My pal's little boy turned 1 recently, so I did this spontaneous little painting for him. It was a quick and slightly painful exercise in gouache, which I'm not quite as familiar with as cel vinyl acrylic. Maybe I'm spoiled. Or just a big sissy.
A BIG tip of the hat to Don Shank (who does these little birthday paintings SO MUCH BETTER) for the inspiration.
4" x 6" gouache on watercolor paper.
February 19, 2010
Birthday Mouse
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14 comments:
wow to cute
Emmett points at this painting every morning when we bring him into our bedroom, Drake. No joke! When we go to hand it to him he gets all giddy and excited. He loves his birthday mouse. Thanks again! (an official thank-you is forthcoming BTW)
That's solid, I love the gradient in the ears. I've always been afraid of gouache. ok, now I'm inspired to do it.
wow i would never guess you were uncomfortable with gouache! looks great!
Thanks much, guys and gal!
Damon - Thanks!
Ian - Most welcome! That warms my heart! I'm really happy to hear he likes it so much.
Anne - Thanks! Yes, go for it!
Brad - Thanks! Gouache mixes a lot different (it feels stickier to me) and sometimes dries 2 to 3 shades darker and with a different hue. I think I just need to use it a little more.
fun little painting!
Haha he has a cheesecake - literally! This is fab-o! Great colours and mousey is just way too cute! This would make such a brilliant greeting card!
Truely excellent work! Like Brad said, who would know you were uncomfortable with gouache! You would rate acrylics as nicer/better/more forgiving than gouache then...? Every time I visit and see your exceptionally good originals I feel compelled to make the jump (I usually stick with digital and watercolour). Big coincidence though as I've just been sounded out for a childs birthday painting commission...mavbe nows the time to open my acrylics in anger...?! Pardon my ignorance but are regular acrylics and your cel vinyl acrylics massively different beasts...? Any advice sir.
Allyn - Thank you!
Bee - Thanks much! The cheesecake was indeed a little visual pun. :)
J.Etienne - Thanks!
Matt - Thank you, Sir! I think it all depends on your comfort level with the medium. I know gouache people that won't be swayed, but I've also helped turn some on to the wonders of cel-vinyl acrylic (aka cel paint). I like that it's easier to mix (for me) and is less fragile than gouache. The color also dries closer to what you see wet than gouache does.
To answer your question, yes cel vinyl is indeed a different animal than standard acrylic. It's far more opaque (like gouache), it's self-leveling (also like gouache) and it dries matte (another gouach-y characteristic). In addition, it paints very smooth... almost no friction. It behaves like acrylic in that you can do washes and glazes without disturbing the layer below (take that, gouache!). It also dries super fast, so it's important to manage the dampness of your paint and surface.
I get mine from cartooncolour.com. Not sure if they ship to the UK, but a close alternative are acrylic gouache paints. I believe chromacolour.com ships everywhere, but I can't vouch for their quality.
Drake- Thanks so much for your in depth introduction to cel vinyl... I really do appreciate it! A quick google has turned up a couple of suppliers in the UK (chromacolour as you say, and also LeFranc Vinyl). Given the cost I think I'll experiment at first with the highs and lows with the standard acrylics I already have. Although, in saying that, it sounds like gouache might be a better 'gateway paint' into the world of cel vinyl acrylics, might well get a set asap. Once, I hope, I've got comfortable, I'll step up to the big table and try to follow in your inspiring footsteps sir!
This turned out awesome!! I love the shapes
Hey ! Didn't realize you were in Seattle! We need to grab a beer dude ! :)
sooo great design!! i don´t like ratss...but in this one i do a exception.
Hey Drake, I really like your blog. And this piece is just lovely! Reminds me a little of Pixar's Ratatouille. Very neat work and clean technique. Suggestion: you should do a time-lapse video of yourself painting sometime. I'm curious to see how exactly you use the sponge & celluloid masking technique to create those Samurai Jack like rich colorful backgrounds.
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