Okauchee Tychitta Lee - WIP

[Richard_M]

This should be fun. :)

This is our dog "Ty". He is a UKC papered and pedigreed American Eskimo. His full registered name is Okauchee Tychitta Lee and he is dumb (I say this lovingly). :)

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/2010-08-28_14-23-33_871.jpg

I just started this today and have outlined his fur. Right now he looks like a Sphinx because of the outline of the major mane that these dog have. They have 2 coats and are a cleaning nightmare. We regularly get tumbling white fur bunnies in the house. The outline of the mane will fade into the massing of the body eventually.

Technical: 15"x20" Prisma Color Soft Pencils on Crescent Black Mat Board

I hope to post regular updates but with my current work schedule, this may be a challenge.

C&C are always welcome and appreciated!

Thanks,

Richard

[l Heather l]

That's quite a name! Looks like you're off to a good start.

[ocmd123]

he is dumb (I say this lovingly). :)


:lol::lol:
I am a former Husky owner ( and currently own a husky mix), so I am well acquainted with the double coat. It gives the vacuum cleaner a real workout! I'm looking forward to updates.

[ladypainter]

I too had a husky years ago. A wonderful companion and the best dog I ever lived with.I remember brushing him and we could have knit a coat out of his undercoat .:)

This looks great so far and will watch the wip.

[Lexycat]

I really like fur on black paper, so will follow this one:)

[Richard_M]

Thanks for all the kind words.

Heather: That's why we call him Ty. Muuuccchhh easier. :)

ocmd123: I would like a Husky but they are a little larger than I need. This guy stands at 19".

ladypainter: Oh man...this little guy can produce more fur than a small flock of sheep. :lol:

Lexycat: Yea...I like drawing flowing hair in pencil but drawing hair on black paper would be just plain fun. I should do more and post those. Just hair. :D That would be funny. Hmmm... I have a bunch of 5x7 black mat cards.... :evil:

Anyway, I'm having a palette issue. This is proving to be challenging for me. Don't know why...it just is. I scanned my "test" board (have one for every drawing) to show what I was playing with. Sometimes these boards are works of art....sometimes. :rolleyes: There should be a sticky forum in CP for "Post your test boards here for the month of BLAH". Here is mine for this drawing so far:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/Ty_Palette_001.jpg

And I am using a reference photo:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/american-eskimo-dog-8.jpg

I don't draw too many animals in CP. I love to draw them in graphite. Color choices for fur is challenging for me. I was playing with Periwinkle, Cool Grey 30%, Cool Grey 50%, Cream, White and touches of various pale yellows. I like the way the test ear in the center looks and the "glow" through the ear. I was testing technique. I would soften that a lot on the final. I was creating various organic shapes and playing with a combination of various colors. Never-mind the bird eye. I got distracted when testing something. :)

I like the Light Grey 30% over the Periwinkle for the "cooler" shadows in the fur and maybe a light roseish and cream color for the warmer. Hmmm.... Thoughts? :confused:

Thanks!

Richard

[ladypainter]

Oh he is gorgeous. Beautiful photo of him.!!

[TessDB]

:thumbsup: Thanks for posting your test sheet! When I babble at people about doing test swatches & practice bits, that's *exactly* what I've got in mind. Excellent work on it, btw.

Soooo... for color suggestions-- my first thought is that white is hardly ever white. I think you're definitely on the right track with your pencil choices. I'm a bit concerned about using the cool greys too much, though. Do you have any of the french greys? They tend to run a bit beige-y and could be useful to help warm up areas.

I'm also wondering if you've tried anything in the light purple family with your creams and yellows. Maybe something like lavendar or lilac or a few touches of parma violet (use that practice sheet before you touch the real thing!). And maybe a bit orange-y to go with that periwinkle-- Peach or Salmon Pink?

Looking forward to seeing an update!
Rosemary

[Richard_M]

Rosemary,

Oh hey...I think you are on to something. I think that Peach would be a good mix for the left side of his head, face mane while using the Periwinkle/Lavender for the cooler side. Perhaps blend the Periwinkle/Lavender into something orange-y where he is back-lit. I will experiment with layering these colors.

