Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Ponyo BG studies II



A couple more studies of background art from Ponyo. I'm finding that gouache and coloured pencil is a really great combination. As far as I can tell this is what was used in the actual backgrounds for the film, along with pastels. Apart from being nice and opaque when you want, gouache appears to be quite suitable for watercolour like effects. However getting the right mixture is something that will take just as much practice and experience to do well. As for the coloured pencils, good quality ones proved essential for vibrant marks. Scribling away with dirty hands I really did feel like a child again.

6 comments:

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  3. This is amazing! i am currently doing a parody of ponyo for my illustration class and stumbled across your work while researching. I have no idea how to paint by the way haha so i dont know what im getting myself into! I am also using gouache. Do you have any tips for me, a beginner? In terms of building colours, what layers to do first etc, and how you start off the project. I really like your other background study of ponyo too. This post is a few years old, i hope you get my message :)

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    1. Thanks Nattaya, and thanks for visiting.

      If you haven't already, I suggest first having a look at the comments for this post where I listed my materials, http://cbocquee.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/ponyo-background-study.html

      Since then however I discovered Nicker Poster Color which is what Ghibli uses/used. In Japanese it's, ニッカーポスターカラー. There are shops that sell it online and will ship overseas.

      My advice is learn firstly how to paint and draw. Styles will come and go, and you will develop your own eventually. Start with simple exercises, like painting spheres, cylinders, and laying nice smooth washes and gradients. Every paint has different good points and bad points, so try different mediums until you find the one(s) you like most. As for landscapes my process is not especially unique. If you really are interested in landscapes then I would suggest finding some books on landscape painting and following their examples until you get some confidence to try your own.

      If you like the Ghibli style or any other in particular, it's perfectly fine to do studies by copying as I did. It's one of the best ways to learn.

      I hope that helps, all the best with it.

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