Materials

PENCILS

Prismacolor: Warm,

Grey 90 per cent,

Cool Grey 10 per cent,

French Grey 10 per

cent, White, Peacock

Blue, Deco Aqua, Light

Aqua, Mediterranean

Blue, Dark Umber,

Pumpkin Orange, Deco

Yellow, Salmon Pink,

Poppy Red, Raspberry

PAINTS:

NAM Gesso Primer

Derivan Matisse

Acrylics: Payne’s Grey,

Vermillion, Skin Tone

Mid, Cobalt Teal, Cobalt

Turquoise, Yellow Deep,

Titanium White

Liquitex Heavy Body

Acrylics: Unbleached

Titanium, Brilliant

Orange, Cadmium

Orange Hue

surfaces

Crescent 310 Cold

Press

Tracing paper

BRUSHES

Airbrush: Paasche

60mm heavy medium

flat brush

NAM Ruby Red

round Synthetic #4

NAM 7010 synthetic

9mm flat brush

NAM 7000 synthetic

1 Designing in digital

After compiling internet reference materials I design the montage in black and white. The main focal point will be the character’s face, with the lines of Rey’s costume pulling the eye downward, toward the vignette with the speeder vehicle and out to the base of the design.

2 Determining a colour palette

I use Corel Painter to tint the monochrome design and devise a blue/orange complementary palette, taking cues from the prominent orange of BB-8’s markings and the blue sky of Jakku, the new desert planet in the film.

3 Rendering a surface texture

I apply undiluted Gesso primer with a wide brush to Crescent illustration board. The gesso texture will become more prominent as paint and pencils are progressively laid down on to the board.

4 Develop the underdrawing

I loosely draft the design on to the surface using an opaque projector. I then render the darkest values in Warm Grey Prismacolor, striving for fidelity to the reference material. These shadow details will anchor the picture and keep important structures from drifting too much.

5 Applying mid-range values with acrylic wash

Now I apply diluted Payne’s Grey to fill out the mid-values. Then, to suggest the grit and dust of a desert environment, I use a toothbrush to create a spattering of Payne’s Grey and White ink.

6 Making an airbrush mask

I spray tracing paper with adhesive and leave it to dry until it’s tacky to the touch. Then I affix it to the artwork and use a hobby knife to cut a mask for the sky.

7 Airbrushing a sky gradient

For airbrush work I use tube acrylics that are diluted with water. In this case I choose Cobalt Teal for the blue sky and then, for the sandy atmosphere, a concoction of Unbleached Titanium, Titanium White and a spot of Vermillion.

8 Airbrushing Rey’s skin

Rey’s base skin tone is a combination of Vermillion and Skin Tone Mid. I favour washes when applying colour over the initial drawing, but here I use the airbrush to avoid dark pencils bleeding into the wash and muddying the colour.

9 Adding the tints

The blue/daylight temperature informs the choice of Cool Grey for the lighter tones of Rey’s skin. I bolster the opacity with acrylic, mixed from Teal, Vermillion and White. If I spot too much contrast creeping in, I flatten it back with another wash. Then I apply bright white gesso highlights.

10 Moving around the painting

I migrate to other areas, duplicating the process: colour is applied in washes, details then tightened with pencil, contrast is modulated with washes and tints are gradually worked up in thicker acrylics and finished in gesso where they are brightest.

11 Revising my art

I return to previously worked sections with fresh eyes, taking particular care in finessing Rey’s likeness. Her face will be the focal point for the design and so I spend more time here than anywhere else in the painting.

12 Rendering the background

I’m unhappy with the sky colour so I respray it using a lightened teal and reapply the haze gradient with the toothbrush. Next I sketch shadow detail in with a Peacock Blue prisma. I avoid dark shadows because the sun would prevent such values from showing through here.

13 Painting the harsh Jakku sun

The airbrush is the ideal tool to simulate the outer glow of the sun. Gesso describes the sun’s hot centre and is diluted where necessary to create a soft transition from yellow to white. I airbrush titanium white and yellow Prismacolor to complete the effect.

14 Final polish

With the piece nearly complete I tidy things up and make corrections. I tighten the shadows with Dark Umber pencil, and white highlights are gessoed for optimal brightness to make eyes shine and hard surfaces gleam. Then I add highlights on Rey’s hair and staff, while more spattering with the toothbrush helps to simulate dust.

15 Sealing the surface

I finish keylines and borders in Prismacolor, sign the painting and spray with several coats of workable matte fixative in case any more corrections are needed.