In this tutorial I share how I applied a simple drawing technique known as crosshatching to sculpting form and mixing color in a portrait I created in Corel Painter IX. Crosshatching is exactly what it sounds like-the application of repeated thin lines that intersect and cross over each other at various angles. Typically used in pencil and ink drawings to describe shadows, I used it in this example with color both to describe shadow and to highlight areas. You can see the finished result here.

This portrait (http://www.jeremysutton.com/brian.html) was commissioned by a client, Brian Hauck. It was created from observation, as you can see in these photos of the portrait sitting.

I used the new Wacom 6D Art Pen on a Wacom Intuos 3 6x8 tablet for this portrait. I started by creating an abstract background using Jeremy's MishMash Scumble, Sherron's Blender Wood and the modern art in a can brush, all brushes from Jeremy Faves 2.0 brush category which comes with my new book, Painter IX Creativity: Digital Artist's Handbook.

I specifically started with an abstract background to set a contrast for my crosshatching brush strokes. I then used the Tapered Gouache from the Art Pens brush category (a new category of brushes, available from www.corel.com, specially made to take advantage of the rotational properties of the Art Pen) to create my main outlines.

After establishing the main outlines, laying down the framework of the composition, I started building up the structure within the face using a series of thin lines of varying colors. I used colors that created the impression of the right amount of light and shade. Through this use of color to depict light and shade I sculpted my form on the canvas, creating the illusion of a three-dimensional face.

I ran into a problem when I thought I was close to being done and I asked Brian, the model, what he thought of it. He loved the colors and textures but thought his eyes looked too small and too close together. He was right! I painted over the eyes and redid them.

I love working into eyes. Even when working from a photograph (which I wasn't in this example), I still like to go to town with the myriad of colors in the iris. You can see in this detail shown here how I used crosshatching around the eyes and added nuances and reflections within the iris.

If you look carefully at this detailed crosshatching around the eye you may notice how I've frequently used colors in the crosshatch strokes that complement the colors behind the strokes, that is, they come from opposite sides of the hue ring ("color wheel") in the Corel Painter IX Colors palette. In other parts of the painting I have used analogous colors on top of each other, that is, colors next to each other on the hue ring. See if you can spot where the crosshatching is complementary and where it is analogous to the background color.

Part of the power of color crosshatching is that your eye mixes the adjacent spots of colors, the crosshatch color with the background color, the way your eyes mix colors when viewing the beautiful paintings of Impressionists like Claude Monet. This is a phenomenon known as optical color mixing, which can give added vibrancy and life to a painting.

Also note the direction of the hatches, generally stroking either along or perpendicular to the slope of the form. I use the stroke direction to describe how the topography of the face changes, like painting altitude contours on a map.

I completed the painting by printing it out at 40" x 52" on canvas (Digital Art Supplies Water Resistant Canvas) using the EPSON Stylus Pro 9600 wide format printer (with UltraChrome pigment inks) and adding acrylic paint and Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble pastels. You can see some of the added media in these close-ups of the final painting.

Whether you're working from photographs or from life, I recommend you have a go at crosshatching. It's a fun, easy technique that can give some stunning results.

To develop your skills at crosshatching, start making drawings in the sketchbook that comes with Corel Painter IX, using sharp soft pencils (such as a 4B pencil) and thin ink pens. Make crosshatch marks that vary from thick, dense and dark to thin, feint and light. Apply your full range of marks in sketching from life, whether it is sketching people, objects or landscapes. There is no substitute for developing your drawing skills in traditional media before applying them in Corel Painter IX.

Happy crosshatching!

Cheers,
Jeremy