Broom Ride!

Final painting

This image began with a vague idea of using inverted lines as an element. See the "wind" lines on the final painting above as an idea. The lines would suggest a strong directional movement, similar to the diagonal movement in "Little Witch with Frizzy Hair".

As my usual practice, I started with drawing thumbnails. In my mind, I had the image of a young witch riding her broom, surprised by a falling Star. Thumbnail 6 is probably the closest one to that image. Notice how I was fixated with the diagonal line.

Thumbnail set 1

I filled one more page with such thumbnails (not included in this post) and I realized that I was having a difficulty. I did not feel comfortable with the falling Star idea anymore. So I settled on the witch flying side by side with a Star (see 12).

Thumbnail set 2

I was short on time, so I posted the first pencil below.

First pass of pencil

I was not happy with the first pencil for a number of reasons. The characters do not intersect, so there is no cue of depth. Next, I find the Star pose awkward. So I stepped back to thumbnails, hoping to salvage the drawing. I experimented with adding a cat, who obviously would not enjoy flying. As a plus, it added humor to the image. I settled with the cat's expression on thumbnail 15.

Thumbnail set 3

Next, I spent longer time than usual on tightening the pencil—I did not want to regret this image just because I rushed the first pencil pass. I made sure Star and Cat intersect the Witch; I put some care on the wind lines; I added background clouds; I added ornaments to the broom... The result is this pencil drawing.

Pencil of the final drawing

After scanning the drawing, I felt that the Witch was lacking personality. I researched for ideas for witch accessories. Why did I not do this at the start, you ask? Well, that's because I was stupid. I found so many ideas that I decided that I would draw a series of witch characters after this drawing.

I decided to make the witch look "tribal" (for lack of a better word). She would be from Mexico. Thus the decorative patterns on her sleeves, hat, cape, pants, and broom. I also added sun-shaped brooch on her hat because why not? And I definitely overdid the hatching on the hat.

Inked final drawing

I was really happy with this inked image. Somehow I turned a rushed pencil into something decent. The next wave of issues is coloring... I did not plan for values. I had so much difficulty while painting that I promised myself to include values in future thumbnails.

I started coloring with color thumbnails. I knew I wanted a blue image, so the background color is always blue. I chose the color scheme on the right and started painting. 

Color thumbnails

This painting was unusual because I switched color scheme in the middle. The image below illustrates the color change. I painted the Star blue, a cool color, and the horizon orange, a warm color. I thought I could make this work, but I found it odd. So I made the Star yellow, a warm color, and the horizon blue, a cold color. I ended up with the formulaic cold background, warm foreground color scheme; but I felt it was the best option for this painting.

Color scheme change

Finally, in the process of painting, I found 2 unexpected things:

• A large bright object on the foreground (the Star) is awkward.
• Black clothes (the Witch's) are difficult to paint.

I will keep these in mind in future paintings.

I am happy with the final painting. Perhaps there are a few areas I could have done better, but it is not bad for an image with problematic start.