Bn The How-To Magazin For Visual Communicators oeJUD sees UO Drawing with Character A group portrait of ten pirates showcases the wry intelligence and deft touch of Peter de Séve. By Susan E. Davis, you think all the masters of line drawing lived in a bygone era, wgain. At this very moment, with penells and erow quill pens in hand, someartistsare carryingon the tradition of expressive ine work. Amidst the Mash, zap, and beep of SITV, video games, and multimedia, some artists ‘continue to energize and invigorate that time honored artform with all the topical consciousness ofthe late 20th-centary. Poter de Séve is one such artist. For more than a decade, his drawings ‘have commented onthe contemporary scene witha superb combination of crafty intelligence and wry humor. Take the 1904 Now Yorker cover that feauares a determined raccoon stalking a very proper matron strolling through Central Park. Ora pieve for U.S, News World Reportthatportrays Presiclont Clinton as the Pied Piper of Hamlin, summoning all the rats with hhissax. Oran illustration for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Magazine of an evil chet holding a knife and sharpener like crossbones while his white hhat mushrooms inco a skull De Séve traces his interest in line illustration to the horror comic books helovedat 13, drawn by Berni Wrightson, Mike Peluga, and.JeffJones. Later he diseovered those artists were linked to “very dark, heavy black, wery meaty kind of Romanticist, Pre Raphaclite work.” “My work has a very definite progression,” says de Séve, “Even though | moveat-a snail's pace t'salway’s been doggedly’ in the same direction. Ever since was n high schoo), the characters have been basicaly the same — | line establishes the character. lwasalwaysa igproponentof illustration as arteven when I was in callege.” In keeping with this beet, de Séve has amassed a valuable collection of books by such renowned illustrators as Richard Doyle, Edmund du Lac Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson, Thomas Rolandson, and, of course, Working with ink and watercolor, Peter de Séve created a rogue's galery of Pirates for an article in the August 1994 issue of (sends. 80 Step-ny.Srer Grarmesz f = to 21 After drawing intial sketches freehand on tracing paper, de Séve put ll the studies together in a unified composition. Extrapo- lating trom rough source mater als tat islands art director Albert CChiang sent him, the artist also Consulted his extensive library for ‘uidance on period costumes, 2 After Chiang approved a photo- copy ofthe composite sketch, de Séve did a refined pencil drawing: “Taping the photocopy to hs board and covering it with two sheets of tracing paper to create distance, te drew with @ No. 68 brown pencil, using the photo- copy 25a ui 3 As he refines the drawing, ‘Séve commonts, “Tis sot, brownish pencil that creates faporad fines is one secret I don't ‘want to cough up. There aren't ‘many things; mosty 'm pretty ‘open, butt took me ages to find this pencil.” 92. Srep-ny-Srep Graeauics Honoré Daumier. “I buy any books that interestae,"hesays. “They tend tobe old, butif there is somebody new that I like — therearealotofpeople outthere now —1'l pick up their stuf. But I relate more to the older stufl AndLcollectoriginal illus ‘afford it. 1 friends, 've be come compulsive about it” Drawings are everywherein the Brooklyn townhouse where de Séve lives and works. Pieces by Winsor MeKay, James Mont- gomery Flagg, George Harri- man, and Thomas Rolandson line one side ofthe living room, while on the other are works de ‘Séve has golwen in trade from contemporary artists Carter Goodrich, David Johnson, H.B. Lewis, C.F. Payne, Ronald Searle, Ehwood Smith,andGary ‘Trudeau, More MeKays line a stalrwell,aud'a Daumier poster dominates the wall behind de Séve's drawing board. “think there is a eommon denominator inalotoftheolder lustrators that [collect in that they really know how to draw, but they drew with their own point of view," says de Séve. *Thoir charactors had a lot of character.” And that, in a nut shell, is what gives his work its enormous appeal. In atime of ‘nstantaneousglobal commun cationbutpreciouslittehurman