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coffeecup12
01-19-2008, 06:26 PM
I'm working on a portrait of Medicine Crow. I'm using colored pencils and the reference photo is of course black and white. Can anyone tell me what is in his hair and what color it should be? I'm guessing some sort of grease to make it stand up with maybe a white paint. If anyone has an educated guess, PLEASE let me know.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/19-Jan-2008/91782-medicine_crow_sitting.jpg
objectivistartist
01-19-2008, 11:08 PM
I asked an Indian friend [who better to know, huh :lol: ] and she said -

they used a type of bear grease render down in jell form....his hair would be white or grayish white
coffeecup12
01-20-2008, 10:24 AM
Thank you! My husband said it was probably bear grease. I didn't know what, if anything, would be added to the grease to make it so thoroughly light. Thanks to you friend too!
Diane Cutter
01-21-2008, 09:14 AM
This should be a wonderful piece... Please do post it here as you go or when you finish it!

Diane
coffeecup12
01-21-2008, 01:05 PM
I hope to post it Diane. It's going to be difficult guessing at what's what with his attire. I'm using my "Artistic License" and some educated guesses.
coffeecup12
02-23-2008, 03:18 PM
Finally something to post!!! Still have a long way to go...only drawing down far enough to include his hands, but finished it will be about 16" x 22". This is Prismacolor pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes Felt Gray paper. I don't have a digital camera and this is about all I could fit in the scanner :( . I'm pretty much finished with the face anyway. I also used another reference pic that looks as if it were taken at the same time, but it's a straight on view and his face has a more dramatic shadowing that I like. So I've incorporated that lighting as well. Thanks for looking!

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/23-Feb-2008/91782-MEDICINE_CROW_3.JPG
PastelLover
02-23-2008, 09:09 PM
It looks really good to me. I don't usually use colored pencils but do know how hard it is to get that shading. One thing I might suggest though is toning down the whites of the eyes.... they seem a little bright especially on the shadow side of the face. Good luck and I look forward to seeing it finished!