Goofy giraffe

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Finished giraffe drawing

In addition to the goofy subject matter, the process of drawing this was a joy. Do you ever have those moments when you catch yourself being happy? That happened for me while “working” on this drawing.

 

I’m still struggling with how to make shadows with watercolor pencil. I’m not happy with the harshness of black, but using the complementary color doesn’t seem to work well either. (Perhaps my Christmas present of 48 watercolor pencils (!) will solve this problem.)

I knew I was going to add the ink to this drawing. After making my peace with the shakiness of my marks when I made the chickadee drawing, I was surprised to discover that these marks were much steadier. Welcome to living with MS – one day shaky, the next day steady. Adding ink is still the most nerve-wracking part of the process. I kept being worried I would make a major mistake and ruin the piece. Happily, my phrase for 2017 is “more brave, less perfect,” so whatever happened, all would be well.

Challenges:

  • shadows with watercolor pencil (complementary color? Black?)
  • Leaving space for catch lights in the eyes

What was new:

  • pencil under drawing

Things with which to experiment:

  • sketchier marks
  • filling in background areas – paint? Crazier marks? Crosshatching?

Questions:

  • colored pencil versus watercolor pencil?
Skills

Posted on

January 2, 2017

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