Athena's Little Owl WIP

potomac79 · #1 03-08-2007, 02:30 PM

As promised, I'm going to post the WIP of the project I started before the baptism one http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=405825. Remember, this is my first scratchboard attempt and was just meant to give me some practice before the aforementioned work. As before, it's on 5"x7" Clayboard Black using the back of a #11 blade tip (mostly...I also did some experiments on the board as I was doing the baptism piece). The subject is a picture I found (I forget where) of a "Little Owl" (Athene noctua)...the speices of owl associated with the goddess Athena.

This was just getting started:

I began with the pearch, as it wasn't very important, and then I did some few feathers at the bottom as they were nearly white. Once I felt I was getting some touch, I started with the eyes...for as we all know, if you screw up the eyes, there's little point in going on. Oh yeah, the image was put on using gray transfer paper. So...a little more work:

And a little more after that...

And that's pretty much where it's been for the past week or so as I was busy with the other scratch and an airbrushed painting http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406882. Since I'm now fragged, I'm taking a day or two off before jumping back with the owl.

I did screw up the shading on the left side...should have kept it a little darker, but it's not so off that I'm killing myself about it.

Rodman · #2 03-08-2007, 04:37 PM

looks great and very much worth the effort..thanks for posting

Diana Lee · #3 03-08-2007, 05:00 PM

Great start, are you planning on coloring it? Either way it works, it is a moody piece in black and white.

Diana

tanianault · #4 03-08-2007, 07:09 PM

Really nice, can't wait for you to rest up and finish it :-) My next project is an owl, too, so I'm eager to see how your's goes.

- Tania

potomac79 · #5 03-09-2007, 01:49 PM

Thanks guys. As for coloring it... that's not really in the plan for two reasons: 1) and this is the more important-- I don't have any permanent transparent inks on-hand at the moment. I will have, but not right now; 2) The base color of the owl is this tan-orange thing that just isn't wowing me.

Had I planned on coloring this from the beginning, I'd have changed some things. First, I'd have back-lit the owl, using reflected light to show the darkened detail up front. I'd have then opted to color it in blues (in the white parts) and dark gray-browns in the tan-orange parts. Basically, the owl at night. Hmmm.... guess I'd also have needed to open up the pupils.

For now, I think it works best as a basic black-and-white piece.

Sidenote: I just ordered more Clayboard Black and Clayboard Smooth to continue learning...so I'll probably be hanging around this forum for a bit as those new supports get played with.

Bertoni · #6 03-10-2007, 11:05 AM

Looking forward to the finish! Looking good so far!!!

potomac79 · #7 03-11-2007, 12:50 AM

I'll probably start working on it again on Sunday. I just hope I don't muck it all up

brushandknife · #8 03-12-2007, 09:38 PM

Looking good thus far. Hope I get to see the finish. I miss alot these days it seems.
Carol

potomac79 · #9 03-24-2007, 12:44 AM

Finally got most of the other projects out of the way, so I'm back working on the owl:

Right now I'm pretty much scratching in the bright bits (also know as "all those #!@$& fiddly little feathers"

) as well as a few of the mid-tone base-color areas. Once these light areas are done, I'll switch from the Xacto to a pin to scratch in the myriad shading patterns (lots of small thin scratches and dots everywhere).

tanianault · #10 03-24-2007, 12:08 PM

I like how the owl's gaze will draw the viewer's eye diagonally across this work. I think it will add a dynamic edge to a static pose.

- Tania

potomac79 · #11 03-25-2007, 12:16 AM

That drew me to the image as well. I was fortunate to find a photo of this species that 1) I liked; and 2) the photographer granted permission to use.

potomac79 · #12 03-27-2007, 04:26 AM

Almost done with the highlights...one more session or two. Then it's the mid-tones and details. (I'm starting to loathe feathers.)

potomac79 · #13 04-07-2007, 02:53 AM

Finally got a block of time to work on this. At least the feathers are all in, now.

Now I fiddle with it. C&C very welcome as I plan out what I want to tweak.

Celticelf · #14 04-07-2007, 10:58 AM

Wow! This is wonderful. I never, ever thought of using the backside of the exacto blade. I get frustrated because the tips get dull so quickly and have held on to them to see if I could sharpen them or use them some other way. The back is a great idea! Did you use any washes back intothe feathers or have you gotten all that wonderful shading from the get-go? Do you get the idea I like your owl

potomac79 · #15 04-07-2007, 11:29 AM

Thanks, Terri. At present, it's just pure first-pass scratch. The bright highlights were with X-acto, the rest was with a pin. The main reason I used the back of the tip was because, when I started, I was having trouble getting through the ink layer in a consistent manner with the blade-side of the tip. I've since grown to love the pin, though. Which I use depends on how much ink I want to scrape off in one pass.

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