connection, de Séve's charac. tersspeaktousin witty, slightly ‘oddball, and often wise ways. Rogue's gallery ST mought Peter would be per fectorthisparteilarje sags Altert Chiang at director of Isdands magne, travel bi tmontly Thoughtheragiine’s tsa fare is forcolar potas, Chiang oceasionally needs toi Tastrate an essay Or ook cer, in this case a welbre searched tongueineheet piece tied Pirates Hall of Pare A Rogue's Gallery of Soundels from the Golden Age of Piracy” Photos by Marines Bastionsforathome issucon Great Trea sue Islands. “Petersstylewasreally what nas after,” says Chiang. who ras already’ familiar with. de Sev’s ark. “We wanted the ‘hwztion to be a caricature, bat to lool realistic, We didn't vwanttto be eartoony.” After a phone call in which de Séve ‘eedtotakeonthejeb, Chiang “Stnchim reference material for ‘acho the ten pirates; among theradimentary etchings from thelate lisa the TOs was ‘wanted poster. Chiang! only stipulation was that each face inthe group portrait had to be distinc, so it could also be in- set postagestamp size, next to ‘hepirate’s biography. ‘After lating some illustea- tions of pirates in hs books, de Sie began a sketch on tracing pet Thadthelookinmy mind ndacouple of pirate motifs to ‘ply! says de Seve, “The refer- sce tuff they sent me was in ‘eesting, but primitive. It had to real information, but it did fsreme a sense of what the ‘ass might have looked lke.” ‘ues de Séve worked out a ventral grouping of three char acters, he experimented with the placement of the other fig ues drawingthemon separate sess of wacing paper. “That lows me to draw freely with- bat being too self-conscious stout i,” says de Séve. “It's ak ‘ras problem to capture the tery of the frst sketch and ‘et that into the piece. That's ‘nystrugle. Alor of other illus- traurs Pve spoken to have the sane problem, Sometimes you puteihtthe rst ime and the rst is desperate attempt to esarve the ist sketch." After finalizing the overall composi tion, de Séve put five layers of cmuvings under one sheet of tradingpaperand drew them in acing lustration. © He then photocopied the ork and faxed it vo Chiang in Santa Barbara, Calif. After ides 4 When he finished the drawing, de Sve turned it over and taped itto his board, Covering it with ‘racing paper, two sheets as before, he did a reverse pencil, drawing using the same pencil. "| do this to keep what's fresh inthe sketch,” he says. 5 Thon de Sve taped the reverse refined drawing to a sheet of 140- Ib, cold press watercolor paper, ‘covered it with two more sheets of tracing paper, and transferred the drawing to the paper by bourishing it hard five or sb times witha black pencil, 5 “Some people draw right on the Paper,” says de Seve, as he ‘tweaked te transferred image ‘with the brown peneil. “The reason | don't is because | hate ‘drawing on watercolor paper." Novunnue/Decemmee 1994 33titying each pirate including Charles Vane's dangling feet Chiang’s only reservation was the treatment of Blackbeard Ls head was chopped off and Iyinginsuch awaythatl thought amy editor might object toi saysChiang.*Butwhen shesaw it,she thoughtitswas funny.” De Séve got the go-ahead. Transference,refinement Torefinethesketchwhilemain: tainingitsenergy,deSéveworks with what he ealls “an admit tedly over-complex transfer method." Taping the photocopy to his drawing board, de Seve covered it with two layers of tracing paper and did a refined pencil drawing. @ The artist works with asoft No. 6H brown pencil that allows him to draw rich tapered lines. “draw with the pencil on the side for the most part,” ex: plains de Séve,as he continued to refine the drawing, © “It's looserand Igetthetaperedline ICT want to get in more ine sively, Lusethe point orleans into it normally."This s the way To life drawing to get a more ‘expressive line I started doing it when my work was looking dead. Itmay betheway Dauner ‘dress, butPmnot sure. His black andsvhite stuff has a very ex pressive, liquid line that I have always emulated.” Flopping the finished draw ing on his board, de Séve co Hand and Brain Then Peter de Séve gets a call from an art director who has in idea he or she wants de