Making a Book App with whistles and bells

Andrew Whitson making Book Apps

Over the past couple of years I have been working on two book apps for the iPad.This hasn't been an easy process as I have had to re-think my working practices in order to try and cover all the bases.
What I am trying to say is that I can no longer think of artwork in terms of "flat" pictures. I must now think of what the finished image may look like in terms of its composition etc and then de-construct that image  rendering  its "ASSETS" separately so that when these are placed within the relevant format then all these " ASSETS"  become fluid and moveable.

This re-thinking has its pros and cons but also brings in the need for the use of Photoshop which As everyone and their granny knows has been the stable mate of artists for years, but in terms of my practice it is now crucial if I am going to provide imagery that can be used across all disciplines i.e, traditional books, e-Books , Book Apps, animations and games.
In a way the use of Photoshop has become a tool for putting together the de-constructed image in a range of ways that will suit the environment for which it is needed .I find this a very interesting thought process as these "collages" can almost be infinite and completely flexible in their variety.

Here you can see two images for the game section of the book app Cogito which  are made up of many separate assets such as the girl standing with the case or the fairy on the bird and they have all been cut out and repositioned on the pages using Photoshop and its layer facility.

I really don't feel that such imagery can be created if I had approached them as one flat artwork.

Andrew Whitson The watercolour paints he uses for his illustration work.

Always use the best you can afford.

I have found through a lot of experimentation over the years that  it is always better to use the absolute best materials that you can afford when it comes to rendering final artworks.
Obviously what works for one person may not always work for someone else, so here are a few photos and some notes to illustrate what I have found works for me.

 I have been using the Daler Rowney Artists quality watercolour tubes for a number of years namely because of their rich colour characteristics.

It is essential though to use these sparingly due to the richness of the pigment in these tubes.

My general process ( which I will discuss in another article) uses .5mm technical drawing pencils with an HB lead which is quite hard but leaves a lighter line when transposing an image onto the often expensive paper.

 I have found the best brushes for painting in watercolour have always been sable 

 as opposed to artificial brushes. These are invaluable, especially when applying large washes as the sable hairs have the ability to absorb great quantities of colour that can be fully applied to the paper.

Andrew Whitson's lovely nice clean art studio.

Perhaps the next time I do this there will be a before and after scenario...

I don't know about anyone else, but when I get started on a new project my studio becomes a living chameleon changing on a daily basis as I leave stuff lying everywhere as I am usually in the throws of thinking only of the work I am doing. Fully absorbed is probably the best way to describe this but eventually after the project in question is completed I look around and despair at the chaos I have created around me.

There is however a cathartic feeling when I am able to drag myself up to the studio once more and clean it all out in preparation for the next project. I am always amazed at other artist's studios ......Francis Bacon even made his chaos into a visitor attraction, or is that art?

All I know it makes me feel good to start a new project with everything in its place, to hand, poised and ready for the assault!