Having Helen Ward come in as a guest speaker was very motivational for me as an illustrator. I found looking through her portfolio very impressive, her work has such high levels of detail and she works in watercolours - a medium I favour but haven't practiced for a while. She was very insightful and able to give great advice on both using watercolours and also with working as an illustrator. Helen Ward's talk was a more intimate affair than previous guest speakers and I felt more comfortable asking questions.
I asked several questions, including:
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| An example of Helen Ward's work. |
How do you start an illustration?
She would draw outlines with ink first and will then paint in watercolour afterwards.
How much time a day would to spend working?
A reasonable amount of time, starts working around lunchtime and depending on how it is going can work through until late evening.
What do you use the spray bottle of water in her toolbox for?
It is used to either make her line art bleed and become fuzzy, or to make a sky or water effect.
Do you work in sections?
Helen said she would paint everything in the colour she is using and gradually piece together her image.
Do you draw from reference?
Helen said that she doesn't work from reference usually and instead works from her imagination.
I found Helen to be very honest in her answers she gave, I had always been taught to draw from reference and to never paint using a pure black - however in the Q&A Helen revealed that she doesn't draw from reference usually unless she cannot visualize what it is she is drawing and she isn't afraid to paint with a pure black as she finds it effective for certain things.
As well as asking questions we were invited to look at her tools of the trade, what she uses and then we got to see how she uses them with a workshop. We were given 2 individual workshops, the first was on how to paint fur and the second how to paint a starry galaxy/nights sky. Both methods were helpful as well as quick, Helen had learned quick cheats to create a desired effect without a time consuming approach.