Cat ATC wip

My first attempt at an ATC (Artists Trading Card) for a swap with an artist friend in America who is doing me a lovely barn owl based on the owl Soren from the Ga'hoole fantasy series. ATCs must be 2.5" x 3.5" and it is really hard for me to get the detail I like in such a small size, even using my optivisor. Quite a lot more work needed on this one to build colour to get some depth - though I'm reasonably happy with her eyes. It is on Clairefontaine Pastelmat and I'm using various coloured pencils, but mainly FC Polychromos and a few Prismacolors.

A little progress

I've not had much time for art in the last few days but did a little on the snow leopard today. I'm finding him harder now, the softer fluffy looking fur is proving tricky.

I've darkened some areas on his head and lightened others and put in his whiskers - they don't show up as well as I'd like. Hopefully the next time I post, he'll be finished.

I'm taking photos of the wips rather than scanning and I notice that the colour is looking different on each one due to the different light and time of day that I've taken the photo. I shall have to decide whether to risk scanning the final one or if I'll just play around with the colour to get it as close as possible. Even scanning doesn't reproduce the picture perfectly.

snow leopard work in progress 3

I was able to spend some time drawing this morning while waiting in for a delivery, usually such a sunny day would have had me grabbing the camera and departing for the forest - especially as last week the weather was so bad.
Anyway, he is progressing quite nicely I think and even Clive has said it is good!! This one might even be framed and hung on my wall.

Ruby 1

After a few busy days I finally got back to the drawing board. I began this new version of my sister's cat a few days ago, I was busy on it this afternoon when I remembered I hadn't done any scans. So you are seeing it a bit further on than my usual first wip - probably about 6 hours work so far, excluding the line drawing.

This is on Polydraw 050 double matt drafting film, using Faber Castell Polychromos. Black paper behind the film as I work and for the scan.

Already I am finding it difficult - with the polychromos I am finding it hard to get more than a three layers which isn't giving the depth of colour I would like. With the eyes I have worked on the reverse of the film to overcome this. Now I'm getting to the part I dread; choosing which colours to use for the fur. The colours in the photograph I had printed look way too bright and garish so I am toning them down quite a bit, referring to the computer for the colours and the photograph for the precise detail. I am using my new Optivisor for the first time, it is very helpful but at present gives me a headache after just a short time. I guess it is similar to having a new pair of glasses!

More on the churchyard cat

Here is the next stage of 'the churchyard cat'. Overall, I'm happy with how it is developing. It isn't going to be perfect - by a long way - but I do feel I'm learning and improving. I did a comparison with the original on the computer after I uploaded this wip and it isn't too far off - I overlay the original photograph over my drawing and then use the transparency brush to reveal the drawing underneath. I find it a good way to see where I have gone wrong. In this case I have somehow got the left ear slightly off but everything else is pretty much as it should be. I probably spent about 4 hours on this today, yesterday I only did about half an hour - and that was to try and improve the nose.

The Churchyard Cat - work in progress

Well, here's my second posting of the 'churchyard cat'. I know his nose isn't right so I'll need to try and alter it tomorrow. I feel I'm muddling through this piece rather, only having used the pastel pencils once before and then I followed a tutorial. I'm unsure of how many layers to put down and what colours. Why do I always have so much difficulty picking colours! Still, it is all practice and experience.

First layer of fur

I'm plodding on with the tabby cat, still finding the pastelmat an unfamiliar support to work on. I don't actually dislike it but it is very different, particularly as I was getting used to working on drafting film which is so smooth and the pastelmat is like a sanded surface. I have to remember to keep sharpening my pencils! The light has been bad for working, so wet out it makes indoors very gloomy.

Although I'm not happy with this piece it will be worth finishing it. I'm really hoping it will get me back on track. I'll never be able to work for hours at a time again as I find my eyes get sore and start watering after a fairly short time. But short spurts will be better than nothing.

he now has a nose

A quick post just to show that I haven't given up! I did a little more on the eyes and started his nose - I'm sure when I look at it tomorrow I will decide it need more work.

beginnings

I'm finding the pastelmat very different to any other support that I've tried. This piece will be trial and error - I may even try the tutorial again once I'm used to the surface and know a bit more what I'm doing. So far, the eyes are far from being right - more work needed. I have to find out if there is a way to erase / lift colour from the pastelmat. I'm finding it quite hard to make the colours look blended, again something I have to find out about. Even if it turns out to be rubbish, I will try to finish this!

Puppy in pastels - finished

A quiet boxing day has meant time for me to complete my first attempt in pastels, working from an online demonstration by Colin Bradley. I like the softness of the result though it wouldn't suit all subjects - I still prefer the precision of coloured pencils but I can still see that I will use pastels again for some pieces. The colours haven't come out that well in thus scan but good enough to get the idea. The finished picture is approx 11" x 8".

