Friday, February 18, 2011

Layers - with Transparencies and Vellum

I have been experimenting with transparencies and layers, and having a great time with the different results:
1. Vellum over a painted background

2. Two layers of transparencies

3. Three layers of transparencies


Here are step-by-step instruction on how to make #1 (Vellum over a painted background)
Materials: Vellum, pen and ink (or black pen), colored ink (I used copper, and two tones of green), background painted paper (I used mulberry paper painted with H2O's - shimmering watercolors)

STEP 1:
Create your background. I wet the mulberry paper and then brushed it with shimmering watercolors (H2O's)

STEP 2:
Cut the Vellum to the size you want, and draw your picture on it with pen and ink

STEP 3:
Keep adding details to your picture until you're satisfied

STEP 4:
Add color with ink or gel pens. Vellum curls when wet, so be sure to use small quantities of ink. Decide if you want to add color to the front or back side. I added the trunk color (copper) to the back so that I would not lose the details on the tree trunk, and the leaves (2 tones of green) to the front so you can see the shimmer of the ink. I then went over the outlines of the leaves once again with a black pen, so the edges were well defined.

STEP 5:
Go over the edges of the vellum and background with permanent ink (Sharpie or ink pad) to give it a finished look.

STEP 6:
Attach the vellum picture to the background and you're done!!