For this exercise I ultimately decided to draw in the style of Tin Tin. This was a decision I came to after trying out Marjane Satrapi’s style in Persepolis, where I drew the view from my window. I was unimpressed by the final result. I picked the style as it is different to how I usually draw, however I felt the final result was lacking. This inspired my change to Herge’s style.
I used a photo of my nephews for my final image. I am better impressed by the result. I feel that I am more suited to being able to add detail to an image.
The colours in the painting didn’t come out as vibrant as I would have liked. If the green had been brighter it would have improved the image. I am still having trouble using watercolours though, so this is probably due to my lack of skill with the medium. This also contributed to the failed attempts before the final piece, where I wore down the paper due to too much water. This resulted in holes in the paper.
Getting a consistent smooth colour turned out harder than I had thought. Matching the colours wasn’t too hard, however laying the paint down so that it wouldn’t change opacity turned out to be a challenge. This was alright when painting the wood, as it added a wood like texture, but wasn’t what I was trying to achieve for the rest of the image. Herge’s colours were always single toned.
Lining the image didn’t work as well as expected either. Having layered watercolour onto the page, it kept the fine liner from working at it’s best and I had trouble getting it on the page. Because of this I switched to a brush pen. This caused many inconsistencies with the weight of the line, unlike the work seen in Tin Tin, where the lines were smooth and consistent. I also lost control of the pen at some points, which resulted in lines where they shouldn’t be.
I am pleased with the final look of the boys as they look a fair bit like my nephews. I like the shade of skin I made how it is mostly consistent throughout. I also think that the little blushed cheeks have laid well and blend as I wanted.
I drew as much of the background as I could so as to draw the ”world”. I think that it brings life to the picture.
I used watercolour and ink as this is what Herge is said to have used on Tin Tin.
Illustration log 