Sad, Sad, Teddy Bear (Groan Folks Books Project)

So, here is another illustration from the Groan Folks book project I have been working on with my brother for the past two years or so.

Click on the pic to see a larger image

Here is something that perhaps other students of art encounter.  When I look at a fine example of a watercolor painting or even a fine example of a finished pencil drawing or illustration or ink sketch, it is not uncommon for you to see some remaining underlying pencil marks.  In some ways, I think this is intriguing because you can see how the artist began the work and you can see some of the drafting --> painting process at work.  Also, sometimes you can't really see the underlying pencil marks unless you get really close to the work, and if you have ever looked at a van Gogh painting up close, you will realize that the real effect of any work of art is not 2" away from the work or under a microscope, the real power is seeing it from afar or seeing it on an easel or a wall, anywhere from 3 to 20 feet away from you.  So, on one hand, I think underlying pencil strokes that show through in the final product are not only acceptable but awesome.

BUT, on the other hand, sometimes when I see my own underlying pencil marks, I get very frustrated and self-conscious.  First, because if I think the drawing or illustration is "done", then I don't particularly want to get into the process or erasing those lines and then trying to re-draw that exact shade of shadow or line and sync it up with the other lines and shadow in the piece.

Click to view larger and see the "early" pencil line(s) that remain

If you are not in the same frame of mind or month or year that you did that drawing, trying to go back and re-create the conditions in which you worked is like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.  When these drawings are printed on paper the size of normal children's picture books, you don't see the offending lines.  But I know they are there, and I am still unsure how I feel about them.  In one minute I say, "it's done, so it's done" and then I will turn around and say "that was just a draft.  I will re-do the whole thing over again."

You can see the "offending" pencil line here without even seeing the larger image.

Here is the dangerous part: I know about re-scaling images and Photoshopping images and printing resolution, so in the back of my mind I know that many imperfections magically disappear when scanned, processed, and printed, and this worries me that I will be (or have been) lazy in my efforts.  I think the key is to keep drawing, revising, more drawing, and do what feels right in the future in terms of fine polishing my pencil drawings, but it is a concern that continues to nag at my very soul.

BONUS BLOG POST!  What?  Bonus blog post?  That's right.  I am crossing my fingers, slapping myself in the face, shouting to myself, "You will sketch every day!" and thus was born The Ink Puddle Sketchbook @ http://sketches.inkpuddle.com.  We will see how long it lasts.