Growing Pains….Stalling

I have neglected to tell you where I got found this drawing inspiration.  It is found here.





I wanted to bring the bench into the drawing.  It was easy enough, since shading is shading and straight lines are straight lines.  Made me happy!





Fini!  Kinda feels like it’s missing something….yea, the horse cuz this reminds me of the headless horseman. But I was no where near drawing horses yet….so this worked!





Brought my watercolor pencil set to my art class.  To see what I can do with them in a “figure drawing” sort of way.   The look is so much different.  The instructor said she liked the color palette better with these than with what I had done in colored pencils alone.  I had to agree…but I had to stick up for those colored pencils too.  I said “but to get it more 3D, the 3D look is only accomplished with the colored pencils, the watercolors will always look more unreal.”  She, of course, begged to differ!  And informed me… that with time, I could make watercolor pencils look 3D…..now this I gotta learn!





Went shopping online the other day at Dick Blick.  I was happy they had such a good selection of the super fine nibbed (005) Microns in different colors.  Grabbed each color they offered in 005.


Do any of you work in Watercolor pencils?  Any tips?

Growing Pains….Subsiding

Well, because I don’t know any better.  I’ve gone in and applied “marker” (Ohhh….Nooo) to the pink legs to help even out my edges. 





And I even used marker for the paisley pattern in the bandana (Ohhh….Nooo). Since I’m all about product, I really don’t care if that’s allowed or not.  I just want to replicate what I see….I’m not entering any contests. Whew!





And I probably did the “unthinkable” on the girls white shirt. I used graphite pencils (Ohhh….Nooo)…!!  I even went in with my darker graphite pencil and worked some of those shadows.  I like it better this way! 
Still a few more things to do: 

• hands
• smooth out the Mary Jane shoes
• buttons
• bench in background
• miscellaneous details

This is really getting fun!

Growing Pains….in the legs

I went in and un-wonky-sized that right knee.  Then I started on the child’s tights.  I think I got a little overly ambitious on that left leg and was able to calm down my sketching on the right one.  (She’ll probably turn out as a half-decent…half-monster child when I finish….it’s taking me awhile to get used to these pencils).



Didn’t spend a whole lot of time contouring her in.  (I may regret that!)



Had to pull the image in thru my ipad to see things a little more clearly.



I just couldn’t help it!!  I had to go in and even out those colored edges around the pink tights, skirt and shoes.  I used my orange, gray, and red microns (01). I’m going to be needing all the colors made of the Sakura Micron 01’s if I’m to continue with colored pencils.  Another excuse to hit the Art Store!! Oh Yea!

Growing Pains….colored pencils

I showed up to my Art Class with my meager set of 12 colored pencils.  Then the instructor took out her classroom stock of pencils.  She really liked these Woodless Colour Pencils……so I tried them.





I was told that drawing with colored pencils is all about layering different colors. One on top of the other.  She said put down a base color softly, then go in and start adding colors.





I used pinks, purples, blues, oranges and reds.  To shade in colored pencil work we have to work according to the color wheel.  Opposites on the color wheel make gray.  I’m not supposed to go grab a gray, I’m supposed to use opposing colors…Otherwise, like with painting…I’d muddy it all up!  Joy!





I said to my teacher…. “so I just have to be real sloppy with my drawings until I start to see the different colors”…she said…”you may want to sketch a lemon”….I thought, “if you make me sketch lemons, you’ve lost me and I won’t sketch anything at all”….





It took me a little while to work thru my growing pains….I was tentative, light with my colors…..then I started to see what they were talking about with overlaying different colors on top of one another to bring in light and shape…..It was getting fun!!  Hey, when you get to work with color how can that not be fun?





That right knee is still kind of wonky….Have to play around with it in a sideways view, I think.