As for the French Greys, I pretty much have each value of those in my Prisma Set. I will try some glazing with those and see what the results are.

Thank you so much for the input. My work schedule is still chaotic at best right now. I'm trying to fit in the CPs when I can. :)

I agree, white is never really white. Rather, white is various stages of the absence of certain color light combined with the reflected light of anything near it.

Thanks,

Richard

[Richard_M]

I do have an update. Yes. I made time to work on this when I got home. Project timelines be damned! :D

Ok, so after my palette choice meltdown. :o I have decided on using Cloud Blue for the cool and Rosie Beige under the warm side. I am using Periwinkle and Lavender for the darker regions. I have then gone over with a layer of French Grey 20% and then at the lightest, French Grey 10%. Thanks Tess for the suggestions!! Woot! :clap: The right side of his muzzle and his right eye area are what the rest of his face will look like. I will continue to layer these colors and see what happens. :) Here is what I have so far:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/2010-09-02_18-17-53_527.jpg

I will fix his left eye, left jowl and bottom jaw line and the left side of his nose. They all need re-shaping. It looks ugly right now but I think the end product will be ok. :wink2:

Thanks so much for all the comments and for taking the time to view this.

Thanks,

Richard

[barwench]

Being the owner of a "dumb" husky, I can relate. Beautiful, but dense creatures, they can be. But, how we love them :)

I love where you're going with this. I'm excited to see how it turns out. It makes me anxious to even think about tackling this subject, you are braver with your pencils than I am.

[TessDB]

:eek: I missed your update, Rich!
It's looking good. :thumbsup: The color choices you've settled on seem to be working for you.

Can't wait to see more!
Rosemary

[Richard_M]

Today's update:

barwench: Thanks! I love my "dumb" dogs. They provide hours of entertainment for very little in return. All they want is love in return, oh and food and water. Silly dogs. I don't thing bravery has anything to do with it at all. It's all about not know what I'm getting into when selecting a project. :eek:

Tess: Thanks for the comment! I like where this is going now. Although I will never be truly happy as we all know, we are our own worst critics. :)

Here is today's update. I hope to have more tomorrow.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/2010-09-05_11-51-01_161.jpg

He is starting to look like he is cast in mostly shadow now. I added the backlighting to the top of his head as-well-as the right side of his mane. Worked in more Cloud Blue, French Greys and Rosie Beige. The drawing is warmer than the reference but that's how I would like to see it. :)

Thanks for taking the time to look!

Ciao,

Richard

[timo]

This is becoming beautiful Richard.
The fur looks great,nice shadow/highlight balance.

[coffeecup12]

Looking good. I really like the back lighting on the ears.

[AnnGarlough]

Richard, I just found this thread tonight. your Ty is gorgeous! Your portrait of him is progressing very well and I will be sure to watch for updates.

[Richard_M]

Here is an update.

timo: Thank you for your kind words. It's hard to balance highlight/lowlight when the subject is mostly in cast shadow. :)

coffeecup12: Thanks! I may add more back-light as I decide what the background will be and how the background influences the sunlight.

AnnGarlough: Thank you. Ty is a very pretty dog. He is also a very dedicated companion. He may be small but his fury can outweigh his stature. :)

Now for the update:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/rmckay001/Art_projects/2010-09-07_07-53-21_520.jpg

I worked through his mane a bit and started on his left front leg/paw. I can't finish under the legs/paws/body until I decide the colors and object that his is laying on. I will probably have him on the deck but will probably change the background. I need to decide this as those colors will reflect (even in low light) back into the fur.

I also need to develop a better way of taking pictures. The inconsistency in lighting and using my cell phone just is not cutting it. Although, this phone has an 8Mp camera but still takes crummy pictures. I'll get that figured out in time. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to look at this thread!

Thanks,

Richard

[l Heather l]

This is really coming along Richard. You did a great job on the nose and mouth. I love the pink ears also! My only critique would be the proximity of the eyes to each other. They seem to be too close together. Overall, nice work