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  • #983488
    pencils4me
    Default

        Hi ya’ll

        I bet you guys thought I forgot ya huh? Of course not! LOL! I was going to just make sure I did a good wip, but then I figured what the heck, I would so you my boo boos too. LOL enjoy.

        Ok here we go….

        This is my daughter Robyn. (Who is going to be 14 this fall) Not exactly the wip example I had planned but this one is just as good.

        A bit about the refrence photo. I usually will not give flash photos a second glance, but in this instance I thought it worked well with that “oh so serious” face she wears so well.

        You will notice I changed my ref photo to b&w. I’m going to be working in values not in color.

        next…..

        Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
        "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
        Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

        #1013738
        pencils4me
        Default

            Well i’m going to use the same 5 base colors, these are Prismacolor pencils dark umber, light umber, beige, white and black.

            Paper is Wallis sanded pastel paper, in this case white. It does come in a couple different colors. You can apply a watercolor wash to this paper to change the base color. It does have a sanded finish so I like to refer to it as “pencil eater paper” ;) (for good reason!)

            I suppose you could draw directly on your finished paper, but I choose to work up my rough drafts on 55lb vellum. When I’m happy with my rough draft I transfer to my good paper. I’ve ruined many a sheet of good paper, I learned the hard way.

            I’m going to apply the “underpainting” in light umber. You may call it a grisalle, but because I’m going to apply it in large blocks like paint thats what i’m calling it. I don’t lay it in lightly, but really push it around and refer to my b&w ref photo always. I’m checking values too – how does this value on her cheek compare to the value on her chin? Is it the same? lighter , darker? I’m constantly adjusting. At this point I don’t care if my pencils are sharp or dull. Dull covers more area. The closer I get to my finished piece the sharper the pencils will stay.

            I’ve added the beige on top of the light umber – And put a glaze of white on the hair and the hat. Looks pretty weird like this.

            next….

            Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
            "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
            Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

            #1013739
            pencils4me
            Default

                Here I have added a layer of white on the skin, blending and adjusting values as needed. I’ve picked up the dark umber and started small touches such as the darker shadows and the Irises, pupils and around the eyes. Dark umber and white make the coolest shades, perfect for these blue eyes. I’m still thinking of applying my pencils as paints…… not in pencil strokes. Always have that b&w ref photo right next to the drawing.

                Just like any other cp piece – I’m repeating layers upon layers. I don’t use raw umber on the skin except in very small amounts.(usually in the shadow areas only) I’m using layers of light umber, beige and white.

                Here you can see I’ve started adding darks and beige to her hair. I like the hair on the right side of this pic, and hate whats happening on the left. Duh.. why didn’t I change it on the rough drawing????

                Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
                "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
                Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

                #1013740
                pencils4me
                Default

                    I’ve puttered and I’ve puttered with it some more. I’ve worked on the area around her eyes, comparing values and adding lashes in raw umber. Also still working on the layers in her hair. Adding raw umber in there for the dark parts.

                    Something is still buggin me though. It’s that hair still! I was tempted to not even finish this, but what the heck…. BRING OUT THE THINNER!!!!! (I used Grumtine by Grumbacher…nuthin to lose right?) I took a watercolor brush (ooooooo no one tell Malarkey ok? PROMISE!!!) and I liquified the pencil I had applied. Well it just smeared. And that raw umber is really overpowering stuff …. so I grabbed a tissue and brushed and blotted and brushed and blotted. ALOT.

                    Ya know after all that scrubbing…the paper never showed it. I could have done it some more, but I figured that was good enough. Live and learn. I then went back and added highlights and darks again. Better, but not quite happy with the results.

                    Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
                    "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
                    Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

                    #1013741
                    pencils4me
                    Default

                        So it was right after this last scan that I had to stop and do a small p&i commission piece for a friend. Something he needed for his class hes teaching.

                        So I innocently untape my daugher from the drawing board…:evil: LOL, (whoops i mean the drawing not the real thing) and set it aside. Started and finished the p&i stuff and then for the life of me COULD NOT FIND THIS DRAWING!

                        I looked for it, my daughters looked for it… I had no idea where it had gotten lost at!

                        sigh, it was awol for 2 weeks! Then last nite I found it again *whew* (not telling where though :o ;)) all I can say is its a good thing i’m not a surgeon:p .

