Largely self-taught illustrator Drew Blom talked with us about having work curated into the Art for Hope exhibit, his art making experience, and using SketchBook Pro Copic Edition.

Congratulations! How did it feel to be approached by Autodesk for this art show?

I was contacted by Chris Cheung at Autodesk to see if I was interested in contributing a piece for their Art For Hope benefit book in partnership with Viz Media. It was right around the time the Copic Edition of SketchBook Pro (SBP) was released. I planned everything digitally, printed out and did a traditional graphite rendering, scanned back in and used the new Copic settings to create the colors for my piece.

I was pretty humbled to asked to be part of the Art For Hope book. It’s a great cause, I was excited to work on the piece  – and excited to hear it was selected. It was quite an honor.

Unless you’re a big name who’s having their work reviewed all the time it is easy to work in a vacuum. I’m not a big name so it’s kind of fun to see that the piece is making an impression on others.

Anything you’d like viewers to keep in mind while viewing your piece?

The piece was created as a cover for my story Calvin Hedge and the Iron Golem. It’s a story about hope, so it was a natural fit for the anthology. The story is intended to be the first of a trilogy of YA fantasy novels. I am writing and illustrating a children’s book as a precursor to the world and characters early next year. The characters in the image were not just put in to fill the composition. They all have a part in the story. Knowing who the characters are really helps me as I work on the actual piece.

Calvin Hedge and the Iron Golem, Graphite, Strathmore 500, Digital, 11″ x 17″

How do you normally go about art making?

I use digital drawing tools like SketchBook Pro for planning because it’s easiest to change, but for the actual work (rendering and line art) I prefer traditional media.

Every artist has a preference for tools and it usually winds up being the ones they have the most control over. Graphite and colored pencil are my go-to most of the time. Markers and pen-and-ink techniques are also a part of my process. I like the digital tools available because of the speed and ease of making changes. But I am still a sucker for the texture and depth of traditional media. The computer does “perfect” really well. But the hand of the artist is more readily visible with traditional media.

I did a talk recently explaining the process a little bit here. My part starts about 20 minutes in:

I use traditional Copic markers as well and am planning on using them as a monochromatic underpainting layer for a children’s book I’m writing and illustrating. After that I go in with digital color, similar to the SketchBook piece. I just need to start building up my grayscale collection of Copics.

Underpainting is a technique that has been around for a long time. In traditional oils it is used to define value and texture before a full-color realization is done over the top.

Calvin Hedge and the Iron Golem, underpainting

With the piece above, I used graphite pencils for the values, lighting and materials. It’s my version of underpainting and brings in the texture of the traditional media I’m working with.

With my upcoming children’s book I’m exploring a new process where the initial planning of the composition is done with SBP. The piece is then printed off and traditional Copics are used to lay in value, lighting and texture to the scene. Once the values are defined and the edges are contained with colored pencil the piece is scanned back in and a full color treatment is done digitally. This allows the texture of the paper and the markers to build up as they naturally would in a 100% traditional piece but also allows for the speed of doing final colors digitally.

What makes Copic your marker of choice for that?

The Copics blend very well, and with a set of grays you can lay in value incrementally. I like to feel in control as I’m creating the piece and the Copics are very natural and easy to reign in.

Have you been using SketchBook Pro (SBP) very long?

In one way or another, I’ve been using SketchBook Pro since version 1.1. I started out using it for storyboards but now use it for a lot of other things like planning out my compositions and coloring my final pieces.

How about SketchBook Copic Edition?

I picked it up the day it was released. I did a pretty quick update when the announcement was posted.  I already was using the markers so it was a natural transition.

It’s is a very natural sketching tool. Because I work on a tablet computer, I appreciate the gesture-based navigation. For coloring it is a bit different than I’m used to for my comic work, which is based on laying down flat color for selection and then building up volume. Its closer to traditional media which makes it very easy to get started with. You can tell the software was developed from an artist’s perspective.

The Copic presets are helpful as well. The palettes make sense and are great for narrowing in on a limited palette. The brush presets make the transition from traditional to digital media pretty smooth.

Any advice to people wanting to give SBP Copic Edition a try?

If you’re used to traditional Copics you’ll be familiar with the color palette. And the actual use of the digital preset brushes is pretty close too. Just like with traditional markers you can’t lay in light color over darks. It was a bit odd at first because I was used to standard digital tools, but over time it became an advantage because it kept me in the same mindset from traditional to digital.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

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Connect with Drew online: http://about.me/drewblom

Terryl Whitlatch has worked with many major studios and effects houses as a highly sought after creature and concept designer. Clients include Industrial Light and Magic, Lucas Film Ltd., Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation, PDI, Entertainment Arts, LucasArts, Chronicle Books, and various zoos and natural history museums. Stay tuned as we will be posting an interview with Terryl next week!

Illustrator Nate Williams just launched Letter Playground.  A public site where anyone can upload their interpretation of letters and numbers. Looks like a great place for inspiration as well as for showing off your stuff.

via BOOOOOOOOM