Illustration….Girls

Since I’m in an illustration obsession….I thought I’d draw another one.



The shiny stuff is the masking fluid.



What cracks me up about this drawing is that the head sizes from left to right kept increasing.  The first head (far left) is much smaller than the last one (far right).



Watercolors only allowed.  Plus marker to sharpen those edges.



I was surprised that I liked how the curly hair turned out.  Gotta stay loose when drawing this hair type.



Just fun and colorful!  It won’t win any awards but that’s not the point!

Illustration….in watercolor

Since….I’m kinda likin’ my watercolors-by-brush and I wanted to keep going while I had the momentum.



I thought I’d try some illustration.  What’s nice about fashion illustration is….I don’t have to be so exact and I get to play with colors and clothes!  What more could a girl ask for?



I used the masking fluid again for the flowers on the top and highlights in the hair.



She’s a bit barbie-ish….since her proportions are exaggerated!!



I didn’t know if I’d take to this kind of drawing so I grabbed a piece of cheap drawing paper….not even watercolor paper.  As it turned out it started to buckle up on me.  Next time I may try it in me-moleskine cuz this was fun!

Oscar needs a Background

So….I finished Oscar up with my fine point micron pen.  You know, sharpening those edges. 



Here he is posing with the original.  At first, I thought I’d give Oscar some fingers to hold the phone, but then I forgot….plus…how do you draw dummy fingers?



As I’m learning this whole watercolor-brush stuff….I noticed how the watercolor likes to feather out over the paper if it’s already wet.  I’m trying to duplicate that here but it’s not going as imagined. Good thing I decided to practice on a separate piece of paper instead of on Oscar's.



By the fourth flower petal I decided to put that masking fluid to use, and I applied a grid so that I could go in and apply watercolor without worrying about color overlap. 



Then to make things POP, I outlined with my black marker.



Most people play with their watercolors before they get started on “real” drawings….not a bad idea.  But my gong-ho nature didn’t have patience for that which may have saved me some frustrations!! When I figure this watercolor-brush stuff out….I hope to give Oscar his background

Oscar Poses

He Who Must Not Be Named Oscar was needing some attention.  Since it’s selfie time around here, I got him in on the action.



I used the masking fluid to keep my white highlights from getting colored. Can’t get used to a medium if I don’t use it, so he gets to be brush-watercolored too!



These figures are really good for seeing simple shapes…..cylinders….balls.



Adding layer upon layer. 



I’m trying to remember to use the blow-dryer more between layers.  Hoping it will help when the watercolor gets puddly on me.



Still more to do…..hold that pose Oscar and say cheese!

Selfie…..Warhol-Style

I stopped in at the local art store because I wanted to try some gouache paint. (Similar to watercolor except it’s opaque).  It was suggested that I try this new product, so I bought it.  It’s acrylic so it dries with a satin finish…..and with these 4 colors I get to mix and make any color I want…..well….almost!



I seem to be my most willing subject when inspiration strikes…so off I went to get my main man to get a decent shot.  Then I posterized it.



Then I transferred the image onto 12” x 12” watercolor paper.



Mixed up a red acrylic with the Splash paints and put the yellow on straight.



Then brought in pink and orange.  I exaggerated some of the features with some add-on shapes.  (This looks like I’m applying make-up for Halloween)



Had a lot of fun in this area, changing the shapes and colors for the hair strands.



Used watercolor for a few of the colors here:  Blue, Orange, Pink and the green background…..I did NOT trust my ability to mix the acrylics properly.



When it was dry, I went in with my handy-dandy black XS Faber Castel marker to enhance.

Ta-da…now I have a new selfie…profile pic.  Yikes….and looking at this again, it looks like I have no nose!  I could rename this Voldemort-style!!

Ballet in Watercolor….Tried

Well, I tried it and (even though I had to fight every inclination to grab my watercolor pencils to help me)….I stayed with the brush for the entire painting!



I also wanted to put a background in.  Probably best to put the background in first….oh well!  I used masking fluid and applied it pretty heavily over the entire body.



Once the masking fluid dried, I could freely paint over the entire figure.  I used a dark green for the floor then a yellow for the background layer 1.  Then I sponged in the dark green over the yellow to give it some visual texture.




Once the background was dry I could pull up the masking fluid which dries into a rubbery film.



Since backgrounds make your piece appear different I had to go in and work some more details….mostly, darkened my shadows.



Source picture from tumblr…but doesn’t reference photographer.

My goal in life is to bring color into an otherwise colorless world-  Unknown.

I debated with myself….between, making this piece more photo-realistic or letting the watercolor give it interest in it’s own way.  I am least pleased with the leggings…but I have trouble working the shapes in watercolor like I can in pencil…..so, after 3-4 tries I let it be and kept it simple.

Ballet in Watercolor….still trying

Yes, I’m still trying to stay in brushes only. 



So far…so good.



I always forget that when I’m having trouble I should change my view….flip the pic!



This is not a fun part….putting the shadows in around the toes.  I have since gotten rid of the big wrinkle in the big toe……will redraw in the correct direction!  haha



And this is what my dining room table looks like these days!



I’m gonna try something different with this drawing….IF it works I’ll post….IF not this is probably the last you’ll see of this puppy!