Q&A part 1 // My drawing routine (Patreon)

Hi patrons ! 🤗✨
I asked you if you had questions for me last week. I got a bunch of questions about art supplies, technique, influence... So I decided to make separate posts to answer all your questions.

Part 1 :  M Y  D R A W I N G   R O U T I N E 🍊

 ⚪ How long does it usually take you to finish a piece?
It depends on the size and if there’s a background involved, but I would say 2 to 5 hours.

 ⚪ I notice you always use a really small brush even when you're filling in large areas. I was just curious why that is!
I have never noticed that ! Probably because I always use the same brushes. If I work on a bigger piece (like the A3 paintings I did for Gallery Nucleus earlier this year for example), I will fill large areas with a big brush and add details with a tiny one. 

 ⚪ I'd love to know if you always sketch out + color your ideas on your iPad first and trace it onto watercolor paper for the final version, or do you just sketch it out and figure out the colors after?
Since I got my iPad in 2018, I always sketch + pick a color palette on my iPad first, print it out and trace it on a light table. It changed my life ! Especially for pieces I have to finish for a show, an important project, or commissions. That way I know it can’t go wrong and the best part is, I won’t waste time because everything is already planned ! But I don’t do that when I do studies or when I draw in my sketchbooks of course.

iPad / Finished illustration

 ⚪ I also noticed you outline twice (once in black, and once after coloring), may I ask what's the size of the brush you use for those outlines?
Gouache paint is opaque, so most of the time I will trace the little details in black so I can still see it underneath the first layer of gouache. 

 ⚪ How much sketching practice do you do outside of your final pieces to get the body postures right?
I sketch whenever I feel like it ! But I don't do it as often as I should/want. I would say I sketch a few times a week for 2-3 hours, on my iPad or in my sketchbook. 

 ⚪ I was wondering if you use pose references for your drawing ? If yes, where do you take the reference ?
I usually use the pictures I saved in Instagram or Pinterest and sketch silhouettes, bodies, hairstyles…
For backgrounds and scenery it's different (because I am still new and bad at it) - I like to do little studies of existing places to learn how to draw backgrounds. This one is obvious and I love this artist's work :

Natacha's picture / my illustration based on her photograph

 ⚪ What do you do when you dislike a piece of work you have produced?
I either start over again until I like it, or I give up and hope I can go back to it later (it could be a week, a month, a year later).

 ⚪ How much time do you spend drawing per day ? How much time does it take to complete a piece, from sketch to finished illustration ?
Again it depends, but I would say I draw at least 3 hours a day.
And an illustration takes about 3 hours to be completed, from sketch to final painting.

 ⚪ What is the process for coming up with a new idea/concept for a piece ?
Sometimes it’s a little detail I want to include in an illustration. For example, that day I just wanted to draw oranges because of this picture :

It could be a concept I like, a piece of clothing, a photograph I saw on Instagram, a color… But usually it happens when I am not drawing or browsing on Pinterest – it happens when I am going to bed, talking a walk, watching a movie…
From there I’ll sketch something and ideas come as I am drawing.

 ⚪ What is your process for transferring or redrawing a digital sketch onto traditional mediums?
1. I sketch an idea on my iPad.
2. When I like it, I add more details to it and pick a color palette.

3. Once I think it’s done, I print it out on paper and use a light table.
4. Then I put my watercolor paper on top and trace my printed out sketch on it.
I use masking tape to tape it to the light table so nothing moves ! 

Next post will be about art supplies 🎨 I'll make a separate post about acryla gouache because I got tones of questions about it !

 💖🌻✨ Thanks again for your support on Patreon !! 💖🌻✨ 

Hugs,

Sibylline