Art by Erika Taguchi-Newton

Friday, July 9, 2010

Skyspa - Experiment with Gold Leaf

Skyspa - Final

Last few weeks, I've been having a ball doing this illustration. I started out with building a maquette of the flying vespa that Rocketgirl is riding. A little bit of kit-bashing and some clay, the "skyspa" is made out of a plastic Vespa die-cast and a B-25 model. The hobby shop guy was first very confused when I told him my plan, but soon got into it and gave me great model-making tips.

WIP - Skyspa Maquette

Then to make it even more hard on myself, I decided to try a new technique with gold leaf. Used through out history, from religious iconography, Klimt, to tramp art, I've always had a soft spot for gold leaf. Everything I read about it told me I should use oils, but I just didn't have the time. So I experimented with acrylics, and found a way to work with it. I hope to improve my technique in the future. Here's my test:

Rocketgirl - gold leaf test

I'm really happy with the finish product. Unfortunately it doesn't photograph or scan well, so I don't know how the prints will come out. Obviously, the prints won't have the metallic finish.

I had to do a pretty detailed final sketch before transferring to board. Since I couldn't really draw on the gold, I needed a good reference to go by.

WIP - Skyspa sketch

I also entered it in the Pinkghost's group art show - "Screw Nostalgia - I Want the Future". It should be a great show with awesome artists, so stop by if you are in town. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it for opening night (July 17th), but the exhibit is month long.