Sévetollustrave,theartist says, “Just send thematerialtome.T'lread and see if Lean come up with something, ‘Then if you don't like it, tell me what yon hal in mind. That way, the art ireetor gets my brain and my hand. (My strongest stuffs when Ido both.” ‘That's whyeeditorialclientsaccount for most of de Sévo's business these days. Though he has done advertising Torall thebignamead agenciesas well asfor AT&T, Mitsubishi, Motorola,and NYNEX, he currently counts Entre, Forbes, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, ‘Sports Itustrated, Time, U.S, News & World Report, the Washington Post, ‘Knopf, and Random House among his clients. And he hasan informal open ‘door’ agreementwith The New Varker to submit sketches for subjects of his choosing four times a year. “Lhave turned dawn a lot of edito- rial jabs that are wrong for me,” the artist admits. “Infact, the first oppor- ‘tunity had to do a cover for The New Yorker, they called with an idea 1 ‘wasn’t erazy about. I/had to turn it down, and had been waitingfor years ‘to do one. What makes a New Yorker cover special sthatit'sselfgenerated 340 Srepoy-Srar Gearaics and independent of what's inside the ‘magazine. 've found ithurts me more than ithelps iI doa piece that isnot ‘me, Whenever I do take a job that 1 don't feel right about, I abvays regret it, always try to remind myself that something wll come alongnextweek, Turningdown ajob ean be done diplo matically and politely. I've found that ‘most art directors appreciate my be Inghonest, Afterall, the quality ofthe ‘work refleets an them. ‘41980 graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York City, de Séve's firstjob wasasagofer for theillustratorand magazine/ took de signer. He also did freelance work A Sunres, spot for New York magazine in 1084 landed himenoughjobssohe could do illustration full time. In addition to hisotherwork, de Sévehasillustrated “Finn McCaul,” a Rabbit Ears video projectforchildrenthatrequired more than 150watereolors. Thispast spring, the artist worked on character devel ‘opment fora Disneyanimated feature of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. “There are alot of il there who are apologetic about being inthis businessand eel the needtodo other work on the side to legitimize themselves as artists,” says de Séve, “I've never had that problem. This is my art, and I'm proud oft.” trators outred it with two pieces of trac ing paper. “This is where the screwy part comes in,” says the artist, as he began drawing a reverse refined peneil drawing withthe same pencil. Q*I draw it again backward to preserve thelooseline ‘That really allows ime to refine the fine and the expressions and get all the in formation. 've found thatusing Slight box almost always pro ‘duces a dead drawing. Its difi- culttoseewhichilines havebeen ‘raced, When worry about that, ean’ be instinetive.” When he was finally satis fied with the reverse drawing, ide Séve took outan 18x 20inch sheet of watercolor paper and taped the drawing to it so the pencil side faced the paper. ‘Them he laid two sheets of trae ing paper over that to prevent tearingand wentover the draw: ingmany times with ablackNo, 6B pencil. © “Edo that many m ay times Ws very tedious and my least favorite part of the process ‘until fee! the drawing is reall transferred,” says the artist “Most people transfer it so they {get the hasic outline, but there's no character in it; it just gives them the shape. T've already worked outthe drawing, s01d0 not want to have ta doit again. Bydoingitthis way, lineby line, Thavetoreallyleanonittotrans ferthealreadyexpressive draw ing, so itdoosn't end up dead.” From lft to right, an ecitoriailustration for South Point maga- in; de Séve's rendering of a scene for The Age of innocence for amovie review in Roling Stone, and an ilusration ofthe Finn MeCoul story fora Rabbit Fars video, Novenmen/Decemmen 1994 35‘7 Then de Séve soaked the paper, sretched it on aboard, and stapled it in pace. After letting the paper dry thoroughly aver night, he taped the borders to protect them from the watercolor to come, Finally, he burnishad the ‘ape witha kneaded eraser to prevent seepage. 