WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

After choosing all the elements, I decided that we would shoot outside at 3:00 PM when the sun was where I wanted it. Leigh shot picture after picture. Nothing was working. There were just too many shadows and too many "hot spots." I finally decided that we would try the studio. It just didnt seem logical when I would be standing in the sunlight at 10,000 feet in hot sun light in the final "pencil." Well what do I know? The shots in the studio where absolutely perfect. Our studio has one very large window 10' wide by 6' high facing due east. At 4:30 in the afternoon the indirect light was just right.

I had Leigh put the Sony "Cybershot" DSC-F717 camera down just off the floor. This camera has the feature of being able to turn the lens so you can view your subject looking straight down into the viewfinder. I had her shoot me at an angle from well below eye level. This would give of the desired effect of being higher than I really am. I have to look like I'm at 10,000 feet and not sea level.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

After picking one from the many digital shots Leigh took, I loaded the one that I decided on into PhotoShop7. The first thing that I always do is adjust the "levels." I bring out anything that I think that I will need to see better when I do my "pencil." I usually "dodge & burn" these areas. My next step is to draw very actuate paths with the "pen tool" around all parts of me and the rifle, including the holes around the rifle scope and the leather strap. This lets me make a selection of myself. I then go to "inverse" and hit "delete." This removes the studio background.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I then picked the background I was going to place behind me. It was a photograph of the mountains that look just like a certain area where I hunt and guide in Wyoming. Nowhere in this world is so special to me as this is in the month of October. "HEAVEN AT 10,000 FEET." This was added in as a layer behind my studio shot. I drew paths around the mountaintops and deleted the original sky.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

The Wyoming mountain photo had a sky that had no clouds at all. I wanted clouds. I went through my "sky" photos and chose a "perfect" shot. I then added this layer in to the shot of me.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

With all the layers turned on you get to see what my final reference photograph for my "pencil" looks like.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I then convert the PhotoShop piece to black and white or "grayscale." This lets me see more what the "pencil" will look like. I find it easier to use this to look at when drawing. This is what I print out at 100% size. This black and white print will be the same size of the actual "pencil." I do print out a large size color version so I can see some of the very small details as I draw. The same size black and white print will be the copy that I use to transfer my main outlines on to my illustration.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I want to totally kick myself for not shooting and scanning the phases of the "Heaven pencil" it's self. I do have one photograph of the "WIP." This was about 16 hours in. I had 6 hours in my hat, head and neck area alone. I wish I had more to show of this piece as a "WIP."

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

This is the reason that I decided to take you though the complete steps of Leigh's "pencil." I will be posting these steps from here on out. I have Leigh's reference photo and PhotoShop work complete. Stay tuned!

Here is the final before the "sepia" effect was applied with "hue & saturation" in PhotoShop.

Please feel free to "jump in" and leave any comments or questions.--Denny

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I said earlier that some of you wanted to see me draw a woman, I not only heard it from you, Leigh has been after me to do one also for some time. I did one of her when I first met her, but father snatched that on up. So here we go.

In my mind I came up with the pose and how I what everything to be. I do not like just doing the typical face portrait. I decided that I wanted her posed in the sitting position. I wanted her in some jewelry. I wanted her holding her favorite camera. Here comes my first problem. The Sony camera I wanted her holding was the one that I needed to take the photograph with. Our other digital, the Olympus does not take the resolution that I need to see all the detail. So this is what I did. I had her holding the Olympus camera, and I took first shot.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I then took a close-up of the Sony with the Olympus it Leigh's hand at the same angle as the Olympus. I removed the background.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I then erased the Olympus from her hands and I placed the Sony in front of her empty hands.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I then drew paths around her hands with the "pen tool." BTW, the "pen tool" is over in your menus. See below. You can also see the paths I drew around Leigh's hands.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I make a copy of the original photo of Leigh and put this on top. In the first layer I have the original photo. Second layer (in front of original) I have put the picture of the Sony with the no background. I then make a copy of the original and place that in front of the camera. The paths that I drew around her hand and fingers allows me to make a selection on the top photo. I then go to "inverse" and delete the background on that layer leaving just her hand and fingers to go in front of the Sony on the next layer down. This looks like she is holding the Sony now. This selection also lets me erase the parts of the camera that will appear to be behind her fingers. At this point I go in and clone off her fingers and put back in the details that are on the original Sony shot. Are still with me?

