Let it Snow
model – Stacy Lee
Tag winter
Completed new art – “Let’s Rub Noses”
There wasn’t too much skin to work on, so blicking it in was quick, and I was able to get into the details soon after. The face, being small in this image, took some time, and I did hit a bit of trouble. It was in a place I would never have thought would be a problem – the teeth. After the skin was on, the teeth seemed a bit bright, so I began washing some grey-tan over them. Well, the paper decided to give up from just that much water and began rubbing off. This is on a board, so there’s a few layers to work with, but it does create an awkward texture. I smoothed it off best I could, but no way would washed paint ever work on there again. Pencils would only enhance the texture, so either I apply thick paint, or what I ended up doing is use the oil pastels. Up close, I think the silky texture of the oils is odd for teeth, but from a viewable distance, they look fine. Everything else went well, and I was able to finish it today.
Let’s Rub Noses.
Let's Rub Noses
starting new project
Friday I had a new shoot with model Stacy Lee, which was lots of fun. Before starting in on those shots though, I had one concept designed and ready. This one is from the recent shoot with model Kneely, and it didn’t take much to come up with its look. I played with the color palette a bit, then envisioned the background, and it was ready for drawing…
model – Kneely
note – I had the camera still set from the photo shoot, so it came out rather dark and grainy (since I don’t use the full set of lights for these shots). The next photo will give a better idea of the image for you.
Today, I got through quite a bit, and since it was all going smoothly, I didn’t stop to take pictures. first, I masked the image out, and airbrushed the background overall with a light blue acrylic mix. Then I mixed a medium blue, airbrushing over the top half, followed by darker and darker blues. Next, I mixed a light, bright green, airbrushing the Aurora Borealis design over the sky. I completed the background using a white colored pencil to create the stars.
Once dry, I removed the masking and began work on the paint. First was the white fur, using a light grey gouache. Next was the coat, using a mix of light pink and purple gouache. The color ended up a little red for my taste, but it had the texture I wanted, so using a brush on it again would be dangerous. I applied the masking around the coat, then mixed a light blue-purple acrylic, which I airbrushed over the entire coat. I completed the coat using colored pencils to finesse the details.
I then moved on to the face and hair, painting it all using various gouache paints. And just that quick, the paint work was completed (including the tinted and textured gesso applied to the skin areas)…
work progress – stage 1, the background
Yesterday I masked out the image and began work on the background. First, I airbrushed it overall with a very light gray, darkening it toward the top. Then I used brushes to paint the forest, starting with a medium bristle and a dark gray-green gouache paint to scrub in the far trees. Next, I painted in a few hints of trunks and branches with the same paint, adding black and ultramarine. Then I mixed a gray-brown and painted the foreground tree and a few near little trees/branches. I also used this color with a near-dry brush for the grass sticking through the snow. With that all dry, I came back with a the bristle brush, this time using a thick white, scrubbing in the snow on the trees and branches. With all the brushwork done, I used the airbrush once again to soften and push it back into a haze using a medium gray acrylic…
New image designed and started
The shorter days of Winter really take their toll on my creativity. I sat staring at images for the past few days trying to find something to inspire my next piece, with little luck. Thankfully yesterday I remembered a concept I had thought about a year or two ago – using candy cane stripes on an outfit. With that in mind, I found a model and pose that I thought would be interesting, and started designing.
It was a little trick to get the stripes to wrap properly, but I think I got it now. I played around with what else to do with the piece and decided to keep it in a holiday theme, so she’ll be wearing tinsel garland on top (and possibly some holly leaves, but not certain on that yet).
I got it drawn on the board this morning…
model – Percolate
With that done, I masked out the image, then proceeded to airbrush the background with acrylics. I started with a light aqua color, focusing most of it in a circle just below center. Then I filled out the rest with a true blue, blending it toward the circle. I chose these as they’re ‘wintery’, and the deep, bright colors will be a nice contrast to the light stripes on her legs…
