QUICK SIMPLE STEP BY STEP STENCIL SKETCH

Hi! I wanted to do a quick illustration for my next post about a very interesting​ literary movement of the 50's. I managed to finish it quite fast, so I'll share pictures of the few steps in creating a stencil portrait in black.

Subject

My subject: the writer and poet Jack Kerouac.
I found various stencil/ graffiti ref photos, using mainly the one by Phillip Banken, a take on a portrait of Kerouac. I roughly sketched with a pencil a simplified version, marking rough blocks where the colour will be. It is really helpful to use a reference photo, as you are learning, and you require precision to make the subject recognizable.

Technique

I used a 0.4 mm pen and Gansai Tambi watercolours. I was scarce with adding water to the paper because of its weight.
I used a small* notebook paper. * smaller than A6. For a quick illustration, ​the size is okay, and I often like to paint/draw in smallscale, choosing the smallest brush.

Still something new for me

This is also a study work of this graphical style. Honestly, it is the second time I've seriously tried stencil (as much as I can remember).

Check out:

Here is my first try in stencil art: read and see the step by step process of painting Alfred Hitchcock.
I figured out that stencil painting is a good practice for understanding face in more abstract terms: shapes and lines. Also, it helps in painting faces in other techniques, too: exploring the shapes of stencil, it is easier to understand then what are shadows and how do they define one's face.

Try it out!

If you want to practice, search for a stencil artwork and use it as a base of study. Or you can create an easy stencil version reference photo yourself, using Photoshop/Gimp - I'll write a post about that, if you want to. Always refer to a work you've used if you publish a photo online.

PHASE 1

I was a bit careless and thought the first version wouldn't quite work out, so I missed a photo of pencil sketch in base. I used pencil only for the facial features, then I went on with a pen, because I like to live dangerously. Here I've run over with pen already, marking where the shadows (black part) will be. I missed a bit and drew a happy-little-accident line. It's okay, I forgive myself. Maybe I'll find a solution to hide it.

PHASE 2

Filling in the shadows with a pen.

PHASE 3

Add black watercolour.

PHASE 4

Be careful with water on a thin paper. So I didn't add too much watercolour. I could've masked my extra line with a dark cloud of a background like in the Hitchcock painting, but I didn't want to risk damaging the paper, as it would make it more difficult to scan properly.
However, as I write and look at this drawing, I think I might even try that smoke effect...

ILLUSTRATION READY

Scanned version. You can see that I've concealed that little line at the left side.

Are you ready for my next post about some cool cats?

P.S.

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