Graphite Cat ... X post D&S

[wildlifeart89]

Beautiful work so far, I really like the crop!
Paige

[RADAR]

Dog gone it Ken about time you started posting again, I'm the same way ,I'm slowwww>
Beautiful start.

[SparrowHawk7]

Hey Gary ... nice to see you again. Thanks.

Thank you also Paige.

[SparrowHawk7]

I got a bit more done with this ... I'm not satisfied with the eyes yet .. but they are heading in the right direction now I think. In a couple more weeks I'll outgrow the scan and have to get my camera out. Anyway, that second eye is starting to be in better context now so it doesn't look too horrible.

[SparrowHawk7]

Not much with this update .. I'm starting to fill in around the eye to put it in better context. I spent some time this week on the eyes which I think are about finished. The fur around the eye on our right is not textured correctly .. and the values in the fur on the nose needs work as well.



Thanks for looking ...

[SparrowHawk7]

Here's the rest of this weekend's work. Nothing is done yet .. I constantly go back and improve already drawn areas for about an hour each time I sit down to draw ... by the time I abandon the drawing things are usually pretty sorted.



Thanks for looking,

[SparrowHawk7]

Well, another weekend. Here's as far as I got ... I'm having a hard time with the left side cheek so stuff over there is not finished. I suppose it's obvious where I stopped. The nose will look better once I get the lower right part done. In order to minimize where my hand/arm must lie on already drawn areas I had to do that left side now. I'll work on smoothing out the top part before I call it done .. and the bottom of that side is in the process of finding locations and edges. I've outgrown my scanner which I knew was coming soon .. so here's a photograph.



To put the size in context ...



Well, next week has another weekend ... thanks for looking.

[SparrowHawk7]

I'm not sure anyone is still interested in seeing this based on the comments but I'll post this update anyway. This is another 8 hours of work - most of which was spent going over things that are already drawn. Adjusting fur angles, retouched the eyes a little and some work on the nose. In addition I worked on the edges of the markings as well. The blurred background in the lower left is only a collection of graphite at this point. I'm just starting on the muzzle to the right so there is quite a bit left to do.



Thanks for looking,

[Colorfur Critters]

I love watching your work progress....this is a stunning piece.

[SparrowHawk7]

Thanks Lola. It's slow progress for sure ... all my stuff is. This one is rather large and that presents more challenges in and of itself and will even take more time. But I like a high level of detail and there is no way to speed that up.Besides, one drawing is the same as the next - different shapes, textures and values .. but it's still making marks on paper. So the way I see it, what's the rush?

Here's a closeup ... there is actually some form within that pitch black area, but it doesn't show here.



Thanks for looking.

[Jayde]

It's coming out beautifully Ken. Thanks for informing us of the time it takes for your progression. Sometimes I worry that I take too long on my work but I find the more time I invest the better the outcome (generally). It's good to know the experts take a lot of time too!

[SparrowHawk7]

Thanks Jayde. I don't know that I'd refer to myself as an "expert" .. although I once was a pert ... now I'm not any more ... I'm a mod in D&S and I see a fair amount of work that is on the border of being really good but the artist stopped working it a little too soon. The more I learn to see and to duplicate what I see with a pencil, the longer I have to spend on it. When I first started drawing in 2005 I thought 2 hours was a long time. That progressed to thinking 10 hours was a lot .. then 20 hours ... now it's 100-140 hours. Can't make any money spending that much time in graphite ... but I enjoy the level of detail I can achieve.

[Jayde]

Yes Ken, that level of detail you achieve is remarkable.

[SparrowHawk7]

Here's another sitting .. doesn't look like much headway I know .. but it was still several hours. A lot of it was spent going over things that were already drawn ... adjusting values and textures here and there and working on the blurred fur of the chest - which helped me to figure out the edge of the chin. The fur on the right side of the muzzle isn't done yet .. just the basic texture.



Thanks for looking.

[Dave Hawk]

Really looking good Sparrow.