Watercolor Portrait Demo #2

The blue underpainting has been overpainted with a olive green mixture to comeplete the grisaille. It looks more brownish than I think it should at this stage, and even moreso online, but we will see how it goes! It does have a nice glow to it though and she is starting to look less one dimensional.

Watercolor Portrait Demo

I started this portrait prior to doing the last two cat portrait commissions and am now getting back to work on it. I am going to do it as a work in progress and it is my second attempt using the same drawing that I used for my first attempt using the grisaille method. I have transferred the drawing to the watercolor paper and have painted in the lights and darks using only blue. The full image would not fit on my scanner but you get the general idea.

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak

Well I think Zak's portrait is complete! I will leave him overnight and may make minor tweaks. The scan does not show the graduations in tone as well as I would like. Some areas look a little choppy in the scan, but if gives the general idea. I think the dark background is throwing the balance off a bit for the scan.

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak- Update #4

Zak is very near completion, just a few more tweaks in his fur better match his color pattern and texture. The blanket also needs to be lightened in a few areas so it does not look so flat.

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak- Update #4

Cat, what cat..... Zak is looking a little lost right now but once I add more detail to his fur he will pop back out of the blankets and the background. I used 4B graphite pencil for the background for now but I may add charcoal at the end if I need it to add more depth. Once I pull out more highlights in the fur I will know for sure. The eyes sure make a difference! He is starting to look more like himself now.

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak- Update #3

I have added a few more layers of graphite pencil to Zak's fur and will add more still but needed to get the background established first. The blanket has been drawn with 4B graphite pencil and I will either use charcoal for the background behind his tail or 6B graphite pencil, will see how it progresses.

I definitely need to get his eyes drawn in, cats just do not look right without their eyes!

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak Commission - Demo 2

The tonal values have been further developed and Zak the cat is starting to take shape :) He is so beautiful, I love all the fur! I still need to add many layers of graphite pencil to add depth and shape to him but he is already starting to look pretty furry. I will need to establish the background early on as well to ensure his fur does not look cut out around the edges.

Christmas Gift - Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak- Update #1

Several layers of 2B graphite pencil have been added loosely, many more to go!

Graphite & Charcoal Cat Portrait of Zak

This is a cat portrait of Zak that I have just started. He is going to be a Christmas Gift for his unsuspecting person. The photo is really small but the pose is priceless and the lighting is aweseome. I have darkened the sketch in photoshop to show the detail better. The sketch was drawn lightly with a H graphite pencil. Next I will start adding in the layers of graphite pencil in 2B, HB and F for his fur.