Selfridge's I (Mae and Pimble)

Lady Mae and Pimble.

This is the first (of fifteen) in a series of practice pieces painted in Manga Studio 5, based on screen caps from season two of 'Mr Selfridge'.

I had a lot of false starts on this one as I was trying to pin down a regular way of working. I've been trying to simulate traditional painting techniques in Manga Studio (imprimatura, underpainting/ebauche, glazing, etc.). I more or less gave up though and just color-blocked it, glazing the colors later on to harmonize them (using layers set to 'soft light'). I don't successfully use an underpainting until the ninth in this series (Kitty).

I also struggled with what exactly to do with the line drawing. I like keeping it on top of the paint layers since I paint faster when I can see it clearly. After this painting I simply resign myself to selectively erasing lines using a layer mask while I paint. I don't completely trash the lines since they become a part of the painting to me.

(Finished March 5, 2015)