Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait Completed

Well this cute little baby girl's portrait is completed just in time for her first birthday. Some of the transitions still look a little harsh in the scan from dark to light but it is much more gradual in the completed portrait.

I hope her mommy and daddy enjoy it! I will be sad to see her go as I have gotten a little attached ;) I think that is why I sometimes tend to fiddle around a bit at the end, separation anxiety ;)

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP6

I just did a few minor tweaks and drew this cutie's eyelashes and brows. I still need to even out a few of the highlights but want to let the graphite settle into the paper a bit first.

I will leave the portrait for a day to get a bit of distance and then make the final tweaks as needed but she is pretty much completed. Again, online the transition between the lights and darks can be a little harsh looking but in the real portrait they are quite subtle but still provide contrast to capture her character.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP5

Well she is nearing completion! I still need to add her eyebrows and lashes and make some tweaks here and there. Her clothing is nearly complete, just need to add a bit more depth and a few details. I am leaving out some of the detail as I do not want it to draw attention away from her face.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP4

Well, she looks much better with 2 eyes! More layers have been drawn using a 2B graphite pencil for her skin. Her hair has been drawn with 2B, B, HB, F and 3H graphite pencils, blending as I go and adding some of the highlights.

For her eyes, I used 2B, HB and 3H graphite pencils to draw the iris. The pupil was drawn with 2B and HB only being careful not to add too much of a shine to the paper. I like to bring all of the different areas of the face to near completion and then hone in on the details so no area is complete until the end of the portrait. It is really starting to look like this cute little baby girl though I think :)

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP3

Just a quick update! I have drawn many many more layers of 2B, HB and F graphite pencils. Just slowly building up the layers of the graphite portrait of this cutie!

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP2

I have drawn a bit more skin tone values throughout using 2B and H graphite pencils. The lips have been drawn using 2B, B, HB and H graphite pencils. The teeth will be finished last and the lips still need some adjustments which will be done nearer the end of the portrait. I tend to jump around the portrait a bit when I draw as I like to let the graphite settle into the paper.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP1

I have drawn the darkest areas on her face and below her jaw to establish the tones using my trusty 2B graphite pencil. Then it is a matter of adding more layers to build up the shadows. Her right eye has been built up but will need more tweaking later. I am leaving the left eye for now as I hope to get another reference photo as her dark brown eyes are a little dark in my existing reference photo.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - Sketch

I have drawn the rough outline with an HB graphite pencil and darkened it in photoshop so that the lines could be seen on the computer. The reference photo is below.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Portrait Commission

This adorable little girl is the subject of my next graphite portrait commission. She is such a cutie and looks like she is full of spunk! This portrait will be in celebration of her first birthday which is coming up shortly.

Completed 1st Anniversary Graphite Portrait

I will make minor tweaks but the anniversary portrait is pretty much complete. His hair needs a bit more work to add a bit more depth. I still need to clean up the smudges of course. I like to leave the completed portrait for awhile to get a bit of distance before giving it a final once over and making any adjustments if necessary.

The image with the hands showing is taken with my digital camera as my scanner is not large enough to capture the full image. Thought I would upload the final scanned image as well for consistency.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #7

Several more layers of 2B and H graphite pencil have been added and blended for the hair. I will leave the hair for now so the graphite has time to settle into the paper and come back to it to add more depth.

The shirt and the tie have been nearly completed so I will now start on tweaking the facial features first to the groom and then to the bride until I am happy with the resemblence for their portrait.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #6

Quick update. the lighter layers of skin and hair have been added using 2B, HB, B and F graphite pencils. Many more layers to go!

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #5

The drawing process is the same for the groom, just adding the skin tone in layers using mostly 2B and HB graphite pencils and blending to build up the layers and hone the features of his portrait.

It looks pretty rough right now as there are many areas in different stages of completness, next update should look more cohesive.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #4

I think I will move onto the groom at this point and come back to the bride later for the finishing touches. Her eye and nose need to be tweak still as there are a few areas that are off. Her skin needs to be smoothed out a bit in some areas and of course the hair and necklace need to be completed.

I like to leave each portrait for a bit as a bit of 'distance' makes any errors jump out at me after a day or two.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #3

Many more layers of 2B graphite pencil have been added to the portrait. Several areas need to be tweaked but she is starting to take shape. I have drawn in the hairline a bit more but will leave the rest of her hair until later.

At this stage of the drawing I am more concerned with building up the layers of tone with the graphite. I then continue to move the graphite around to add depth and capture the personality and character of the bride.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #2

Many more layers of 2B graphite have been lightly added to build up the tones in the bride's face. The eyelashes and brows have been roughly marked in with a HB graphite pencil and will be finalized at the end to keep them looking crisp as will the wispy hairline.

The stage of the portrait always looks odd as the building process needs to be done slowly and in many layers so some areas are more developed than others. The skin tone looks a little grainy in the scan due to the dark hair but is actually very smooth looking on the real portrait.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #2

Several layers of graphite have been added and blended using 2B and H graphite pencils to create the bride's.

I have gone back into areas, removed highlights and then added more layers to create depth in her hair. I still need to add more of the detail to her hair and the wisps framing her face but I will leave those to nearer completion as I want them to be crisp.

I added a very light layer of skin tone using 2B graphite pencil and blended lightly. Many more layers to come! The scan does not pick the skin up well at this point because the contrast between the hair and the skin is so great. Next update her portrait should look better!

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - Initial Sketch

This is the initial sketch for the portrait. I darkened the scanned image in photoshop as the actual lines are quite light. I tried to add a fair bit of detail this time at this stage as a bit of a 'road map'. I used an HB graphite pencil for this stage as it blends in easily so that the lines will not be visible later.

Anniversary Graphite Portrait - WIP #1

This is the reference photo for an anniversary portrait commissioned by the groom for his bride. I love the way their noses are almost touching :)