Megan J Seiter

As a learning supplement, please enjoy the article below. Written by Megan, it details many aspects of her creative process.

Breaking Down the Drawing Process

As a young child I was surrounded by artists. My mother was a renowned calligrapher and the owner of a successful printing business. She was also part of a large community of local artists. Through my mother’s network of friends and colleagues I was exposed to a wide range of professional artists, including book binders, illustrators, calligraphers, and stone carvers. Though I enjoyed every kind of art-making, I was most fascinated with drawing.

Over the years I experimented with different mediums, but discovered that colored pencil best suited my penchant for precision and detail. I spent time doing hands-on research to find my ideal paper, brand of pencil, and type of sharpener. This was no small task. I found great satisfaction in collecting an ideal combination of tools for a medium that was, at the time, barely recognized in the fine art world. My toolbox consisted of Prismacolor Premier pencils (excellent for their range of colors), Caran d’Ache Luminance pencils (top quality, with good wax to pigment ratio), Colourfix Sanded Pastel Paper, a kneaded eraser to lighten or remove unwanted strokes, and a small Kum hand-held sharpener. It was a simple toolbox, but it really worked for me (if you haven’t tried any of these items, I would highly recommend them!). For about ten years I slowly trucked along focusing on honing my craft and developing my pencil technique. I was relatively blind to any developments happening in the colored pencil world. Not surprisingly, at the end of the ten years I needed a change of pace.

Hoping to spark inspiration with a new set of tools, I went on a mission to find any new papers and pencils that had reached the market. I found an abundance of products that hadn’t previously been available, and was delighted to also find a much larger community of colored pencil artists that were posting tutorials and reviews online. The next few months were a frenzy of trying new tools, new techniques, and watching time-lapse videos of colored pencil drawings. I re-discovered the joy of learning. I also realized the value in staying connected with an art community. I found inspiration, gathered new ideas, and was able to share both accomplishments and failures with fellow artists. 

Now, in the midst of this pandemic, the need for camaraderie is more present than ever. I hope that I can spark a little bit of inspiration by sharing my methods and techniques! Here is a step-by-step of my process:

Inspiration

I continue to be inspired by a mix of artistic professions, just as when I was a child. I make an effort to expose myself to calligraphers, florists, sculptors, and farmers markets, which all help me to think outside of the colored pencil box. For each specific drawing, finding a subject that lights me up is key. 

Photo Shoot

For the first half of my career I worked from life, and I loved the unique challenge of converting a 3D object into a 2D drawing. However now that I’m a mom of a toddler, I have limited time in the studio and limited space where little hands can’t find mischief. Working from a reference photo allows me to continue to draw things like fruits and flowers before they decay. I work with a fairly basic set of photography tools, as I am not a professional photographer. There are better tools out there, but I work with what I already have in the studio. Here’s what I use: 

• A Canon 5D

• A tripod: this is important if you’re looking to create a highly detailed drawing — you’ll want a crisp, in-focus photo!

• Large white and black foam core: many of my drawings don’t have any contextual background, so I use these as the surface and the backdrop for my subjects. I also use them to manipulate the light. White foam core can be used to bounce light, which gives a little bit more illumination to the subject and can also be used to lighten the shadows. Black foam core can be used against the window to block out the natural light. It can create a sliver of light by blocking most of the window, or it can leave most of the window unblocked, allowing lots of light through (see photos).

• Glassine: Glassine is semi-transparent, so it works well as a diffuser. I tape a piece of glassine to my window when I’m looking for a subtle natural lighting effect (see photos).

At the beginning of my process, I put one piece of foam core on a table, and prop another piece up at a 90 degree angle, to use as a backdrop. If I have a specific color palette in mind for the drawing, I’ll tack a colored piece of paper to the foam core. I take tons of photos, adjusting the camera settings, the angle of the shot, the amount of light coming through the window, and the arrangement of the subjects. Any one of these adjustments can make an enormous difference in the final composition and feel of your drawing (see photos).

I take photos throughout the day to capture the sunlight with varying levels of intensity. I always take breaks to check my photos on the computer, instead of just looking through the camera viewfinder. That way I can take a step back to see what I need to adjust to get the composition and lighting just right. The final step in my photo process is to choose a final reference photo. I put my top 10 or 15 options in a folder on my computer, sleep on it, and make my choice the next day with a fresh pair of eyes. 

Drawing

I’ve seen many colored pencil artists that print out their reference photo and post it next to their drawing, which is worth a try. Visually, it helps to ensure that your shadows are as deep as the darkest part of your reference photo. Personally, I prefer to work from a photo on my computer so that I can zoom in to see the fine bits of detail. 

• Paper: I’ve settled in to using one of two papers: Canson Mi-Teintes Touch Pastel Paper and Legion Rising Museum Board. The pastel paper (which comes in many colors) is hardy and can handle more layers of pencil than other papers. The finished drawing has a lovely effect, and the pencil doesn’t look as waxy as it would on smoother paper. Museum board (which comes in shades of white, black and grey) is not as toothy as pastel paper, but it can stand up to many layers of pencil while offering a smoother drawing surface.

• Pastels and Watercolors: Some of my drawings are 100% colored pencil, but others require a little bit of help from pastels and watercolors. I apply both of these before I start to use any colored pencil. I turn to Pan Pastels to fill in large areas of color and shadow in the background of some drawings. They can be applied in several layers with art sponges, and colors blend together seamlessly (the process is also very fast, compared with colored pencil!). If I’m working on a white or light colored paper, I also use watercolor (pencils, pens, or water-soluble colored pencils all work) to fill in the deep areas of shadow. This allows me to achieve a deeper value than I can reach with pencil on its own. It also gives more depth to the drawing, and quickly fills in the fibers of your paper.

• Pencils: I use several brands of pencils, notably the Luminance set by Caran d’Ache. They’re high quality, long lasting, deeply pigmented, soft, lightfast wax-based pencils. I also work with Caran d’Ache Pablos and Prismacolor Premiers. In detailed areas of each drawing, I apply the Prismacolor and Caran d’Ache pencils in many light layers, so that I can build vibrancy and depth in the drawing before the paper becomes too saturated with wax. Light pressure is key! I turn to oil-based Faber Castell Polychromos for areas of the drawing with a softer focus, where less detail is needed. These pencils are a little bit more chalky and pastel-like, and can be blended with tortillions. 

• Sharpeners and Tools: I use two brands of hand-held sharpeners: Mobius & Ruppert brass pencil sharpener and Kum wood sharpener. I have a stockpile of back-up sharpeners and blades because they’ll dull over time, making it impossible to get a fine point on the pencil. I use kneaded erasers to lighten or erase, and either a Tombo eraser pencil or a SumoGrip electric eraser to erase in fine detail areas. I’ve also started experimenting with Slice tools to gently carve out light lines in a dark area (see photo).