There's A Bad Moon On The Rise
Michelle and I are working on some projects that take a little longer than a week or two to complete, record, edit, and post. And when that happens, we try to fill some of the gaps in the YouTube schedule with simpler, quicker projects. Case in point, this week's review of An American Werewolf In London accompanied by a digital sketch of poor David Kessler's nightmare.
If you've seen the movie (and, honestly, if you haven't...what's the deal?), you probably remember that after the deadly attack on the moors by an "escaped lunatic" David recuperates in a British hospital, barely ever conscious, and dreaming of very dark things. One of those dreams involves seeing himself in a hospital bed, being cared for by a nurse, and suddenly turning into a pale-faced, bloody-fanged monster with red-rimmed eyes and a taste for flesh.
That's the image we decided to capture for this week's video. I'm working in Affinity — the free download —and I'm still getting used to the slightly different interface from their classic Affinity Photo. I'm also trying out more of my new digital brushes from True Grit Texture Supply.
The Rusty Nib brushes I picked up from TGTS are made to emulate actual ink on actual paper — complete with rough edges, bleeds, stuttered or scratch lines, and drop out. They have an organic feel, an imperfection, a looseness that's perfect for a drawing of a frantic, wild-eyed wolf man's nightmare.
Because of the digital brush I chose (Blue Note Bleeder) the inks look like nothing I’d normally turn out with my brushes or dip pens. And I like that. There’s a frantic, chaotic nature to the lines that fit the mood of the piece. The Rusty Nib set of brushes has dozens more options and I’m looking forward to cycling through them to see what other gems it might offer.
I finished the piece off with a random, desperate selection of other various chalk brushes in my kit. Honestly, I need to find some nice dry media brushes that offer the same quality as those Rusty Nib inkers. I'll keep you updated on that search. In the meantime, I'll keep working my way through these inkers, and finishing up those long-term projects.
If you want to see how the David Kessler piece turned out (and hear Michelle and I have a spoiler-filled discussion about An American Werewolf In London) the video link is down below.