Little Girl - Finis on Day Three

I finished my little girl today and I must say, overall, I am very pleased with the results. 

Today I worked on the wood couch arm and the couch cushion, implementing many of the techniques from the book "Colored Pencil Painting Bible" (Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects) by Alyona Nickelsen. 

The many layers of color on the wood created quite a realistic rendering, even the couch cushion doesn't look too bad.  I also added more shadowing to her hair and face. I like contrast.  Then the background was looking pretty pale so I added another dense layer of an olive green shade of my Prisma colored pencils and then slowly dabbed minerals spirits with a Q-tip to the freshly applied color. 

These new techniques I am learning are taking some adjustments on my part, but I am liking the results I am able to achieve.  This new world of the use of colored pencils is quite inspiring and most exhilarating!  Try it, you may find you like it!

"Little Girl in Plaid and Black"

Happy day to all!

Karen Anne

Little Girl - Drawing In Progress - Day 3

Today I mostly worked on her outfit, but I did add some contrast to the skin tones and hair.  I was able to achieve the black in the dress by first laying a base of deep blue over which I colored black; then I took a small paint brush, dipped it in mineral spirits and dabbed it onto the black of the bodice, this evened out the pencil strokes.

Then, using a flat wide brush, I gently stroked the mineral spirits onto the black of the skirt which left it looking a bit like velvet, which is what I had been hoping for.  I can now see that I must have mixed up my colors when doing the plaid because some areas look pinker than other parts.  Oh well!

Finally I began working on the grain of the woodwork on the mission style couch.  Looks like there is a good chance I will finish it up tomorrow!

If you would like to learn more about these techniques, refer to "Colored Pencil Painting Bible" (Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects) by Alyona Nickelsen.   This is a highly informative book and one of the best investments I have ever made!

Happy Day!
Karen Anne

Little Girl .... A Drawing In Progress

I have begun working on a new drawing that encompasses using new (to me) techniques in colored pencil layering and blending.  I did the background yesterday and today I worked on the face, hair and hands.  I thought it might be kinda fun to share each day's progress with you.

When doing the background I layered 4 different colors of Prisma Premier colored pencils,  then I took a cotton ball wetted with mineral spirits  and dabbed at the colored area until all the layers began to fuse together.  The mineral spirits kinda act like a melting agent when dabbed onto the colored pencil and give a unique effect.

When I was working on the face today, I had over layered colors so much so that her skin appeared muddy, so I took some magic tape (the kind you buy in any ol' store) and slowly lifted off the excess layers.  To get extra highlights in the hair, I gently laid a piece of magic tape over the area where I wanted more highlight, and with a pen gently drew the highlight on the tape, removed the tape and the tape removed the excess and gave me the highlight I wanted.

With a fine point pen I added the details of the hair which provided more depth to the picture.  To smooth the skin and the hair ribbon and the dress collar, I gently applied a blender pencil so the shadows appear softer.

So ... here is what I have as of today ....

Tomorrow I plan to work on her outfit ... so tonight I will study the drawing and try to decide the colors that will best work.

See you tomorrow!

Karen Anne

FYI:  The paper I am using is by Stonehenge, 100% Cotton, Vellum Finish, 250 GSM, Acid Free, and made in the USA.   It is amazing - it doesn't warp when wettened!  And believe me, the Mineral Spirits wash I applied really saturated the paper.  You have to wait until all is dry before proceeding.

          Also, important note, when using magic tape to remove excess color, be sure to lift it gently .... at one point, I jerked the tape off and removed a thin layer of paper & had to really work to correct missing patch!  Gentle is the key word when using magic tape to "erase" color.

        Finally, I used masking paper to cover the girl when I was applying the background and then the mineral spirits wash.  Well, the mineral spirits worked their way under the masking paper and desolved the masking paper adhesive leaving behind a sticky goo ... I tried removing it with rubbing alcohol and created a mess .... so I let that dry and tried some lighter fluid ... it worked great!  Removed the goo and the mess the alcohol had left... This is truly turning into one big learning experience.