Friday, August 30, 2013

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Evan WIP Update 3

YAY Evan now has a second eye!!
Not sure why I started with only one eye this time but at least he now has both of his eyes!
Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Friday, August 23, 2013

Evan WIP Update 2

Today's progress with Evan.  Getting the tone correct for the face as well as some of his white hairs.
Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Big D WIP Update 6

Further tweaking.  It's starting to scan grainy but it's not grainy IRL.
It's also darker IRL.
I'm still trying to break the code of the elusive darks.  Yes, I'm getting darker but should I have started with the softer grades of graphite??
Should I spray what I have with workable fixative (YIKES) and then add more darks?
I'm starting to get nervous that I might mess up what I've accomplished so I think I'm just about tweaked out with this one.
Hope you still like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Big D WIP update 5

I've been "pushing the darks" with Big D. 
 He is after all a Black Friesian. 
I knew my mane was "reading" black but his body wasn't so.... I'm still tweaking
Hope you like it!


Thanks for stopping by :)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Evan WIP Update

Started working on Evan.
Started with soft and then added hard graphite. Also blending a little with a tissue.
Evan is a beautiful Papillon and is going to be both a black and white challenge. So far, I really like how the ear hairs are coming along
9 x 12 Graphite on Smooth Bristol
Hope you like it so far!



Thanks for stopping by :)

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Big D WIP Update 4

Somehow I missed posting this update so.....
Here's where I was at when the weekend started.
I'm pretty impressed with the big guns!! 

I also purchased a tombow mono zero. Wow is that an impressive little eraser for getting some of those fine line highlights!
Almost finished now. I think just some tweaking and I will be calling this one done. Then onto my next black challenge.
Hope you like it!


Then I tweaked Big D a little bit on Sunday.  Can you tell where?
So here's what it looks like now.
Thanks for stopping by :)



Monday, August 19, 2013

Starting Evan

While Big D is out of sight, I started on my next one.
I made a quick preliminary sketch to work out form, etc... then tweaked it until I got a good match to the reference photo.
I'm pretty happy with how this went together so nicely and except for tweaking this drawing is ready to be transferred to it's working surface. 

I was really surprised when I kept track of time and this drawing was accomplished in 2.5 hours
Again, because I draw so lightly, the contrast has been changed so you can see what I'm doing.
Hope you like it!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Big D WIP Update 3

I finally brought out the big guns to achieve the "black" that I wanted.
When I knew I was going to try practicing black, I knew I needed something more than 4B graphite pencil. So, I bought a 7B and 8B along with a Kimberly 9xxB.
I really should have started with these but I was a little afraid of how black they can be.
Big D is really starting to come together now.


Hope you still like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Big D WIP Update 2

Beautiful weather has kept me outside during the day.  Weeding and what not around the yard and in the garden and then we've been experiencing a lot of power outages during the early evenings and sometimes lasting well into the early mornings.  So, I haven't worked a whole lot on Big D.
Here's where I'm at now and I hope to do some more tonight.
I'm finding Black animals as challenging as White ones LOL.  Anybody have any tips on getting the black, I'm all ears!
Hope you like it so far!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Friday, August 9, 2013

Big D - WIP Update

Big D is transferred to his working surface and I've started blocking in the darker areas. 
 As always, I've started with the eye. 
Due to the quality of the photo, some artistic license is being used.
So far the drawing is being done with a 2B pencil.
Oh and this is a 9 x 12 piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth.
Because I start light, I've increased the contrast so you can see what's been done so far :)

Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Big D - WIP

YIKES! Can we say I'm a glutton for punishment? OK, I've started my next challenge and challenge it will be. I'm drawing a gorgeous Black Friesian gelding. His nickname is Big D.  
The problem is the photo I'm using is not that great.  
However, I wanted to challenge myself so.... Here is the start.
Obviously this is just the sketch getting the layout correct.
I've darkened the drawing so you can actually see what I'm trying to do here.
Once I'm happy with the sketch, I will transfer it onto the working surface and start the details.
Hope you like it so far!


Thanks for stopping by :)

Monday, August 5, 2013

Gabbi Final

I just realized I never posted my final for Gabbi.  This is a 9x12 graphite portrait on Strathmore Bristol Smooth.
Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)