2nd try learning from Lee Kow Fong

I can't get good with just one try, so I gathered what I learned from my first attempt and gave it another go. I realised that Lee Kow Fong drew bigger. That allows for more detailing. So I drew bigger too, something I'm not so used to after drawing in my A5 sketchbook for so long.

I also realised that I didn't need to put in the pen lines and darker pencil lines only after I applied the watercolours. I could draw them in first. That way, I could see clearly the lines for the main characters and foreground plants.

I also realised that I don't have the same colours he uses. But that's ok. My goal is to learn his principles but I can stick to my own colour preferences. I'm not trying to make my paintings look exactly like his. That is what he likes his painting to look and I have my own preferences.

I started trying to adjust the tonal values here, figuring out which part should be lighter or darker in tonal values. My main goal was to make sure the main characters stand out. But some parts of the background should also stand out a bit. I was also deciding if this should be a warmer scene or cooler scene.

From here I just wanted some privacy away from the camera. So I finished it after much adding more paint here and there, using wet on wet techniques. Adding shadows. Then I added more lines and textures using the Mars Lumograph black pencil and Faber Castell Polychromos colour pencils. I think I might have overdid it! I certainly went beyond the simplicity Lee Kow Fong has. Mine looks a lot more heavy and textured. But, not comparing, I'd say it still looks decent.

 But I'd require more practice to get to that level of simplicity his watercolour paintings have. Maybe I'm just thinking too much! Gotta relax more, don't care so much, don't try so hard and just have fun.

 

Trying a style outside my comfort zone is certainly uncomfortable. But that's how I grow.