8" put water onthe drawing, wich is now part of the papar, to ‘teatea brownish underpainting,” says th ati, 9 Then f sprayed the whole thing vith water and laid ina warm yellowish wash,” says de Séve. “That gives ita base tone. 1 do most of my work Ike that. 1k ‘the look of it” 86 Srep-ny-Srep Grarnics He devised this wansfir method because he doesn't like tw draw on watercolor paper. “Thelinedoosn’tbreatheonesk press watercolor paper, and if you keep erasing, you're goin, tw tear it up,” says the artis. “This method gives me a clean drawing and unbruised pape, so can just paint. get much richer drawing that wi aside, de Séve adds, “I suspee, du Lae worked in layers when he was composing. Heeertaily used vellum, butTdon'tknow a whatextent” De Séve refined some of the transferred lines, again work ing with his soft brown penel. “Igointo the whole thing add ‘muancesanddvepenthevalues,” says the artist. “I don't start > paint until know have it com: posed and Iam happy with ery nuance in the characters and their expressions. Ihavea pretty rich drawing when I'm ‘through. @ Then he soaked the paper face down in a large basin of ‘water forabout minutes. “The brownish drawing soaks into the paper, softening the lines” says the artist. “They are not dustyany moreandean’tsmear. ‘The drawing is actually part of the page.” After preparing a board, de Sévestretched the wetdrasting very tightly over it staplingitin place. “I really pull it tight, the way you stretch a canvas, inch by inch,” says de Séve. Then he let the paper airdry overnight. Sometimes, when he's in a Inurry,he'lllet the paper airdry {or two or three hours, then he Dlowsdries it thoroughly. Next de Séve taped the borders with white artist's tape and rein. forced it with a layer of 3M Scotch tape, Finally, he bur- hished the tape with a kneaded ‘eraser, workingontop ofalayer of tracing paper to protect the drawing. © “Lhurnish its hard as Fan so that when T eventually peelthe tape away, none of the wa teror pigments has bled under ie? says the artist. “T usually got aprettycleanedge, butitdoesn't always work If Lam working 10-Tumming his attention to the Invidua pirates, de Sve laid in light washes of ioeal colors to establish an intial colar scheme. “had a sense of what colors the very wet, it sometimes Leaks ‘costumes were, but | didnt plan throug ‘them. | just let them develop,” Layers of wash ‘says the artist. Picking up a No. 6 Winsor & Newton series 7 sable water= ‘olor brush, de Séve loaded it with water and went over cer fainareas to create a brownish 11 After adding a light wash of raur sienna and cadmium yellow ‘wet into wet in the sky area, de ‘Séve drained otf some of the ‘extra paint by angling the boarc ‘upside down, Jnownline forever, it goes back. ‘otraditional oll painting,” says. ‘de Sive, “Brown is an earthy. 12 Thon he dropped in touches of Cobalt blue and alizarin crimson wet into wet. “I pat the paper with paper towels and use a halr dryer ta stop atone from migrating s0 | can continue,” says the artist talr, as opposed to gray, sot (vender. Itelps me work out ‘elighting.” ‘Widia spray bottle in hand, deSeve simultaneously wetthe ‘per and Tai ins rst wash Inselcred areas ~ a very di- ted ndsture of Winsor &New- ton raw sienna and burnt umber, usg @ No, 9 Winsor & Newton series 7 sable brush. © After drying the paper with a Vow drier and patting it with a paper towel, the Mlustrator re- Infos the same areas with another layer of dhe warn selowish color. ‘Now he switched to a wash falizacin brown madden. © “The brown line gives the illus. ‘nation an antiquated fecling, ‘but talso helps unify the ool ‘ors adds de Séve, “With that bese tone, none of the colors Jan. T don't work well with bright, primary colors. When T Ao go very bright ~ some art directors say they want colors ‘hatare really punchy —itlooks ish wo me." Working wet into damp, de Séve alded more light washes varionshuestosuggestwhere ‘hefinaleolors willgo. “Lalmost reverdoncolorstudy,"saysthe ants, applying an ultramarine biemixed with Payne's gray."T far’t know what I'm going to ( justletitgo.'sparcof the Novenew/Deceumer 1994 37fun and part of the horror of painting” Spraying the