Well I got a few more hours work done on the drawing today but hit an obstacle. Despite having spent nearly 1 hour indenting (scratching into the paper surface with the end of a large paper clip) the beard still isn't looking quite right.
With indented works, its important to put dark backgound pencil in so the indented area show up well.
this started off OK but I'm struggling a bit now and wonder if I should have used a few different indenting tools to produce finer and thicker lines ...
Anyway this is where I finished tonight and I'll worry about it tomorrow .... or possibly in 4 weeks when back home from Fuerteventura .... Tomorrow I need to clean the house so the house sitters don't think I'm a slob .... even though they're family members and know what I'm like!!
With indented works, its important to put dark backgound pencil in so the indented area show up well.
this started off OK but I'm struggling a bit now and wonder if I should have used a few different indenting tools to produce finer and thicker lines ...
Anyway this is where I finished tonight and I'll worry about it tomorrow .... or possibly in 4 weeks when back home from Fuerteventura .... Tomorrow I need to clean the house so the house sitters don't think I'm a slob .... even though they're family members and know what I'm like!!
Fabulous, Sue! I do think this is one of your best of the India portraits so far!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan. I know you've commented before about Indians having light coloured eyes ...but its quite common and I think is quite amazing really against the dark skin!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how to finish this drawing - I spent ages indenting with a bent paper clip but the whiskers/beard hairs are showing up a bit too fine.
I drew some extra
white hairs in with Staedtler Lumocolor white pencils which work on most surfaces - glass, plastic etc., and so are good at coating over wax/oil coloured pencil - but the whiskers turned blue when they covered the black background area .... OK so maybe I can say he's now a 'greybeard' character. He's supposed to have a white/cream/grey beard but I may have to turn that into a grey/brown/black beard ...
Watch this space!
I think the beard looks great, his lip looks a little weak. maybe that is what is causing you to not like the beard?
ReplyDeleteCould be Jennifer ... in my ref. pic his lips hardly show (and just a hint of teeth).
ReplyDeleteI've put so many layers into the face skintones I think I'm just too impatient with the next section. Have to remember that coloured pencil is a SLOW medium - I'm just too impatient! Definitely the beard isn't turning out like I imagined ... but maybe I'll just make it a grey/black beard and not a white/grey beard ... that's the great thing about working for fun and not doing commissions that have to be accurate!
Actually, the more I look at him online the more I think he suits a 'steel grey/black' type beard.
ReplyDeleteSo, dilemma sorted!! that's what I'll aim for
yay! problem solved :)
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm not sure about that Jennifer ... but its an idea LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter.
ReplyDeleteI won't be able to do much with it till back from our travels but I'm thinking I might lift off some colour with BluTack and do some more indenting.
I'm trying to keep it was pure cp in case I want to enter it into UKCPS exhibition next year but as a last resort I guess I could try one of the gel pens I keep reading about ... not sure how well they work over coloured pencil so will need to research it (if I can't rescue the beard any other way).