![\"Pots](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PotSellerpencil-300x222.jpg\")
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Back in October, when I was doing some cons, I took my sketch book along. In between customers, I drew this over-sized, mini dwarf guy. I was enamored with him and especially the cranky pig pulling the cart. I decided to finalize the idea as my first postcard project mailer for 2015.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG_0195lores\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_0195lores-300x225.png\")
![\"IMG_0208\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_0208-242x300.jpg\")
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The original sketch, while charming, was lacking in both depth and story, so I redrew it to add more dimension and perspective. Lacking both a pig and a cart for reference, I made a cart out of a file folder, and a pig’s foot out of some clay. You know the kind, the actual dirt and mud type clay, not sculpty-type. I have about 8 pounds of the stuff. Now I had 3 dimensional reference.<\/p>\n
Once I had the reference, I took pictures of the resulting models, and came up a with a new sketch. I gave the both the dwarf and the pig more personality and added movement to the cart, pots and pans. The postcard project was in full swing.<\/p>\n
After a year or so struggling to get digital painting to look like traditional watercolor and being unsatisfied with the results, I decided to go back to my true love of transparent watercolors. However, I am still utilizing digital tools. One of the things I dreaded the most of the traditional art process was the laborious transfer of final sketch to watercolor paper. I have a huge light box. I used to tape my sketch to the glass and place the watercolor paper on top. I had to wait for full dark until I could trace the sketch on to the paper with pencil. It was a long, backbreaking and nit-picky process. Now, I use Adobe Illustrator to do my line work. Much easier to make adjustments and not have to worry about damaging the tooth of the watercolor paper. Once I am happy with the inking phase, I print it out on my large format printer right on the paper.<\/p>\n
![\"potsellervillageCRIT11-19-14\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/potsellervillageCRIT11-19-14-300x214.jpg\")
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The painting process begins as soon as the printer ink has time to set. About 30 minutes seems to be optimum. Less time than that and it tends to run.<\/p>\n
Adding color is the most fun part of the postcard project for me. I love watching my characters come to life. They do tend to take on a personality of their own as painting progresses.<\/p>\n
![\"WIP-1-WIPW11-26-14\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-1-WIPW11-26-14-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-2-IMG_0224\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-2-IMG_0224-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-3-IMG_0226\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-3-IMG_0226-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-4-IMG_0227\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-4-IMG_0227-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-5-IMG_0224\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-5-IMG_0224-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-6-IMG_0224\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-6-IMG_0224-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-7-IMG_0224\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-7-IMG_0224-300x225.jpg\")
![\"WIP-8-IMG_0224\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WIP-8-IMG_0224-300x225.jpg\")
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Once the traditional painting phase is complete, I scan the image back into the computer and do final retouching in Photoshop. You can see from the final image below, I adjusted values on the cart and the background, darkened areas of the dwarf and removed the cross-bar shadows under the cart. (They were distracting and confusing.)<\/p>\n
![\"Email-PotSeller-Front\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Email-PotSeller-Front-300x202.jpg\")
For the postcard itself, I added my name and website in a band of yellow. The back of the card is black and white and included the rest of my contact information.<\/p>\n
All the cards got mailed out this week. I feel good about getting a\u00a0 head start my quarterly postcard mailings. Maybe this year I will even hit my target goal of four mailings.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG_0240\"](\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_0240.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"