I recently painted a scene from the "Chicken Little" story for an upcoming conference. Here's my process for the illustration.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLPN-dpwi5tIYrpB_O6SeV2xys9TDEk9H5LkixGieXVc01pf6_MD4zHvTQb7n64vJO6nDaLIXd2Hhf0N5NeOKWUJHDL4LK39spGhW1StTL3luEYjUTFmWDjz3-DbKTkeBGQpNd75XhmZQ/s280/fox_villain_process_triptych.jpg) |
Above is a composite, showing the three main stages: sketch, color study,
and final painting. |
I start off by drawing the basic shapes with a blue pencil. I then go over the underdrawing with a soft lead pencil (see below). I can knock out the blue in Photoshop to clean up the drawing (cmd-U for Hue/Saturation, select Cyans and Blues, drag Lightness all the way over to the right). I print out my drawing at 100% final working size and use a light table to ink the drawing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTGvHwQX9NIGaPs5avK8cmxJ841khGBE1C8XjembkHmjzgIQPWYqpJoq7K-lvuuGiiHprwIksRFezRLUGKC4RXhtqfXXecDt5Ou2PD46GCdFH4PxPEAiNHLZqrizg4fcN0aADVyYEDXLA/s280/fox_villain_sketch2.jpg) |
Sketch. |
I find it helpful to do a color study. This one is about 9 by 7 inches (below).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiNZc9rKp1KcpKV_Tb45q0swJKNEPgv8ZoTZD_6qa9oPniM6t3VrtRgMDc80JfyVF1RMrhqWdF3QA5Xna9MfZWNBy9bQ6ZR_J_iXBERNekcEjrZS73nt619n7UdPq69BIKTvFFx3QbK3L/s280/fox_villain_color_study.jpg) |
Color study. Watercolor, ink, touches of pastel. |
Below is the raw scan without color correction. The painting is about 13 by 10 inches. I didn't like the way Chicken Little turned out, so I painted a few more versions. I know I can always repaint areas and use Photoshop to combine the patched section. And sometimes I'll just start over and call the abandoned painting another "study."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LADSF11DUwM2eHS9M7p7zsTZPVvFu1G2DdPwwhn-XXG5kDruDyjDqk5tjsrLVrn6F221FHsq9cf7nSATKskhrgE7Qe-zPhEzREu69qV6f4C9uQKUnFv_vZbyHVfK78oZG89qc-7MrWee/s280/fox_villain_rawscan.jpg) |
Raw scan. Watercolor, ink, with touches of pastel and colored pencil. |
Below are some alternate versions of Chicken Little. I find that I have more options in blending in the patched section if I paint in some background color. I don't want the patched section to look cut-out or have a white fringe around it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeOnV-9qGsK99avlOSqKgXjVZakWT1JmZSc66je5Px76H2jljXYB9PJb2YygKb96B3PkZxBV7spogJ1_GcWmmbtFaSVfBgj1MhC1Z5SdA3AWTF1pYiBhKFt0NhmwIewaiWAdv5clyRGic/s280/fox_vill_chicks.jpg) |
I liked the middle one the best, so I dropped him into the final painting. |
This is what my Layer Panel (below) looks like for the final piece. You can see Chicken Little is on his own Layer (labeled "Chicken"). I used Layer Masking to blend him in, then I made a composite Layer (cmd-option-shift-E) and used the Clone Stamp to blend him in more. Sometimes I do my Cloning on a Layer above the patched section. For more on how I adjust scan colors, please see
this blog post, "Optimizing a Color Scan." The short version is that I select each color field (e.g. all the green grass), and then use a Color Balance Layer Adjustment. I do this for each major color while comparing it to the original painting.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLF1-HkeWkfCp_ofAP6cDmXkwK8pynT0eQh2WZVU8r-soPdnLjdf1-EMcEYhytJap3WJesoiJk-jW-wx2RILBg5d-vgsfnGO0Zi1LICjjfnEMGa70La0iN5eUrOixVY2JCQI9yEqkH1Cre/s280/fox_villain_layer_panel2.jpg) |
Layer Panel. |
And here's the final, optimized illustration with the new version of Chicken Little blended into the scene. I also use a Curves Adjustment Layer to increase the contrast (and better match the original painting).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJh9b296jU9dQFD2aoE56J_oig16Mle1OSirol-b6vlVlzoh4cJcfR-3phROtT5h0-phU45L1cF_nGyqyfb7FYE4DXhBGk8ip04gdArsUsEIqG4ILFzcGMplN3WpFrMhnNXqmej_3KHWu/s280/copyright_opie_fxvlfin018.jpg) |
The final, optimized illustration (with the replacement Chicken Little). |