Today I’ve worked like the slave gimp I am and earned myself a primeval pain in my lower back.

But also I made a major breakthrough in linking my traditional and digital styles.

I realized today that using a simple can of fixative I can utilize what ever complexity of detail and the depth of black I achieve in the underlying charcoal sketch.

those of you who never felt oil upon charcoal I can share with you that the coal unlike graphite does not mix with oil but simply sticks to you brush leaving the canvas the moment you apply the oil. Unless you’ve ofcourse rubbed it in thickly in which case the oil does not stick to the canvas and you’ll have to gently prebrush the surface with linseed oil to make it paintable…[/i] here’s my current painting technique![/b]

. Underpainting[/b][/u]
As a common rule, everything painted on white will become very luminous and the more you work on it the darker it will become. So that is why I usually cover the white canvas with low value and low saturation hues.

First decide on what color your will use, remember it will affect the colorscheme of your entire painting so choose wisely.
Mix [u]acrylics[/u] to the desired hue and release your abstract demons. Now don’t paint it to thick, just enough to get rid of the white canvas, use lots of water. If you paint to thick and alter the surface you’ll get unwanted reflections in your painting once it’s oiled.

heard that it’s also possible to use tempra colors for underpaintings, but I’ve never tried drawing with charcoal on a tempra surface so I have no idea how it’ll turn out.[/i]

. The Sketch[/b][/u]
Once the acrylics have dried you can now sketch away with charcoal until you’re satisfied with your composition. If you have a can of fixative you can use soft coals and lay down as much depth and detail as you’d like, otherwise use a hard packed bit of coal and watch the amount of coal you pack on the canvas.

. Fixate![/b][/u]
My favorite part, spray away!! =)
No really just spray a layer of fixative over the whole painting to make the charcoal stay put.
[i]I’ve recently heard that regular hair-spray can be used to fixate graphite/charcoal.[/i]

[u][b]4. Paint[/b][/u]
Paint thinly at a start and let most of the underlayer to shine through, then softly build up the luminance in your painting as you paint more opaque.
I’m not gonna preach about which hues to use that’s for yourself to figure out. Personally I’m very fond of all the natural hues, the umbras, terras and ochras.

. Credits[/b][/u]
Pat yourself on the back, and tell yourself what a great artist you are.
[b]You’re worth it![/b]

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The still life picture was a school exercise where we were forced to paint a set containing only natural hues while we were limited to only use red,green,blue,black,white.

The point of this exercise was for us to learn how to use the complement color to desaturate an vibrant hue. I actually never used black in that painting but think I managed pretty well! ^^