Digital Watercolor Applied in Procreate to Create a Visual Reconstruction of the Original Ptolemaic Paint Pattern

As the Survey started implementing digital techniques into their documentation process, it became clear that turning towards computers can be tremendously helpful in eliminating many of the complications traditional media proposes.

Using color pencils to isolate the remaining pigment on once beautifully painted but now eroded wall surfaces was an elegant and rewarding solution. However, when extended over large areas, this traditional technique became time-consuming to apply. Painted details were often swallowed by the overwhelming amount of pencil strokes caused by the cross-hatched texture. While the digitization of this technique and the more approachable use of color patterns provided by the iPad and Procreate allowed the artist to extend the use of "color pencil" above much larger areas, it was necessary to find a better solution for RECONSTRUCTING these walls to their formal glory.

Developing a new drawing technique is not an easy task, especially when scholarly aspects must be concerned beyond the mere aesthetics of the original. Nonetheless, there were enough precedents for using watercolor as the mediator between the pharaonic remains and the modern-day observer (even in the Survey's very own repertoire) to be considered the best candidate for digital paint reconstruction.

As the accompanying photograph clearly indicates, it's been yet another long and complicated journey in digital documentation, SO let this one photo stand here as a little teaser for what comes! In our next "case study" series, digitalEPIGRAPHY will invite you to see up close, how the Small Amun Temple has dressed up in color thanks to the mix of traditional painting techniques combined with our favorite drawing tablet!

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