sky area wet, de Séve added a light yellow ‘wash. “Now Pm starting to see hhow things are goingto relateto each other,” says de Séve. “1 know I want tohave very warm clouds with blue around them, so I'm washing in the warmth first like an open field, not wor- tying about the shapes of the Clouds. That way, when [put thewashofbluctodelineatethe clouds, it won't be a separate thing, They'll meld.” But he had applied too much paint, so he Uilted the board upside down ‘and drained off the excess. © After blowing the sky area dry and patting it with paper toweling, de Séve introduced more colors wet into wet, @ *L alwaysreacha pointwithapiece ‘where Lwant to throw itoutthe window,” says de Séve, “Tthink itsatotaldisasterand Lwantto all myself, And then its: mat- ter of trying to rescue it That's ‘where te struggle is, “To make things more diffe cult, they changed the formula for the watercolor paper I had been using, and suddenlyitwas unworkable. It was like work: ing on paper towels. Fora very Tong time, maybe three years, my worksulleredandi suffered. started to work on watercolor board, and the same things started to happen. I would, all too often, go through this whole process and find the paint was goingon like stain and the ink ‘would turn bright yellow and spread. It’s only recently that | found.acold press 140 Ib. water colorpaper that ean workwith, Dut i's still not right. The very fine pen point I work with can tear the paper, so Thaveto inkit ‘very cautiously.” ‘The artist Kept introducing colors, warm over coo! over ‘warm in a spontaneous man- ner, 30 the colors became more saturated. For skin tones, de Séve worked wet into dry. © 148 For skin tones do Séve mixed raw sienna with a small amount of cadmium red and burnt umber and put the pigment in wet into ary. +14 After deepening the colors with more washes, the artist Introduced shadow tones using 3 ‘grayish purple mixture of sepia Ink, ultramarine blue, and alzarin crimson, 15 But the edges of the shadows, wore too harsh, so the artist wet ‘the paper and blotted it wth toweling. “Now the drawing looks, ‘more unified,” says de Séve 38. Srepay-Srer Gravnics“This is certainly the most complicated piece vedone his Year comments de Seve. “But zyworkhas been geting more deta and complex now that 1Ne found something T enjoy working on.” Ten de Seve concentrated on shade tones, working wet Int dry for @ wore seul ge But the effect was jst ton star, 30 the artist wet the tntire hoard and blotted the aren sith toweling, © That Fokedupsomeot the colorand ‘ottened the edges ofthe shad- ows, bringing the values closer together. First ink De Séve stood back to assess le work. The color placement pleased him, so now he could iustfllow the colorslikea map ‘and make them bolder. “Phe lines start to fade away abit alter many washes, so Lalways beep my refined drawing in frontofmetorefertoasl work,” ‘oystheartist.“Fermethedraw: ings everything. [ean change the areh of an eyebrow, the carl ofa lip, and it completely ‘anges the tone of the piece sa very subtle thing” De Séve sprayed Ute board with Krylon Workable Fixative 1806 o trap the color. While he «sll remave color at this ‘tageithe wishes, theartistIikes the Tact thatthe fixative makes the pigment slightly water re- sistant Next he mixed three dit feutshadesofinktogether and stout a pen with a Hunts 102 ‘row quill point. © “This isan importantstage,” says de Séve, ashe lightly rein forcedand added fines with the en. @ This is where T commit to the drawing, to the expres sons. The faces are always the Jay vo the piece, IPT got this sys face wrong, the Mustra- sionwouldfallapart. P'vestarved over on some pieces at this int. [FT really feet i's gone, Dutithas potential, and if there 16 Aiter spraying the painting wth a ight coat of txative, de ‘Seve mixed three diferent inks — Pelikan sepia, FW antelope brown, and Higgins Black Magic India ink — so he can reinforce the finework, 17 “This is an important stage says de Sve. “The linawork that | put down nov isthe beginning of ‘what the linework il be forthe rest ofthe pice, though I'l make stil darker lines later.” 