Stepping back to observe at the progress of the color palette of my graphic medicine memoir. This is color pencil, ink, and digital rendering.
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My recent process:
sketch a panel in non-photo blue pencil
scan it digitally
adjust the blue tone
adjust the black and white level to deepen the blue further
convert the blue to black and white
adjust the black and white levels again
fill areas with variations of 50% grey
The pencils that give me the feel and line I prefer are Staedtler non-photo blue pencils. I have tried others but every brand feels different when pressed against paper. These Staedtler pencil aren't too hard or too soft...but lean, for sure, on the soft side. Currently, the cost about $2.25 a piece.
A bit of a peek at how a two-page spread evolved: pencils to digital scan to Photoshop.
There is no text on these two panels. It is a transition from a conversation between Maurice and Father Carrillo in Venezuela to Maurice taking Father Carrillo (and us) across the room to a newspaper.
Maurice's finger point not only communicates we are going across the room but also is a nudge for the reader to turn the page--we are moving here--our eyes move and the reader feels a smooth transition from one topic to the next as we turn the page.
In the final image you can see the book spine seam cut through the image of the chair.
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