
I have always loved drawing. I find that most of my digital pieces are a result of merging traditional hand-drawn techniques with digital ones. The journey is about finding my own style and trying to develop color in my work so that I have originals and not just prints.
A while ago, I stepped into a different direction with a couple of my illustrations. It's all part of the journey to figure out how to make my digital illustrations into originals without them just being prints.
My process for creating digital pieces always starts with sketching my lines with a red pencil. This is easy to erase digitally since I filter all the red out of the piece after it's inked. Then, I ink the linework with black pens, using either brush pens or fine liners.

After the image is scanned, I remove the red and increase the depth of the black if necessary. Then, I create a separate layer with only the black inks. Depending on the piece, I may cut this layer into pieces or color it in different colors depending on the character's coloration. This is what changed; I always used to keep it as black line work. But recently I started making the linework into a gradation of the fill color. This has been adapted in the original (by hand) illustrations. Examples can be seen in the children's stories.

To give the final digital illustration a more artisanal finish, I overlaid a paper texture. This makes the final image have more tactile features and feel more like it was made by hand. You can see the process in action in my latest TikTok video.
Drawing is an ever-evolving process. You learn new ways to approach a subject; this filters into your work; you see how someone approaches that same subject in their way, and this gives you a new idea. The ever-evolving journey and getting better with every step has been a fun endeavour. It can be frustrating once you hit a couple of walls. But overall, I am still in love with the process.
Thanks for joining me on this adventure!
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