![](http://dorybird.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/DorothyDeskDrawing.jpg?v=1708205262&width=1500)
How I create my art!
I want to show you my process for making my illustrations and paintings! I draw and color everything by hand, because I find computers tedious and boring! LOL! ;)
I enjoy the ease and authenticity of the traditional way, so I'm sticking to what I know and love. ^_^
Dorothy Tully's art process! Let's go! -->>
The steps of an illustration
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1: Sketch!
Working from my favorite little thumbnail sketches, I draw my picture with pencil on watercolor paper. The earlier thumbnails in my sketchbook help me figure out what I'm drawing and how to lay it out in a way that makes me happy and tells the story best!
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2: Ink
I take my various waterproof pens and go over my pencil drawing. Oftentimes I add more detail in this step that I hadn't bothered sketching in pencil before. I love inking!!
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3: Erasing
I take an eraser and erase, erase, erase all the pencil lines, brushing off all the eraser dust as I go, hopefully into or at least near my little desk trash can. :) Afterwards, I have this nice, crystal clear B&W line drawing! (My B&W comic books and of course coloring books stop at this stage.)
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4: Coloring/Painting
Now that I have a drawing to color, I get my watercolor paints out and begin painting! I tend to go one color at a time, and if I have two drawings (or more) to color, I do them both at the same time! This is super handy for BOOKS! Here you can see I've laid down blues and greens as a start. Typically I have a lot of plants in my drawings. ;D
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More Color!
I just keep painting and layering, color by color, adjusting here, adding there, letting things dry, building up a beautiful work of art!
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Finished Artwork
This photo shows the gardening piece I was working on in the last two steps. Once I'm finished, I scan it in and prepare it for art prints or a book!
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Finished Dorybird Artwork
Here is the other finished illustration, as seen on the Dorybird homepage. For details on my book writing and illustrating process, see my Children's Books page.
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Colored Pencil!
Sometimes instead of painting, I color my drawings with colored pencils. Recently I've enjoyed how smoothly the color flows with watercolor paint, but I LOVE using colored pencils, too! You can see this finished drawing on my Children's Books page.
What tools and supplies do you use?
![](http://dorybird.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/sketchtools.jpg?v=1708210956&width=1500)
Sketching and Drawing
I don't have super specialized tools. I use any pencils, usually HB or 2B hardness for sketching and sometimes 2H for very light lines behind a watercolor piece. I like white block erasers, especially the Magic Rub! When I'm on the go, I carry a sharpener, too.
I draw and write a lot in pen, too. I like rollerballs, and sometimes sketch in ballpoint. It has its own look and feel! My sketchbook is an 8.5x11 bound hardback with 70 lb paper.
![](http://dorybird.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/inkingtools.jpg?v=1708210956&width=1500)
Inking with Pen
For drawings that will be watercolored, I need waterproof pens! Luckily, the same sized technical pens I love are also waterproof! Sakura Micron pens are a classic, but I've also found Staedler pigment liners and more recently, Marvy LePen work great, too. I mostly work with 03-08 sizes. For really fat lines I've used Sakura Graphic 1's or 2's, a LePen brush, or, you can't go wrong with a Sharpie. :)
For watercolor, my paper is either Canson or Bee Papers, and I stick to sizes that fit on my scanner.
![A rainbow of watercolor paints, Japanese pigment inks, brushes, and an illustration in progress on artist Dorothy Tully's desk](http://dorybird.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/WatercolorTools.jpg?v=1708108175&width=1500)
Watercolor Paints
Nowadays, my very favorite watercolors are actually Japanese pigment inks! The colors act a little differently on the page, but they're super bright and I've fallen in love with them!
I also have little tubes of watercolor paints that I squeeze into a small palette box. You really do need quality watercolors (like my watercolor teacher taught me!) and I've successfully used Winsor & Newton Cotman.
A ceramic mixing palette is very satisfying and makes mixing many colors easy. I rinse it when I run out of clean segments. I keep my brush water in two yogurt tubs. :)
As for brushes, I have an assortment of ancient ones from high school and college, mostly Loew-Cornell.
![Pile of sketchbooks in a sunbeam, waiting for ideas! With thin markers and a cup of tea in background](http://dorybird.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/notebooks.jpg?v=1681852181&width=1500)
Be sure to read my blog!
Dory's Creative Path: a peek into my current projects, art process, and life, and inspiration for you to do your thing, too! It's a real, "old-fashioned" blog! ;)
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