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

OK, back to the tutorial. After I had all the pieces together and adjusted, I drew paths completely around Leigh so I could remove the studio background. I decided to let the underside of her jeans well lit from the carpet so I could see the detail when I pencil. You might have noticed that my wife is a "blonde" in this photo. She now has her hair back to her natural color of "brunette." The one advantage of her having the "blonde" in her hair, it will be a lot easier for me to see the detail in her hair. In the final "pencil" it will be "brunette" I promise you.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

Back in September of 1997 Leigh and I got married. The big highlight of the wedding was to be married in Pinedale, Wyoming. We were living in Wilmington, NC at the time. Leigh wanted to "see the country" so to speak so we loaded up the BMW and made the 2600-mile drive. After the wedding we spent a great bit of the time in Yellowstone National Park. I had been there many, many times, but for Leigh, it was her first trip. Almost anyone who has driven into that park for the first time is just about awe struck. I know I was in 1980 when I first saw it from the seat of a motorcycle. She just fell in love with the place, so I felt it was quite appropriate to pose her for this "pencil" in that background, doing what she so much likes to do.

With all this PhotoShop stuff, I hope you have not forgot that this all for "A Pencil For Leigh."

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

Now that I have the reference of Leigh the way I want it, I am ready to make my "hard copies." I make a large colored print on 11" x 17." This one I will use to see some of the smaller details better as I draw. I then convert the PhotoShop piece to "grayscale" to get a black and white that will be output from my printer at the same size of the "pencil" I will be doing. In this case the pencil will be an overall size of 8" x 9."

PS-Some of you wanted to know how and why I work in such a small size. First of all, I can and I will. Secondly, the smaller it is, the faster I can complete them. Thirdly, the image area of my Microtek flatbed scanner is 8.5" x 14." I want to be able to scan the pencil as one piece. I can splice the pieces together and no one would be able to ever tell the difference. I would just rather not do it. As I told Ashley Buckler one time when she asked I how I draw so small, being my usual smartass-self, I said, "I just draw little lines." But to be truthful, I do. I have pulled my original pencils out several times in front of some people who have seen them first on the internet, their first reaction is that they thought they would be 2-3 feet tall&no just 10" or so.

Alright, I am ready to trade in my MAC for a "pencil"...finally...

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

First I put 3/4" "drafting" tape around the exact area of my drawing area. I do this to make a sharp border, plus it protects the area that would be exposed if it is matted and framed. I use "drafting" tape for the reason that is not a sticky as regular masking tape. The original stuff sometimes will pull up the surface of your illustration board, especially after resting your hand on it for hours. After I get my 10" x 12" Cresent Illustration hot-press board ready to go, I take one of the same size black and white copies, flip it over, lay in on a smooth glass surface and I scribble all over the back with #3 pencil. I mean, completely SOILD! I will usually scribble across and then scribble up and down.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

OK, this where the "BIG CONTROVERSERY" comes in. "TO TRACE OR NOT TRACE!" You want to know my opinion? WATCH THIS!!

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

I was first taught this technique as young artist and it was later shown and taught in all my classes in art school. This is one of the most important method, techniques, what ever you want to call it, that I "ever" learned! PERIOD! This is a "tool" and if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, you tell them to see me!

If you don't take anything else away from this tutorial, please, please remember this part. This is a fool-proof way of getting an exact, I mean exact outline to start your drawings. I will make this statement again, as I did somewhere else here on AW, "Anyone can trace, but not just anyone can fill in the lines." Even using this technique, my "Heaven" piece still took me over 26 hours to complete. If anyone tells you that tracing is cheating, kindly hand them one of your tracings and let them fill it in. Tracings don't mean s#!t if you can't pull off the "art thing." Again, it's a "tool" as is a pencil, eraser or PhotoShop.

After you get the back of the copy covered with the #3 pencil, flip it back over and tape it into position on the illustration board with two pieces of tape along the top. This way you can keep flipping the copy up so you can see if you got all your major lines that you will need. Start and draw around every major line or any lines or details that you feel that is important on your drawing. I use a sharp #2 pencil. Don't push real hard. Don't mark or score the board, just push hard enough to transfer the graphite from the back of the copy to your illustration board. Be especially accurate around the face and the figures, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. The more accurate you are, the more lifelike your final will be.

WESTERN ARTWORK By Denny Karchner 03 Nov 2005

OK I am ready to draw...stay tuned...any questions??