Family Portrait Commission - Grandfather

The portrait of the grandfather is now nearly complete but I will again leave it until the other portraits are near completion to do any further adjustments. The final lifting of the highlights is also left until the end to keep the highlights fresh and free of graphite dust. I have left the edges rough as well on their chests as I will wait until the other portraits are completed to make sure they relate well to each other.

Family Portrait Commission - Sketch and Reference Photo

This is the start of my latest commission. It is a sketch of the grandparents, father and children which will be a birthday gift for the father from a very nice friend. The artwork is 15 x 19 on a sheet of 16 x 20 Arches Hot Pressed watercolor paper.

The layout took a bit of reworking both by the client and myself and I think it was well worth the effort. It has a very nice flow which draws the eye from the father around the portrait to the other family members.

As this is a larger commission, I will start with the grandparents and work my way down from right to left, top to bottom, to the kids, house & then the father to avoid smuding and keep the drawing fresh. Generally each portrait is completed to roughly 90% before moving onto the next and then final adjustments and tweaks are made at the end. Time to jump in!