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We recently interviewed Tim Probert about his career in illustration and animation and about the inspirations behind the world of his Lightfall series. Here he talks us though his process for creating a sequence in the graphic novels.
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I start with loose thumbnails. These usually start as tiny pen drawings, then they’re drawn on an iPad in Procreate to lay out the full page. I print the thumbnails out on 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
Then, using a small light table, I begin drawing the actual page on a fresh sheet on top. For this I start with a red Col-Erase coloured pencil.
This is the stage where I’m really figuring out the drawing – the form, weight, depth, expressions, all that stuff.
I then ‘ink’ directly on top of that using a 0.5-mm mechanical pencil with 4B lead. This is where I make all of the final decisions with the drawing.
Once the drawing is done, I scan it in and clean up any dust, dirt or smudges (I usually leave the coffee stains in). The red lines are reduced slightly, but not removed.
I draw the panel borders and balloons in Photoshop.
The next step is flatting, where the backgrounds, characters, and objects are painted a flat colour, just to separate them. I try to keep it to as few layers as possible.
Then I paint the page in Photoshop. I only use a handful of brushes when painting, mostly gouache, chalk, and watercolour.
You can learn more about the Lightfall series on Tim's website.
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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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