April | 2012 | alecia goodman blog

Archive for April, 2012

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Published April 13, 2012 illustration 9 Comments
Tags: art, cat, concept, drawing, drawings, fine art, fur, ginger, ginger cat, graphic, illustration, journal experience, light, new, painting, pastel, pencil, portrait, progress, sketch, sketch book, smile, space

I am back to P.G. hoping I can finish this soon and begin work on an adorable baby chimp. Having some difficulty getting the correct mixes of oranges and creams. I am amazed by all the colors that are browns in my pastels… some are gold, rusty or just gray. I wonder if its taking longer since its a gift whereas a commissioned piece seems to fly. The good news: It looks like I am closer than I am to finishing if you look at it from further away. So maybe I am getting close, though I still have a ways to go.

Wrap Up: Sweet Success With A Touch Of Sadness

Published April 2, 2012 illustration 6 Comments
Tags: art, baby, baby girl, black and white drawing, children, children portrait, concept, design, drawing, drawings, figurative, fine art, graphic, illustration, Illustration Friday, journal experience, light, new, painting, pastel, pastels, pencil, portrait, progress, sketch, sketch book, smile

I am happy to announce that my customer loved their portrait, “Renna”. I am a little sad that I won’t be seeing her adorably cute face on my drawing table any more.

Some tips and things from working on this project. I used Derwent 9b pencils (recommended by Blue Bird Art House), Sanford Design Ebony (Jet Black Extra Smooth) and White charcoal pencils on a mixed gray paper. I always start with a very light sketch, if you go too dark fixing or shading later could be impossible. From there I focus on the eyes, then the nose and mouth. Eyes catch a person and the facial expression holds them there. It also shows more of the personality of the person. From there I work all over the place, holding to the idea that I am working on the project as a whole. Keep your pencils extra sharp. I try my best to never smear or smudge things, I think it ruins the drawing and you lose a lot of contrast and detail. On that note, when using white try to pull it through shaded areas of graphite so that it looks continuous. At the end of every project I use a spray fix to keep the drawing from smearing or smudging (especially during transit). And of course I take a picture for my records.

Frustration: I had another pencil sharpener die, lasted 1.5 drawings which is an improvement over the last. I purchased another electric this time a Stanley® Bostitch® Executive Electric Pencil Sharpener. Hoping this lasts longer. I know with really soft pencils, hand sharpening is recommended. However, since my car accident this is near impossible. You should never absorb the impact of the air bag with your drawing/sharpening hand. Just for the record, not my fault either.

Here is the wrap up from sketch to finished drawing, “Renna”. Sorry for the lighting issues, I started using my new camera. What do you think?

IF-Return, If you saw Renna from start I hope you returned for the finish.