portrait commission - cute little devil

[philbe123]

i mentioned in the oil painting thread about the help needed with a background colour, after a few suggestions which i will play around with. i was asked to keep track of the progress of this commission. i did ask for another photo where there was some natural light but he was insistent that this photo would be the one to paint. which is fine, although there is not much natural light and most light comes from the camera flash, his eyes were red and his skin was dull so thanks to Bethanyt once again for this,she has saved the day and edited the photo for me. i have done a sketch on canvas to start with using the "grid". my usual style is to just start with a rag and thin oil paint layer so it looks like I've airbrushed it on but for this one i felt that i needed to draw it out.quite orthodox as i very rarely use pencils for painting, brush or rag is preferable. i find pencils on canvas a bit difficult as it smudges which i have done already and sometimes makes the paint a bit muddy.

[maryinasia]

looks like you are lengthening the face a little... this is rough, so I guess the exact shape and placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth come later...

what a cutie

[Trumper]

If this is really early planning then please don't worry too much but IF you are using this as a almost final preparation then the eyes are wrong and the smile / mouth seems back to front ,a mirror image.
Please post the WIP's,a difficult subject well done

[philbe123]

yes it is very early planning, i think the nose also needs to be amended too. do the eyes need to be a bit bigger? as when i look on the grid photo they seem to be in the right place.

[Trumper]

The right eye as you look at the face may need to be wider,something seems slightly unbalanced with them.

[snoball]

Also check the angle of the mouth.

[mark brazney]

can't wait to see it. I just started one myself...
looks like fun. you gunna add any of the toys in the background to break it up?

[philbe123]

the first issue i encountered with this photo is the angle of the head, it is slightly turned so the 3 guide lines for the eyes are curved. perhaps that is where I've gone wrong with the facial features? i wish i was able to draw this child from observation as it is easier but keeping an 18 month child still is impossible lol. I'm going to rub out the features and start them again.

Mark, good luck with your commission, hope it goes well. the toys? no i won't they are a distraction to the COI(the boy)

[snoball]

If you are having trouble with the guidelines, just forget them and grid the canvas and the photo. You can make a clear grid from plastic or glass and place over the photo, or print out a copy and grid right on the paper. Then make corresponding grids on the canvas. Make sure that no matter what the size of the grids that they are perfect squares. You should then, be able to transfer an accurate drawing to the canvas.

[mark brazney]

sometimes thing out of focus in the background will break up the background and make the who thing more interesting. what are you going to do to break up the background? check out my prelim. outline to see what I mean...

[philbe123]

hi, yeah i've had a look. i think i'll stick with a one tone background, make some areas darker/lighter maybe. anyway, it's been a while since i've done this as i was busy doing another project. i've fixed the drawing and i'm ready to start the first layer of painting. going to do a sepia undertone to establish my light and dark areas of the painting first.

[philbe123]

just done a quick undertone. waiting for it to dry for a bit then going back to it. already starting to give it some character.

[snoball]

Good start and yes, it has character. Pulling up a chair to watch.

[Andrewcody]

Why have you persisted with the big hair?

Andrew

[philbe123]

it's more of a guideline than anything else, it can always be fixed.