                        LOL.

                        Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
                        "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
                        Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

                        #1013776
                        KayleasFan
                        Default

                            Oh, my. This is amazing. I wondered how you got the tones so right. I have looked and looked at my photos but the colors always got in my way. Change it to grayscale. What did people do before Photoshop? ;)

                            Then you print the picture off so you have the reference, I assume. Did you use draft, normal or best on the printing value? Does it matter? How large do you print it off? A full 8.5 x 11? or smaller?

                            Thank you for sharing this process. You’re a talented woman!

                            BTW… those are beautiful children you have. No wonder you enjoy drawing them so much.

                            ~~*Brenda*~~
                            "I will not forget you... I have held you in the palm of my hand." --Is. 49:13-16

                            #1013742
                            pencils4me
                            Default

                                Today I got to work on this again. I’ve begun to finish up everything.

                                The biggest change is the background, I added raw umber then black, one quick layer of each.

                                So back to my hair delimma. If I changed her shirt to a dark color I could use the background to break up the chunk of hair that was bothering me. So I did. Not quite finished with that part yet, but it’s coming along.

                                This is how it looks curently…

                                the next time I post it will be completed.

                                :D

                                TJ

                                Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
                                "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
                                Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

                                #1013743
                                pencils4me
                                Default

                                    Hi ya KayleasFan!

                                    (LOL I have a nice named Kylene yer name grabbes me everytime I see it;) )

                                    Yep I use the ‘puter to change it over to grey scale, and print. I use the best setting, but maybe your printer does well without. I also just use regular white paper – not photopaper.

                                    As far as size – I use the same size or bigger than my image. Nothing smaller.

                                    Hey thanks on the kid comments but we will keep that to ourselves… don’t want any kids with fat heads around here ;) I’m glad your finding this helpful.

                                    TJ

                                    Tj is .... Dancing with the Colors of the Wind....
                                    "Capturing the spirit of a portrait, the sparkle of a moment in time, or the soft sounds of your memories."
                                    Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm, Nikkor VR AF-S 70-300mm, Nikkor 50mm prime lens, CS5

                                    #1013767
                                    Lahree
                                    Default

                                        I have GOt to be your biggest fan! Your work is absolutely amazing to me. Gorgeous, gorgeous work. I am drooling all over this! I will be forever grateful for you taking the time to post this WIP.
                                        ::Bows repeatedly and throws flowers::

                                        P.S. Gad, your kids are gorgeous too!!!

                                        www.lorigarnerart.com

                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        Art is a collarboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. Andre Gide

                                        #1013763
                                        frida
                                        Default

                                            Oh, Toni! This is fabulous!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

                                            Thank you so much for sharing your process…!!! :D

                                            Raquel from Toronto, CDA

                                            #1013756
                                            Wingnut
                                            Default

                                                [i]Originally posted by Lahree [/i]
                                                [B]I have GOt to be your biggest fan!
                                                [/B]

                                                NO! NO! ME! ME! :p ROFL!

                                                Honestly, I see you doing this step-by-step and its still unreal :( your just… good.

                                                Now just finish 20 or so more of these and we can wallpaper your website with them! :evil: :D

                                                `Wingnut

                                                #1013774
                                                kimo
                                                Default

                                                    I am just in awe! Just beautiful! The eyes and the hair are absolultely fabulous! What an adorable face!! Great work! :clap:

                                                    Learn from the mistakes of others because you can't live long enough to make them all yourself. - Eleanore Roosevelt

                                                    #1013736

                                                    Wonderful style.

                                                    Sometimes my replies are short or just smilies. It is not that I don't love you, it is probably just a bad lupus/arthritic day.
                                                    Blessings,
                                                    Lis

                                                    Website updated on 8/4/04
                                                    MyCatBites.com

                                                    #1013757
                                                    Haylo
                                                    Default

                                                        ohmygod…how incredible is this?!?! Her eyes and curls just grabbed me from the get go. I am new here, but will definitely be keeping my eyes open for your posts. Thank you for posting it as a WIP piece. It’s really helpful for us newbies to see how the “pros” do their stuff. Great job!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

                                                        #1013733

                                                        damn did you know when your jaw hits the floor the flies invade? Yucky flies…fabulous painting!

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