1 Transferring the sketch

I sketch digitally because it enables me to experiment freely and restart without regret. Once I’m happy with my sketch I print it out and use my Huion light pad to create my line-art on a piece of Arches hot press watercolour paper. I tape the paper to the light pad so nothing moves around.

2 Line-art techniques

I use three main tools to create my line-art: Zebra super-fine brush tip pens for the thicker lines, and Micron .005 and .1 pens for the thinner lines. I use thicker lines to direct attention to the focal area of the piece, and thinner lines to create fine details and areas of rest.

3 Mixing ink washes

I mix water with ink to create six shades of grey and swatch them out on a piece of test paper. I use eyedroppers to control the amount of ink and water in each shade. I use a brush to mix each wash thoroughly so that it’ll apply evenly.

4 Rendering the skull

Using my leopard skull cast as reference I render the skull in the drawing. I add water to my brush whenever I need to create a fade effect. Sometimes I begin with a lighter shade and then add a darker wash to one side of the wet area, which creates a gradient.

5 Dry-brushing the fur

I paint the fur hood using my frayed faux sable brush. I add no water to the brush, only pure ink; this texture is created with a dry brush. Short, directional strokes accomplish the bushy effect.

6 Fine-liner details

I use my .01 and .03 Micron fine-liner pens to go in and control the look of the fur coat. I design little clumps of fur across the hood using quick, purposeful strokes. Fur generally clumps in a triangular or diamond pattern. Fur looks most realistic when it is varied; even-looking fur looks artificial.

7 Dry-brushing the braid

Using the frayed faux sable brush again I paint the girl’s braid using a dry-brush technique. This time I add more ink to the brush to create an appearance of glossy dark hair, making sure to leave a lighter area where the highlight sits. I add a wash to darken the highlight.

8 Details of the face

I take my lightest shades on ink wash and add a bit of warm rosiness across her cheeks and nose. I fill in her irises with a medium-grey, and paint her eyebrows using micron pens and dry-brushing with short directional strokes.

9 Developing the iris texture

To create the grainy texture in her irises I take my dry frayed brush with the smallest bit of ink and paint tiny controlled circles with a very light amount of pressure. I test out various amounts of pressure on a test sheet before putting ink down on the final illustration.

10 Creating the details in the clothing

I use my medium grey shades of ink to fill in the details in her outfit. I want this area to have less contrast than around their faces so viewers don’t focus on this part of the piece. I decide early on what the focal area of the piece will be, and design the rest to lead to it.

11 Dry-brushing the enchanted grasses

Taking an acrylics size 8 Round brush I use a softer dry-brush texture to paint in the magical grasses that hold the skeleton creature together. I use a controlled amount of pressure to get an even distribution of dry ink. I use the tip of the brush to create darker, narrower details.

12 Finishing the dry-brushing

The technique I use to paint this texture takes a bit of practice and experimentation. I always have a test sheet next to my drawing so I can try out the pressure and motions necessary to create each stroke before applying it to the final piece.

13 Washing over dry brush

Before allowing the dry brushed ink to dry completely, I use a medium-dark ink wash to unify the creature’s body and soften the grainy texture of the dry brush. The combination of the grainy texture with some of the bleeding-wash edges creates a unique appearance and evens out the tone of the creature’s body.

14 Shading the shawl

To darken and unify the girl’s torso I add a soft cast shadow using a medium-light ink wash. I break up the edge of the shadow in a jagged motion to create the illusion of volume on her fur shawl. I try to create a variety of soft and hard edges to each shadow to mimic reality.

15 Applying white highlights

Finally, I use my Signo Uniball white ink pen to add the little dots of white magic that adorn all of my magical skeleton creatures. I also add little highlight lines to create dimension. I try to vary the size and placement of the highlights to create an even but randomised pattern.