Puppy in pastels

More on my first pastel attempt, it is progressing quite fast. I like the blendability of pastels but it does mean I have to be very careful where I put my hand! I would certainly get in a dreadful mess with pastel sticks, though they would be useful for backgrounds - I might get a few just for that. The demonstration I am following (by Colin Bradley) is very useful, I wouldn't have been as successful had I just been starting from scratch without any help. Not that the puppy is going to be perfect, far from it but not bad for my first attempt. Here is the update scan.

Playing with pastels

I have taken the plunge and begun a practice piece with my new pastel pencils; this picture is from an online demo by Colin Bradley. I'm liking the pastels so far, very different to coloured pencil and I won't use them all the time but nice for a change. This little dog is in the very early stages but I'm happy with how it's going, also I'm pleased that I did the initial line drawing freehand!

Drakkar - finis!

A couple more hours today did it and I'm happy (well reasonably) with the final result. After erasing yet again I remembered the first exercise in my drawing book (yes, the one I'm meant to be working through) and turned both the reference photo and my drawing upside down, vbg. Ok, it isn't perfect but is better than I expected yesterday when I was almost ready to give up. Amazingly it helped quite a bit, at least I think so! Feedback is appreciated as always. It will probably be after Christmas before I get started on my next piece - if I can stay away from drawing that long - after so long not doing anything I'm now wanting to draw all the time! I'm just about to order some pastel pencils so it is just possible that I will be brave and post my first attempt, then again, maybe not. Here is Drakkar, as good as I can get him. Edit, after some feedback in my UKCPS group I have darkened the shadowy area under his chin, I think it is an improvement.

A difficult kitten!

Today I erased, redid, erased, redid again - and I've still not got it right! I am really struggling to get the fur just above his nose correct. I'm almost tempted to leave it as it is but I think I will try just once more, then if it is still wrong it will just have to be one to put down to experience.

Here we are again

I sneaked in an hour or so this afternoon when I really should have been writing Xmas cards. It was such a dull afternoon that I drew under artificial light - never a good idea. I'm not happy with how this drawing is going, I have a feeling that when I look at it again tomorrow a large part of today's work will be erased and redone. Posting it always helps, I can be more objective when I see the picture on screen. I ask myself what would I think if it was someone elses work? Now I can already see there is a lot wrong but I will leave it for tonight - but expect changes tomorrow!

Drakkar's progress

There is not much to show since the last upload but I'm posting anyway! I don't want anyone that checks to think I've given up, lol. This scan is with black paper behind the drafting film instead of the pink, at least now you can see the beginnings of his pale fur and it will also be easier for me, being able to see where I'm drawing is always helpful! It is only the very beginnings - lots more time and work needed. With Christmas looming ever closer I may not get too much done over the next few days, lots of cards to write and present wrapping to be done. Today I did my last ever dog club Christmas party, I am giving up my class after 16 years. It will seem strange to have my Wednesdays free after so long but more time for art and photography, I hope. Time to cook dinner, so here is Drakkar.

birman kitten update

A lot more work on my kitten today - his name is Drakkar and I must thank Alice again for letting me use her beautiful photo as a reference. Hopefully it will look like him when finished though as I've said before, I am a long way from being able to achieve photo realism! I have spent a long time on his eyes today and I think they are a vast improvement on yesterday's wip post. I worked on the reverse of the film as well as the front and have smoothed out the colour and deepened it, using both Prismacolors and Derwent Coloursoft pencils and lots of blending with a Lyra Splenda Blender. The initial colour that I used for the fur around his eyes didn't look right so that all had to be erased and redone - with Derwent Studio, Artist & Drawing pencils - so to date he is a real mixture of different pencils. His dear little nose was also done by working on the front and back of the film, it's one way of getting around the lack of layering that I can do on film, though hard to work out what colours to use where! I can see that the scan hasn't picked up the pale fur around his eyes very well but it is there! Maybe when there is a little contrast with adjoining fur it will show up more. Today's work has taken about three hours. Here he is - I think he's coming on quite well, hope you think so too!

eye eye!

It has taken a while but today I found some time to make a proper start on my little birman kitten. He is soooo cute. I decided to work on the eyes first as I expected them to be difficult - as indeed they were - so I'm quite pleased with the result. I also experimented with using a masque pen for the whiskers & eyebrows. Not very successful as every time I brushed away pencil debris it caught on the lines of masking fluid and made a mess and if I brushed harder it took away the masking fluid as well! I will try again though and just be more careful of the direction I brush as I think it should be easier than putting in the whiskers first and having to work around them. The scan isn't brilliant, the eye colour is darker in reality, it may look better with black paper behind rather than the pink but I chose pink as the little kitten is resting on a pink cushion and there is a lot of relected pink in his white fur.

Christmas Robin

A success story this is not! I was reasonably happy until I started the background and then things started to go wrong. My plan was to use a Derwent studio pencil and smooth out the colour with a tissue - it is a technique I've use before with good results but this time it wasn't working. I resorted to using a watercolour pencil and blending the colour with damp cotton wool, scary getting the drawing damp! At least it has rescued it from going in the bin.

Honey - finished take two!

After some feedback in the UKCPS group I've made some minor adjustments, I think she looks better now.