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Following on from my previous post on Willys Bubbles, on framing drafting film, i thought i would investigate a little further to work out which backing option i am going to go with when framing this piece. When doing a drafting film piece its always important to consider this, as your final result will be impacted by this and will mean that you will need to push or pull colours or highlights to compensate.

Its really hard to see the differences in these crude photos but you can slightlyso let me start. What i have done is display the artwork with different coloured card / paper behind them. You can see i have indicated the colour underneath each one.

The most noticable difference happens if you look at the ones with the light and the dark colours. eg. On the white one you can see the highlights on the face look quite exaggerated and harsh, kinda makes him look angry especially for a child where you dont want this look, whereas on the black or dark colour the highlights are not as obvious they seem to blend together more, its softer. In real life the differences are more obvious and the trade off is that on dark backgrounds the skin tones are a bit grey and colours not as vibrant (which is why i made them so bright as i was working) so its important to note that if you are going to do a piece like this and going to have it on a dark backing card you will need to make sure you make your whites white by working on the back and the front of the film, otherwise they will look grey. But if your artwork is prodominately a “light” coloured piece you may opt for a “light backing” so as not to make it too hard for yourself, use it to your advantage.

I haven’t decided 100% as yet but i think i will go with the mid-tone backing, most likely the brown or grey. The black looks actually not too bad but i think it might just be pulling the colours back a tad. I will take the final photo once i decide

“Willys Bubbles” WIP – coloured pencil on drafting film

Here is a photo of this is progressing and while i am here i thought i would post

3 things I Love Love Love about working on drafting film

• 1. You can erase back to the original surface with no deterioration of the surface in seconds, so unlike if your working on paper, if its not working just erase it with a normal eraser and start again no evidence, even 6-7 layers of pencil (drafting film doesn’t take much more than that)its just too easy.

• 2. It’s fast, so much faster than paper, this sized artwork would have taken me probably about double the time at least to get to the same stage on paper.
• 3. I can double check my drawing on my original reference at almost anytime by placing it over the top of it, during the production, so for things like eyes and fine details in portraits you can refer back quickly and easily. its amazing how often the original drawing and even your shadows etc get out of wack as you go along.

Drafting Film Supplies
Note to Australian Residents, especially in the Central Coast area, i have noted there are two different versions of “drafting film” available in my local area even though they are still called drafting film. The drafting film i am using for this artwork is (i think) equivalent to what they call “Mylar” in the US, its slightly opaque and very silky / smooth.
The supply I am using I bought on a recent visit to Sydney. My local art shop supplies a version which is a little more “papery” if that’s a word a texture a bit like tracing paper. The latter does not give the same effect. The cost different is usually also an indicator the papery version being about $2- an A2 sheet where as the better version about $6-.

This is one i started a few weeks ago and which i put aside and never when back to. You can see the begining of it here.

It’s been sitting there waiting to be done, one of the things on the list to do . I am glad i finished it. To be honest i was fighting the drafting film with this one. I think i am getting used to moving the colour around more with the neocolours and stonehenge. So maybe my technique is changing.

Here is bit of a piece that i have started on drafting film.

Why drafting film you ask ? Well why not? i have only done 1 other peice my White Horse on drafting film and liked the effect i wanted to give it another whirl, also to have some smaller pieces for the market i am going to. So when i started i struggled at bit as i needed to adjust my style and techniques from the last pear i did on paper. So this prompted me to write a little list of 5 things i like about drafting film. ( i have to admit this is not selfless act, i will now at least have a note of it so that i can remember for next time)

5 Things i love about drafting film

Here is the begining of my drafting film piece. More to come soon i hope.

“Whitehorse” – 5X7″ or 18X13cm coloured pencil on drafting film

Well i think i am just about done on this one YAY! .. Its the first one i have finished in a long time. I still have a few tweaks to do but this is almost done. This was my first drafting film piece i really like the texture of working on it. And love the fact i can work on the back. i havent sprayed yet. Will post the final final tomorrow