"Hurrin' Back."

Insights
The Creative Process
I have several creative processes. My favorite type is the sketch. I love the raw, first part of a design process when I’m trying to figure out my composition or design. Then I love adding the color through markers, paint, or digital paint.

Favorite Features
My favorite feature in Painter is the fact that I can make stuff look hand drawn. It doesn’t have that digital look to it if I control the tools the right way. I probably use the pencils the most because I use Painter a lot for my initial sketch phase. I have created a variety of colored pencils, and they work great. I love that an image builds up color as I draw over the same lines. It really creates a colored-pencil look.

Customizable Tools
I don’t create many crazy custom brushes. I tend to stick with what Painter gives me. But I have created a few custom colored pencils that I use a lot.

“Snow Drift.”

Timesaving Tips
I do a lot of industrial design work, and I use a Wacom Cintiq tablet along with Painter. To save time, I use my traditional ellipse guides and sweeps (drafting templates) and place them right onto the monitor to sweep my lines.

Create separate palettes for yourself with your favorite brushes. When I am working, I only open the palettes as I need them so they don’t clutter my workspace. I give them separate names: sketch palette, paint palette, marker palette, and so on.

Finished Work
I display my finished work on gallery-wrapped canvases most of the time. At that point, I go back over my work with acrylic paint to put some texture back into it. I have also done a series of prints on different metals — from copper to aluminum. The printed works are displayed at different shows I attend and galleries throughout the world. The most important thing I consider when having work printed is using a company that knows how to produce high-quality gallery prints. A good company knows about the archival process — and that can make my prints last for 300 years plus. When I sell a high-end print, I want whoever buys it to feel she has purchased something special.

“Runnin’ Flat.”

Q&A
When did you start using Painter?

I started using Painter during version 6, and I stuck with that version for a long time, possibly until Painter 9, and then I upgraded. Now I get to help with new versions of the program and give feedback to the developers.

What do you wish someone had told you when you started?

I wish someone had told me to start small. My advice to others is to just have fun and start with a few brushes; it’s not necessary to learn what every brush does. When I work traditionally, I have only a few tools: a pencil, an eraser, maybe a few marker pens... not much. I try to think the same way digitally. An artist doesn’t own every kind of medium, brush, paper, and canvas.

Did you have previous experience in traditional media?

Yes, my main background is in traditional art media. In school, I used a lot of pencils, markers, chalk, and occasionally gouache.