- Scotia 6
Scotia's portrait with scratching to soften the ink I added in the previous stage. Also new: highlights in her eyes! - Scotia 7
Scotia's portrait with watercolor added to her fur & nose. Nearly finished at this point, but it needs some fine-tuning here and there, and to be a bit darker overall. - Scotia 1
This is sweet Scotty girl, Scotia. I haven't done any scratching yet, this is just the transfer onto the scratchboard. 7" x 5", from my own reference photo. - K9 Yukon - #1
Just getting started ... Plenty left to do at this point, but good progress. - K9 Yukon - #1
Almost done with the scratching to the point where I can add color. The left side of his face needs to be scratched, then I'll ink to bring back dark areas, then add color. I'll also layer more fur over his "Sheriff" collar, but have to wait to do that until I have the color down first, so the fur can overlap that. - K9 Yukon - #3
All scratched - ready for color - K9 Yukon - #4
This is the first pass with color (watercolor), he stlll needs a bit of work (scratching and coloring in select areas) to fine tune everything. - K9 Yukon - Final
The finished portrait 10" x 8" scratchboard with watercolor - K9 Yukon - #5
Not quite done, but really, really close. Needs watercolor over some of the scratched areas, then select scratching to finish the portrait. Compare this one to the previous image where the portrait was much rougher. The scratching has helped to blend & soften the fur and tones. This stage is lighter, but the last pass with watercolor will bring back some contrast and color. - Off Duty? 1
5" x 7" scratchboard of a Border Collie: "Off Duty?" because anyone who knows Border Collies knows they're working even when they're playing. - Off Duty? 2
Still working on scratching the dog, but I've started adding a water background. Read the story about the water here: When You Want Different Water - Off Duty? 3
Border Collie is all scratched, ready for color! That will help pop him out from the background. He won't have spooky eyes either. After adding color, I'll scratch as needed. - Off Duty? 4
With color (watercolor). I didn't spend a ton of time on color-correcting this scan. The dog looks pretty accurate, but the water isn't quite right. I'll take more time when I scan the final. At any rate, in the home stretch at this point. Next:scratching to add highlights on the dog, and separate him from the background. - Off Duty? - Final
Finished! 5" x 7" scratchboard (Ampersand Scratchbord), with watercolor and some India ink for re-inking & drawing long, black hairs. From my own reference photo taken at a dog play day many years ago. - "Safety" - Framed
"Safety" framed I'm really happy with how the framing turned out. The 5 x 7 scratchboard is glued to an 8 x 10 Ampersand Gessobord that I airbrushed with warm grey mix of inks and then distressed (using various methods that I will probably never be able to replicate). The frame is simple, black wood.