Need ideas for loose coloration...

[GoldSeven]

(preview image - stupid thumbnail distortion)

I need some pointers here. I usually work with a lot of detail and very clean, in watercolour, with a rather precise pencil lineart. I've done that for so long that it's hard for me to do anything looser. Any pointers on how to get myself to loosen up and make this one really rough? Precise and clean won't work for this. I'm open to all suggestions including different media. (Apart from digital. I'm hopeless with that.)



Thanks in advance!

[Kiera]

Do I get this right, this is the pre-sketch of a watercolor painting and you want the (finished) watercolor painting to look rough and loose?
Or do you ask how you get all messy with digital art?

Ok, some critique on the side:
Right now I'm not sure if the guy is holding his arm up or hanging by a piece of wire.
His body is tilted like he is standing on the ground and just leaning on the rope, like a passenger in a bus.

[GoldSeven]

He's hanging; I wanted the focus on him so I decided against having the whole body in there. I'll try around with the pose again, thanks!

Yes, I meant that I wanted the finished piece to me more messy than what I usually do, and I'm open to any medium except digital. And oils, I suppose, because I don't have any. Does any one have any tips for loosening up? Whenever I try to preserve some looseness in my colourings, I always end up over-fiddling again.


Edit: Talking of fiddling - elongating the canvas makes it nicely claustrophobic.

[Suncut]

You could limit yourself to bigger brushes, and try a more thick paint approach so you can't keep layering things on top I guess. Try guache or acrylics. And then be prepared for it to look like absolute shit the first time you try.

[GoldSeven]

Haha, you know what? Of course I had thought of that myself, but thanks for making it clear to me that there's no magic wand to miraculously work the first time I try it.

I was thinking of acrylics. Maybe even inkwash or charcoal. Bigger brush sounds scary, but good.

[Suncut]

Yeah, obvious answers are obvious . I think if it's really hard for you to not to noodle you should go at it from the opposite end, make it impossible to do fine detail and make a huge mess, then step back and try to pull the mess into something more manageable the next time around. I think acrylics and a big brush is the best solution for preventing yourself to go into too much detail.

[Kiera]

Here's an idea for the rough coloring in watercolor that could go with your style:
Do a pencil sketch however you want and then mix yourself a palette for watercolor/ink and just let the color drip on the canvas on random places, creating rich textures and patches of random color.
Let it dry and go with just one layer of watercolor over it, adding a tiny bit of shadows and volume.
The brighter patches of skin near his face and upper body could be a problem with this technique, it will most likley look bad if there's a lot of bright or dark color on it
- just go with a crumbled piece of tissue over the places which should be a bit brighter while the first layer is still wet.

[Stoat]

But...this is digital, isn't it? Do you rough in digital, and then transfer it to paper somehow?

[GoldSeven]

Yes, I usually sketch digitally, but for anything finished, I like paints and paper under my hands. And on my sleeves and my wallpaper. Usually, I print out the sketch on drawing board in a light colour and pencil over it, then filter the sketch out in Photoshop.

[Stoat]

Gotcha. I haven't had much success doing linework and watercolory effects in digital myself. I have this feeling what I need for that is a Cintiq.

Right?

RIGHT?

[GoldSeven]

I recommend brushes and paint. Much cheaper. Not to forget the originals you can sell.

Suncut: "noodle" - what a great word! I'm torn between splashy watercolour the way Kiera proposed and messy acrylics/charcoal. I'll just mull it over for a few days (until I have time to do this anyway).

[Stoat]

After a 25-year hiatus doing mostly digital, I left that job and thought...at last! I can go back to my traditional media roots!

Nope. Don't have the patience any more. Materials, prep, drying time...plus no undo button. Brrrrr.

[GoldSeven]

I do the lineart on a separate sheet and print it out on watercolour paper. It's not "undo", but at least it's "snapshot".