Layers of a Geisha

Hi art fans!

For those of you who missed my social posts... I got an iPad Pro! IT IS AWESOME. I have been waiting a long time to get a new tablet / digital drawing apparatus and it was so worth it. The Apple Pencil is great to work with, too... ahh. If you haven't played with these things yet, guys, go do it. Really.

ANYWHO... along with this new thing in my life, I wanted to give you a more visual blog (a.k.a. lots of images) and take you through you my work-station-progression... art-layering... method. Basically, how I'm learning to work, take breaks, use reference and do layering in Procreate on my iPad Pro! I left in the full screen shots rather than cropping to my drawing alone to show you time stamps and where I prefer to zoom in... 'cause no artist works without sleep, breaks, and likely not references (I also have somewhat poor eyesight)... and if they do, whew. Give them a cookie and force them into a long nap!

I chose to use a reference image of a geisha for practice because:

a) I think geisha are beautiful and fun to illustrate (a.k.a. I'd be less discouraged to give up as I'd be entertained!).

b) Fabric, lighting, layering, etc. was something I wanted to learn and kimono are a great start.

c) I wanted to be able to compare my final piece to something so I could see how well I had accomplished lighting, etc.

For the site where I found the reference image, check out this link! Click here

Without further ado, here we go!

How I work in Procreate

1) Post outlining in blue and beginning the clean "ink outline". I think I started around 9:30 pm? Inspiration hits when it hits, guys.

2) I don't totally know why you add a solid-colored base layer, but I've seen other digital artists do it on YouTube video tutorials, so I do it, too! I think I've just come to realize it helps block out the area you're working in so everything isn't all monotone and confusing. Maybe for depth? TBD as I learn.

3) Blocking out the major kimono color. Notice how I have been adding color swatches to the side - gotta keep track of the colors! As I paint on a slight opacity, it's important to keep track of the original, SOLID color. And yes, I am probably missing a few as I forgot to do it. Thankfully, I didn't need them too badly, but boy would I have been in trouble if I had. Always save behind yourself... and always keep up with your swatches.

4) I think I may have taken a little break between the black and red... More color blocking.

5) On to hair and makeup... the next day! Guys, artists need sleep! I felt a little silly adding in a skin tone on her face when I was painting her face; it felt like I really was doing her makeup! But, as I've learned with true geisha, they don't paint their whole faces. They leave some skin without the white paint on their face, neck, and ears. Gotta be authentic!

6) So many color swatches. Had to start drawing arrows to remember what they went to. And, I got in some new layers for depth. Truly amazed that they turned out so well. Silk seemed so hard to mimic!

7) Details, details. Didn't get too elaborate with them as you can see up close. If I'm ever doing a "real" piece and not for practice, definitely planning to pay more attention to making that look cleaner.

8) Another break before I finished out the details. Still got some cleanup to do!

9) All cleaned up and ready for tea! All I did was add a layer of white over all the color swatches. I regret not putting them into one layer together. Rather than sort through all the layers for days, I figured I'd make a quick fix this time as there was no real background! Again... keep those swatches organized!

Hope you all enjoyed seeing some of my process. Happy to do another if you liked it!

Yours truly,

Chelle Elle

“Chelle Elle” has been drawing since she was really small. No restaurant napkin was ever safe when crayons were involved! Now, she writes and illustrates characters and other fun ideas to help her dreams and the dreams of others come to life! And yes, she takes commissions and would love to hear from you.

Email her today to learn more about how she can bring your ideas to life at:

ArtofChelleElle@gmail.com!

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