Selected 7" Kara Watercolor Pages

Although I can't afford to upload all the finished pages here to the blog, here's a select sampling of pages just before the computer lettering phase.  The photo quality is awful, and I have no problems with that, as I'll be uploading the real pages, color corrected and beautified, soon enough.




I used Canson's 90lb watercolor paper while working on chapter 1, partially because it was just the right size to easily go through my printer, and partially because it was all Dick Blick had in store at the moment.  Unfortunately, 90lb paper isn't very heavy for watercolor paper, and these pages really did not respond well to the watercolor.

Avoid this paper at all costs.
While in undergrad, a friend 'taught' me how to stretch watercolor paper, and apparently I've been doing it all wrong.  I'll be posting a tutorial on how to do it RIGHT soon, but even with correct stretching, this paper took two tries to get it relatively unbuckled.

I feel like I learned a lot about watercoloring while working on this chapter.  I would usually work on at least two pages at a time, and pencil a third, to deal with long drying times between washes.  I build up several layers of color, go over the dried piece with pencil color, and then add even more washes to tie the two together.

Rather than let my fledgling skills atrophy during the winter break, and rather than embark on the involved process of starting NEW pages, I've decided to complete a few simple watercolor illustrations to hone my skills, test out new paints (liquid, tube, block, watercolor pencil, and pan), and improve my technique.

Wordcount: 278

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