Thanks, I really appreciate it! I would say that a major key is working in layers, somewhat like you would if you were working digitally. I prefer Golden acrylic paints and usually use soft lead, Prismacolor pencils.

I'll start out with a pencil sketch on either heavyweight Bristol board or illustration board, and then spray it with workable fixative. After it dries (I use a hair dryer to speed it up), I paint a wash of a medium toned color, usually sepia, across the entire image. From there I'll pick out the darkest, dark points in the image and build towards the final stages of highlights.

In between layers of color and detail I'll paint a layer of Golden acrylic matt medium. This will kill some of the contrast; however, when you find yourself re-darkening the darkest points of the image again, it will begin to build more depth. I don't think there's any limit to how many times you might want to do this. It's worth experimenting with different amounts of layers, and how thin or thick you lay down the matt medium. It can be particularly helpful when painting high levels of detail like pores because it will create a more subtle effect to everything and an enhanced illusion of dimensionality. Another benefit I've noticed is that the dried brush strokes of matt medium will create an interesting texture/grit for the colored pencils, and those can be layered as well. However, just make sure you spray fix the pencil before applying another layer of matt medium or else the matt medium will just smear the pencil.

More importantly than anything else is to not begin working opaquely. I am constantly adjusting the water to paint ratio as I paint, and dabbing off paint and water to make sure my layers are transparent. I can't emphasis enough that it's really important to use thin washes of color and build towards a more opaque look. It just helps to add so much more depth. It's a more laborious task than painting alla prima, but I think the results are worth it. It helps someone like myself who grew up only drawing with a pencil to adjust to developing a strong painting style.

This method is really just a take on grisaille painting. You could easily paint/draw all of your image in greyscale and then layer by layer tint the image with thin washes of color. In fact, I think I did just that for this assignment. The colored pencil really isn't even necessary, but I think it's fun to combine them and see what kind of results I can achieve. Sometimes I'll use watercolor, pens or markers too and layer it up. Golden also makes some great heavy-pigmented liquid acrylics that are great for painting in transparent layers as well.

Anyway, I hope that helps! I picked up most of this from a great teacher and illustrator, Dave Groff, at Columbus College of Art and Design.

Thank you so much!

Thanks very much!

Thanks very much!

Thanks!