Pen and ink drawings on frosted mylar (e.g. Duralene) can be scratched with a sharp tool (such as a scratchboard cutting tool) giving exciting scratchboard or woodcut-like effects. Another advantage of drawing on mylar is that is transparent so you can place the film over a preliminary sketch as a guide. Some pens smear easily on the mylar surface. I did this drawing with black fine-point and bullet-point Sharpie markers which do not smear. I do not like to use mylar in the field but it is a useful medium for studio work.
Let’s look at how this technique can be used to create a loose study of an Alder grove. Click on the first illustration to start a step-by-step annotated slideshow.
Make a broken jiggly line around the edge of the tree. Make your marks consistently inconsistent. Avoid the monotonous “cloud edge” line of a cartoon tree.
Add random “leaf marks” across the line to break up the edge. Make these marks in a few spots around the edge rather than the entire tree margin.
Place the trunks of your major foreground trees.
Scribble in shadows below the major leaf masses.
Use hatching to extend the shadow areas.
Ground the trees into areas of shadow. Make irregular marks on the ground to suggest clumps of grass. As you make these marks, sculpt both the top edge and the bottom edge to look grass-like. The bottom edge can suggest the tops of light grasses in front of the dark area. Note how the background trunks (in shadow), add depth.
Darken and fill some of the lower shadow areas with a broad Sharpie marker.
Add a little detail- bark lines and loose branches. A little goes a long way.
With a sharp scratching tool, carve white trunks into the black shadows. This if fun- again try not to overdo it. If you carve out too much, you can always cover the scratches back up with more ink.
Fill in the tree tops with hatching. A fast, loose and convincing woodland.
