Showing posts with label colored pencil artist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colored pencil artist. Show all posts

Thursday, April 26, 2012

How to Draw a Cat in Colored Pencil, The fun begins!

How to draw a cat in colored pencil?  Here's my latest part of my demo!  Today I've added lots more color to his fur, more layers to the vintage chair he's relaxing on, and just about finished the barnwood background.   First I did the background.  Looking at actual wood, I quickly drew in the wood grain with Sepia (I use Prismacolors, although any professional quality colored pencils work).  Then, a few more layers and blending it all with a brush.  I also added the lines of the planks.  I am thinking I'm going to dull it down a little but retain the value.  But for now, it's done enough to work on the other components.

Next, more chair work.  I used muted turquoise for the darker areas and light sky blue for the lighter ones, then blended with a brush.  Something important to remember is to not be shy about letting your colors bump up against each other.  I sometimes see new colored pencil artists seem to hold back and create halos where the background meets the subject.

Then, kitty.  This is where the fun begins.  I started pretty bold, with Orange in the orange parts, and white in the white parts.  A little Burnt Sienna mixed in, it's important to follow the fur patterns.  I'm still pretty much scribbling this in with flat points.

Pinked up the ears and nose, next step will be carefully working on those paws, which will require more careful observation to get the details right.

Questions?  Just ask!  If you're just finding this tutorial, just scroll down to the first one to watch the step by step.  I'll post more soon, I'm thrilled to say that new commissions have "interfered" with this project, but commissions always come first!  Robin


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Baby and Dog Group Custom Portrait from Photos

Custom Portrait from Photos
First custom portrait of this holiday season was of two little guys, one a brand new baby, one a more mature canine!  As usual, I have to apologise for my photo skills, I can't seem to get details and the transition to those cute pink cheeks is not that dramatic!  But you get the idea.

My client gave this as a gift for the grandparents of both of them.  Since the child and the dog live miles apart, I needed to work with separate photos.  And for a background, we used the quilt that my client had made especially for the baby!  I toned it down a bit, that gorgeous quilt could have been a portrait all its own.  My favorite part?  Doing the fuzzball head!  I forgot how downy and fuzzy those little guy's hair can be!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Jumping ahead in colored pencil



Guess what? I'm a Gemini. So no surprise that I jump between color and black and white, huh? My last post was all about my last woodcut print and now today I'm working in colored pencil again. Fickle, aren't I?

Today I'm working on a brand new surface for me...pastelboard. It's hardboard (like masonite, I think) with a coating on it that is a little rough. And I'm going to paint an orange in colored pencil...one of the copyright free photos I found sometime in the last 3 years that I saved for "someday".

Let's see how it turns out! Later on, I'll show you the finished work along with my step by steps. That is...if it turns out! Meanwhile, also sitting around in my computer is this photo I took of an aceo I sold years ago on ebay. Colored pencil on Mi Tientes. 2.5 x 3.5. Hmmm...gotta get back into them!