October 19, 2010

Facing Forward …with a Doodled Face



One of my favorite candid pictures of my son was taken when he was 12 yrs old (he’s now 22).  It wasn’t so much his smile (probably because he isn’t smiling).  It was more his expression and the colors in the towel he had over his shoulders that placed this picture as one of my all-time-favorites!



The only original thing I did here was to use color in this picture.  This type of drawing can be best illustrated by Rebecca Anthony.  Now this lady is good.  You can see what I mean if you go over to her blog here and here.

Had a ton of fun using those watercolor pencils for the vibrant colors of the towel.  Luckily I had already purchased the right colors.  Being rather impatient……I outlined the face in with my XS Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pen because it was time to get on with it a.l.r.e.a.d.y….that’s when I saw the error of my ways.

SwimBrad2

Check out the RED * area.  This is where I tend to make mistakes a lot.  (As seen when I did my self-portrait sketch).  I can’t seem to pull off the entire left eye unless I give myself more room…..hence the broader cheekbones!!  Ugh!!

But aren’t those colors in the towel a good match with the sketch?  I just love them!



If you decide to doodle on top of your watercolored areas….don’t just wait until the area is dry to the touch (5-10 minutes).  It’s best to wait overnight, because if you don’t you’ll get this bleed effect which you can see in the swirlie’s above.  It would be a drag to do all that work, then ruin it at the end!



Just a close-up of the face.  Had to rely on my doodle directory prints for a lot of these areas.   Repetitive patterns, in different intensities work best.   A pattern that uses more ink is used in the places where there is a lot of shadows, or shading. 



The other thing I found that I liked as I drew this was…….When you’re using a pattern, if you can take that same pattern and change the tempo of it as you doodle thru the area, that helps add dimension to the subject as well.   (See the upside U portion in the middle of the neck to see what I mean)



Ta-Da!!!  I may go back in and doodle up that white background……we’ll see.

8 comments:

Jeanne Nelson said...

Awesome, Eden! This is a great technique, and you've done a beautiful job with it. Thanks for the tip on allowing the watercolors to dry overnite.

Unknown said...

Wow, Eden! Just... wow! I love that you STILL captured his appearance but were able to doodle the contours of his face. That's amazing!!

Judith Hirst said...

Doodling his features is unique. Well done!

Anonymous said...

REBECCA IS SO INSPIRATIONAL, ISN'T SHE...AND YES, YOUR WORK HERE IS RECOGNIZABLE AS A DAISYDOLL CREATION! WELL DONE!

THE COLOURS ARE A BANG ON PERFECT MATCH....AND CAN THERE BE ANYTHING BETTER THAN DRAWING OUR KIDS? I MEAN REALLY....THEY STAY YOUNG FOREVER IN PHOTOS AND ART! LOL

GREAT JOB! I LOVE IT!

CIAO BELLA

CREATIVE CARMELINA

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed seeing this work in progress.Clever doodling.

Darnita said...

I don't know how you do it, but its' amazing. I can still see his face through all the doodles. That's a special gift you have, Eden.

lori vliegen said...

you just blow me away, eden!! this is fantastic, and i'm sure that rebecca will be proud to know that she's inspired you so much (and that you've done such a terrific doodle-job!!)! xoxo, :))

Sylvia said...

I just love All your work Eden.It is so inspiring and makes you want to create artwork like yours.Thank you for sharing all this with everyone.xxxx

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By day...I work in the Healthcare field, where every .. i.. has to be dotted and every ..t.. has to be crossed. This blog is the place where I can let myself go and have some fun. I am on a journey. A journey I started a long time ago, but it has been a bit sidetracked with Navy Wife relocations and raising kids. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I have got some time for me. No, I will not be one of those moms walking around the house with Empty Nest Syndrome, I have got way too much to do, to learn, to create. Sure, once the kids are gone I will miss them....but hey, there is always the phone, the email, the texting and the Plane tickets! I love my life and my family and It is fun moving into this new stage. I am into Digital Scrapbooking, photography, journaling, Art Journaling and Drawing. I am a do-it-yourselfer and I am trying to teach myself to draw. I am finding that it takes a lot of patience, lots of practice and a good eraser! And if you're really curious there's a 3 part Interview by Eileen: HERE All the best, Eden