18 Now de Séve applied more intense colors wet ino dry, flesh- ing out the tones he fad lad in air. “All the pirates have different stores,” says the ats, ashe painted Captain Kidd's ‘cloak red, “Each one is doing ‘something for a specific reason.”19 Over the darker color, 42 Séve added another layer of inking, purposefully allowing the two ‘media to blend into one another. “This is Blackbeard,” notes the artist. "Legend has it that when he was killed, his head was cut off during a fight, and his body Jumped cverboard and swam around the ship three times.” 20 After working back and forth between the ink andthe pigment, de Séve completed the figures. “Then he added a blue wash in the sky, wet into damp 21 He mibed opaque white {gouache with cadmium yellow and used this “ehroming” mixture ‘or highlights 22 For still more highlights, de Séve went infor final time with yellow ochve pencil 40 Srepeny-Srev Grearnics fs time, 1 go back and do it again, [ usually know that by ‘this point.” Fortunately, de Séve didn't Ihave to start over. After rein ing the lines in the drawing lightly, te artist switched! back to the brush, Working wet into ary, he filled more saturated color into the areas he had at ready mapped out. © Then he sprayedthe board with waterto let the pigment spread slightly into the ink and blow-dried it before aciding another layer of aint. “A friond once commented thatsomeone wasalwaysangry inal my pieces and that some thing is always happening at someone else's expense,” ob- serves de Séve. “Ina way that's what humor is ~ you're laughe ing at somebody else's plight But [always try to avoid being ‘mean-spirited. Even the ugly characters [ like to imbue with somekindofwarmthor human ness. Its important for me to ‘maintain an edge in my humor without being eruel” "Theartistyetadded another wyerofinkover thedarkerhues. © “1 go back into some of the Fine again and that mixes with the color a litle bit, so the line isn't separate from the color,” saysdeSéve.“Ttrytobuild itupall together ~ a tite pigment hereya darker line there.” ‘Thesky was the lst area de Séve pointed. After spraying it ligityand blottingit, the artist worked wet into damp, placing ‘ues into the pale yellow sky foe luminous effect. © Then eblowdried the entire hoard But he wasn't finished. To ‘aeate highlights on metallic ‘objects and areas of special im- prtance,theartistwentin with 4 “chroming” mixture on his lsh. @ Then he “tickled” oF “ecked" selected surfaces with Frismacolor pencils for addi- tinal texture. Going to print “Peer had fo take alot of artis telicense, which he did wi neat effec,"says Chiang “The piece ilstrates the story, bt {Peoffinitsowndirection. By fomplementing instead of just ihsrating the pee, it takes tat editorial did to dhe nh degre Itmakes the story more tel by Meshing out the ideas. Forexample, in the text itsays Sele Borner was eluting & vega when he was hanged. eer wok that and had the guy sting ide Mower. He was Dio read the article and get te bostaspects out of i." Theilustrationcreated quite awiramong the lands stall— infu, general manager Tho- ras Favorite wanted tobuy the work butt wasnt forsale. Chiang felt de Séves work ate the whole issue: “This wasagood chance to usealivle Biot humor inte magazine — here's usually nova lot of hu- nor and lighten up the other aries, which are more pho- iogapydriven, Peter's Mus. irdlonmadeanicegracepoint” He ooks forward to working swthdeSeve again. “The reason Tike Peter's work is that it is very well composed, which rakesmgobmuch easier, 5a (hang. “ityougetanardstwho ‘sreally good at what he does, ‘you just need to let him do it." ‘And that's what de Séve en- Joys most. Surrounded by eher- ished books and drawings past ‘and present, the artist loves to work, especially when ink and pigment low well on paperand he can exercise his own imag nation. Through his growing body of work, Peter de Séve is demonstrating the enduring ‘value of expressive line draw- ‘ng. Drawingwith characteris tumelesstalent—atrensureeven, pirate might prize . ‘Susan Davis és senior writer for Step-tiy Step Graphics. 23 Here's how the lustra- tion was used in the ‘opening spread, and how ‘twas out up into inset ‘Mustrations in te article