Workshop: Comic book hero in watercolours

US illustrator BEN HARVEY walks you through his painting process that combines traditional mediums with a digital sketch to create a portrait of the Rocketeer.

US illustrator Ben Harvey combines traditional mediums with a digital sketch to portray the Rocketeer.

When I first decided to take my craft seriously I knew I needed to branch out into the world of colour theory. This terrified me. Growing up, I was trained primarily in drawing. Occasionally, I was exposed to various painting mediums, but came away thinking they were too cumbersome to handle. Finally, I decided that watercolour would be the most approachable of the lot to get into. The paints last longer than acrylic or oil and it’s far more portable when doing plein air work.

Watercolour behaves like no other medium. It can be unforgiving at times while yielding effects and textures that are wholly unique. Maintaining a careful balance of water and pigment is the most difficult aspect to master. Persistence is key, along with curbing the urge to oversaturate your brush.

Colour shape, form and values should be prioritised along with careful brush strokes to avoid creating a muddy, asymmetrical appearance. The success of your washes depend on the watercolour paper you’re using. I find that a cheaper, cellulose-based paper is much more forgiving when it comes to adjustments compared to a higher quality, cotton-based paper, which can have a death grip on the pigments used.

Over time I was exposed to gouache as a secondary medium. This combines the opaque qualities that acrylic and oil offer with the added benefit of being water soluble, similar to watercolours. I enjoy how it enables me to fix or add as I progress through a piece. The mix of both watercolour and gouache combined with a few other mediums makes for a diverse set of tools that can be utilised to tackle even the most advanced of pieces.

In this tutorial, we’ll go over creating a portrait from concept sketches to finished piece using traditional and modern digital techniques. Also covered are my methods for gathering reference to achieve a more realistic pose to your character, as well as improving accuracy to the source materials.

I hope that you find this tutorial helpful on your journey to finding the mediums that fit well into your tool arsenal and wish you much luck in your future endeavours.

Ben is an illustrator hailing from the US. His clients include IDW Publishing, Valiant Entertainment, BOOM! Studios and IMAGE Comics. Explore his art at benharveyart.com.

1 Gathering reference materials and digital rough layouts

I start by hopping on to Pinterest to search for inspiration, as well as reference materials for the character. Next, I open Clip Studio Paint to start the digital concept process. This is the most challenging part of my process because the number of poses and angles is nearly unlimited. In this instance, I decide to try something fun with my backdrop that complements the angles created by the character’s pose.

2 Printing on to watercolour board

Once I’ve finalised my layout, I’ll faintly print my layout directly in non-photo blue onto 300lb (640 gsm) Fabriano Watercolor board using my Epson printer. Printing directly onto the board enables me to use a wider variety of paper mediums with a heavier weight. This also reduces the amount of pencil abuse on the board, which can lead to deterioration.

3 Refining and adjusting

Next I go over my printout with graphite to finalise and further tighten the figure. In this case, I’ve decide to rotate the character’s head so that he’s looking more toward the viewer. Working off of a printout gives me the luxury of being able to modify and correct before proceeding into colour.

4 Using your references

Here’s a good example where I notice the hand of the figure could use some quick adjusting. I grab my prop gun and use it as a live model to identify where the fingers should be. Very useful when in a pinch. I’ll often use myself as a model, taking several reference photos of myself to help figure out more advanced poses.

6 Prepping for initial wash

With my mask in place, I do an initial underpainting to set my tone or value. I gently apply a light and even layer of clean water to the character’s body. When you put water on the paper you want to see a sheen, not a puddle of water. I also take note of where the brightest parts of his costume are. I’ll mark those areas in pencil so that they don’t get lost in the process.

5 Masking the backdrop

A backdrop helps make my figure stand out from the white paper. I mask the area with 3M’s low-tack painter’s tape, then use my Exacto knife to remove the unwanted tape, making sure not to press too hard where I cut into the paper.

7 Apply an underpainting wash

It’s best to prepare your paints as much as possible before continuing in this step. Speed is essential. While keeping the entire prepped area on the character wet I’ll strategically apply areas of warm and cool pigments. Keep these parts light and loose. You don’t want too much definition here. The randomness in your paint patterns will help in later steps.

8 More tone and value

I go into the figure with more tone and value over my initial underpainting wash. Working in watercolour means that, because of the natural transparency of the medium, your underpainting can help set new layers of paint to be either in the warm or cool tonal range. This makes the decision-making process much easier.

10 Creating highlights on the helmet

The helmet part of his costume is a challenge. It’s easy to become lost while trying to assess the patterns of highlights and reflections when painting metallic objects. It also doesn’t help that there isn’t a live model to work from. My main goal is not to overcomplicate or muddy what I’ve already put down. Less is more when it comes to brushstrokes.

9 Tone and value continued

As I progress I keep in mind where my highlights are on the costume of the character, while adding more value and tone without overcomplicating things. This stage is where I lack the most confidence – I constantly worry about the current look of the piece as well as the various forthcoming steps.

11 Correction methods

When it comes to corrections, I find that it’s best to catch these areas early on. A problem area that’s had more than an hour to dry on cotton paper will be a burden to lift off. However, an area that’s relatively fresh can be re-moistened and dabbed with a towel.

12 Adding details

At this point, I’ve got most areas of the piece figured out and finally breathe a sigh of relief that I can see the light at the end. The time has come to begin tightening the forms and adding details. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of the entire process for me.

13 Tightening forms

To bring more definition to the piece, I’ll grab a small liner brush and go around the edges of the various forms in either a matching or higher tonal value. Doing this can create some interesting effects like a glow and highlights. Then, using a small amount of gouache, I’ll add additional highlights or corrections if needed.

14 Making final touches

As the dust settles I’ll go around the piece with a Uni-ball Signo white gel pen to bring back any highlights that may have been lost in the painting process. I’ll also use a kneaded eraser to clean up any remaining graphite.