavier lines if the area is a light value, once again following the general fur direction, but deviating some as well.  (Note if leaving an area darker I don't do steps 3 or 4)

4. Occasionally, if the hair is coarse, I go back with the pointed speedball tip and add thicker hairs over the thinner lines.

Steps 1-3 are done all very quickly and I work the overlapping lines all at the same time rather than doing it in actual separate layers, as shown here. If done enough it becomes very natural and simple.  The above is much larger than in real life as well, just to show more clearly how I work.  In realty each of these areas would be very small.

When done over the whole animal it gives a natural 3-D look with tonal variation, fur direction and a depth that is very realistic.

"The Interrupted Drink" and photoshopping color

 am almost done with the black and white portion of Raja.  I have decided to call it "The Interrupted Drink". I will be coloring the eyes and adding subtle color throughout the rest of the board as well.  I have added more water drops and toned down the chest area as well.  I still have some 'tweeking' to do in a few areas, but overall the black and white scratching is close to complete.  I have deviated from my photo reference a moderate amount and gone off of a vision in my head, which is not always a good idea.  At times the way it looks in my head is not how it turns out, but overall I am fairly pleased with the result so far.  I chose to add the water to add more visual interest to the work as well as tell more of a story than just a tiger head portrait. 

Curious how the water drops are done?  Here is a closer look:

Often (almost always) when I am planning on coloring a piece I do it first in photoshop to see how I want to get it to look.  It helps me also figure out what colors of ink I will need to mix up, and how strong or diluted I want them to be.  In this case Raja actually has quite a lot of light reddish brown fur on his face and around some of his stripes.  I will use the ink quite diluted for these areas, as I don't want to overpower the white.  I will ink, then re scratch several layers.  So while the photoshop version won't be exactly how the color version will end up being it does give me a good idea of where I am going and the colors I will need to get there.  Here is my photoshop mock up of Raja with colored eyes and fur.

Often when coloring a work you need to scratch it lighter than if you were going to leave it a black and white work.  I can now tell from my mock up in photoshop a few areas that I will need to take lighter than I have them too (such as the chest that I just darkened :D)  (and the green in the background I am not sure about yet, we'll see)

Photographing Scratchboard Art

Fairly often I get questions on how I get such good photos of my scratchboard.  Although I own many expensive lenses for my expensive camera, I actually use a fairly inexpensive lens to photograph my work.  I use a canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, which can be purchased for around $100.  It will fit any canon DSLR body.

Next thing is I only photograph with natural light and I photograph in the shade or on bright overcast days.  Photographing in the sun makes the work look too contrasty and brings out the shine of fingerprints and glare wherever you used the fiberglass brush.  Even in the shade sometimes you will get a bit of glare, but it tends to be much worse in bright sunlight.

Next I set my exposure for the darks, rather than the lights.  This usually means underexposing by about 2/3 of a stop to 1 full stop.  I then try to shoot at about the same level and angle as the piece, so that it will be almost square within the image and GET CLOSE. I want my artwork to mostly fill the frame.

Here is my an example picture right out of the camera:

After I take my photos I choose which one looks the best/sharpest on the card and open it into photoshop.  I have photoshop 3, and even if you don't have it most photo editing programs have pretty similar features.  After the file is opened I crop the image.  If I did not take my photograph perfectly square (which I usually don't) some things will look too wide/narrow, at a slight angle, etc.  So when cropping have it so that each edge is being touched at the widest point.  From here you will adjust the image.  I adjust this by using free transform (ctrl+t) tool.  The primary one I use within free transform is skew, which lets you adjust the corners both out and up or down.  I use that to square up the corners and adjust everything to make it the right size. 

From that point I then adjust the contrast with level.  I make sure to get the whites back to white and the darks dark.  Ampersand scratchboard is not pitch black, but rather a matte black, so sometimes taking that dark slider too far you will loose subtle midtones.  Next I desaturate black and white images.  This gets rid of any color cast.  If the image is color I will adjust the color sliders until I get it close to the right colors.  If the image is black and white I go into the color sliders and adjust the yellow in the highlight spectrum to about -4 (toward the yellow) since the clay has a slight warm cast to it.  Here is my edited image once I am done.

For each image I spend maybe 3-5 minutes working on it to get it square and contrast about right.

Resources for scratchboard artists

I often get questions regarding various topics on scratchboard from tools to transfer papers- so below are the answers to some of those common questions.

Best place to learn about scratchboard and get feedback on your scratchboard work -  Wetcanvas! Scratchboard Art Forum - wetcanvas is a free online art community with forums that cover all topics and all mediums.  There is a very active scratchboard forum with some outstanding scratchboard artists that are very helpful and full of good advice.  The members are from all over the globe too!

My favorite brand of scratchboard - as far as I am concerned there is ONLY one brand of scratchboard and it is made by ampersand.  It can be found online through various artist web sites including ASW Express (good prices and inexpensive shipping in the US). Unfortunately it is only available in the US, but I know many artists that spend the $$ to get it shipped to them overseas.

What tools I use - scalpel blades #11, exacto blade #11, speedball scratchboard tip #112 and 113, very small fiberglass brushes, fine grit sandpaper, oil free steel wool

My favorite transfer paper - Super Chacopaper (many sources online and can also be purchased at Michaels craft stores)

Where to get free photos that can be used by artists as references? - I primarily work from my own photos, but if you are not a photogapher and/or can't find what you are looking for check out Stock Exchange, Morgue File, Wetcanvas! Reference Library (must be a member of wetcanvas to access), Flickr Creative Commons (scroll down to the bottom and click all of the boxes by creative commons images to be used commercially and adapted).  I always recommend sending a photographer a note asking permission before using a photo, even if the site gives permission.  It is always better to have permission in writing if you are going to use an image for your art that you plan to sell than face problems later on.