Saturday, December 02, 2006

jimmy on the train

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i drew and colored this picture of jimmy, riding on the train to the pumpkin patch w/ us, w/ colored pencils. the picture is actually darker in person, but colored pencil seems to lighten up during the scanning process. that's what happened on the last picture i did, too -- the one of jerry leaning on the porch railing.

anyway, the pictures was taken of jimmy as he watched out the window on the train, so just the side of his face (hardly even any silhouette of his facial features) is visible. i had a hard time doing his skin, as he is so pale-complected that i didn't have pencils that light to work with! i even added in some shadows that weren't really there in the picture, just to show that he does have a jaw line.

i was happier w/ some sections of the picture more than i was the overall picture -- but it was definitely a learning process. i'm still working on trying to force myself not to draw every tiny detail -- so this picture w/ the blurred background helped me to focus more on the focal point of the picture and then blur the background in. it's coming a little easier to me now to do a picture w/o drawing in all the little details. maybe someday . . . . .

feel free to comment or make suggestions. i'm always open to learning more and getting better.

this drawing was done in a 9 x 12 sketchbook w/ 70# white paper and prang colored pencils, sprayed w/ matte finish sealant to keep it from smearing.

7 Comments:

Blogger FAQ said...

I think you did excellent work! I thought it was all great but I especially thought the ears were well done. I can't seem to do ears, so all of my people are earless!!

Sun Dec 03, 06:46:00 AM CST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the picture is wonderful. just like you. from mr. wonderful

Sun Dec 03, 08:09:00 AM CST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You've done a good job on this. The drawing is solid and the big blocks of color make a nice design.

Sun Dec 03, 10:34:00 AM CST  
Blogger Alison said...

Great view and I love the way you've caught the ribbing stitch on the sweater. I think the chin needs just a bit more of an outline - it seems to stretch forward into the 'space' before the tree, making it look too long

Mon Dec 04, 05:52:00 AM CST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is great! I am awed by anyone who can do people well!!--Carol

Tue Dec 05, 08:28:00 AM CST  
Blogger Marilyn said...

This is really good. The way you drew the ribs in the sweater is terrific.

Tue Dec 05, 06:22:00 PM CST  
Blogger Felicity Grace said...

Jill, I just wanted to say thanks for you message on EDM - it made me laugh (I write such rubbish on there!!) Anyway, I think your portrait is wonderful, I love the composition. I generally avoid backgrounds altogether so I can't help there but keeping them out of focus looking will concentrate the eye on the subject. Also, if the skin is too light and you are using a digital photo, you could darken it and perhaps over emphasise the darks and lights. I agree, I would define the chin a little more to bring him away from the background.

Thu Dec 07, 01:01:00 AM CST  

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