Post #284074 by Sneakytiki on Thu, Feb 8, 2007 2:57 AM

This evening I started a project I've been putting off, a series of illustrations showing mythological monsters. I was excited to do them but they were to be done in a flat style and I've really struggled with doing gouache or acrylics in a "flat" manner. I've had success with guoache in rendering realistically but other than that, ouch! lots of time wasted on crappy product. Today I used some good paint as the last time i worked with cheap acrylics (on the Easter bunny which strangely the paper loved), I had the same clumping issues. Wow! What a difference a few dollars in materials makes! I had a much easier time. I've been sketching ideas for a while too, maybe that helped as acrylics don't lend themselves to the spontaneity I feel I can get away with in oils. I spent some time looking at Flora albums in my LP's and on the net for inspiration and got going.
I did a tinted yellow gesso on a Masonite square I got out of downtown trash and proceeded to swirl some watered down streaky black on it. I then drew in the face quickly, and too asymmetrically for my liking, which I paid for in touch ups later, tried to mix a teal and went a little grayer/ greener than I had anticipated but I liked the way it turned out. I always forget that acrylics dry in a slightly different brightness/color. I think I'll be adding the letters to spell out "cyclops" into the painting in a jumbled multicolored manner as I've been wanting to do some hand lettering. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
ST.