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	SKEETER SWATTER... This thumbnail sketch in my sketchbook was tiny and done with a very light pencil (I really had to beef it up so it can be seen here). I don't understand why it's so difficult to pick up another pencil and scribble a thumbnail that can actually be seen. I've always said my sketchbooks are just places for me to record ideas. If those ideas can't be seen . . . The sketch using the S template...pretty close to the final drawing. I tried to avoid all the violence inherent in something called Skeeter Swatter by substituting a badminton shuttlecock for the unfortunate mosquito, but that didn't work out. The fact that I liked the sss sound of skeeter vs. the shhh of shuttlecock in the caption also helped. So it's violence! This is an outline drawing of the entire letter with the illustration inside. To get it, I traced the sketch, tightening things up and using reference material when required. The base coat of watercolor dyes. Colored pencils, the workhorse for all the letters, are by Prismacolor. The S was added to the racket just to help fill the letter shape. There's more background color than usual because of the nature of the racket shape. Acrylic paints added to recover lost highlights and finish it all off. Return to the TECHNIQUE page.