Experimenting with a more painterly approach in this portrait of Sktchy muse Giada. I drew this on my iPad Pro using a Blackwing Pencil brush and Lisa Bardot’s Gouache brushes.
Images
Isabelle
I made such a mess overworking my watercolour in this portrait of Sktchy muse Isabelle – it’s slightly improved by working over it with coloured pencils. It’s also my contribution to this week’s Old School Sktchy WAX challenge on the theme “Fall”.
Laura
I’ve known Laura via Instagram for a few years – she’s an amazing musician aka She Makes War. She recently joined Sktchy and as soon as she did I added her photos to my Sktchy queue and planned to draw her asap. I’m so glad I got around to doing just that today. I drew this in my Moleskine sketchbook with Copic markers.
If you want to check out Laura’s music you can find it on Bandcamp at https://shemakeswar.bandcamp.com
Her Instagram name is @shemakeswar
Lilo
This portrait of Sktchy muse Lilo was a real challenge. I finished it in coloured pencil and then decided I wasn’t at all happy with it, especially with the angle of the head. So I imported it into Procreate, chopped off the head, seated it at a better angle, works on the whole portrait some more in Procreate and I’m much happier with how it now looks. This is one of the many benefits of using both a sketchbook and an iPad for drawing – it’s possible to meld the two drawing methods together for a better result.
Bethany
Such a lovely face but some difficult light and shadows to capture here. Didn’t manage it with watercolour alone so I worked over the top with coloured pencil to add more definition. I was using my usual Zecchi watercolours in a Laloran sketchbook and Polychromos coloured pencils.
Coffee truck
I know, it’s not a face. It’s a coffee truck for a Sketchbook Skool “Draw This!” photo challenge. I’ve always loved drawing vehicles and this truck is so gorgeous – it’s an irresistible drawing challenge for me. I drew it on my iPad Pro in Procreate with an Apple Pencil using a whole range of brushes but mostly my favourite Blackwing Pencil brush and a watercolour brush.
Jennie
There are some Sktchy muses who are almost iconic- every Sktchy artist has to draw them at least once! Jennie is one of those muses (and she’s also an artist). She’s known for her huge range of inspiration photos and her willingness to experiment with poses, makeup and cosplay. This portrait is drawn from an awesome series of photos featuring “Good Omens” cosplay.
I drew this in an A4 Moleskine Sketchbook with Copic multiliners and markers.
Giada
I have an ongoing problem with placement of portraits on the page. Giada’s portrait today is a case in point. I always start drawing with the eyes. I thought I had placed the eye far enough across the page to fit in the whole head but by the time I got to drawing the hair (pretty much the end of the portrait) it was clear I was wrong. And I’m much too lazy to start again at that point.
It also left me with the problem of what to do with all the space on the left hand side of the page. I did think initially of making a pattern out of the letters painted on Giada’s cheek, but I don’t know what they say and I didn’t want to be rude or disrespectful by writing them incorrectly or changing their meaning by writing them into a pattern. So I dug out my huge collection of washi tape and Japanese stickers and found a sticker that matched the mood of the portrait and used that to fill the space.
I painted this in a Laloran sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours and finished it with coloured pencils.
Lilian
I have a slight obsession with images that make me think of space. Lilian’s Sktchy photo that inspired this image was possibly derived from a motorbike helmet, gloves and jacket (and some ivy :)) but it immediately made me think of space and astronauts. As I was drawing it I was most definitely drawing an astronaut, or maybe now I think about it I was drawing Jules, hero of Hugh Howey’s Wool trilogy and probably my favourite science fiction character.
I drew this on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil using the Procreate app.
Layla
Still finding my way with coloured pencils. I’m only really comfortable hatching and I’m still trying to figure out how to represent form, colour and light and shade with pencils using hatching. It’s a slow process and I’m finding that I’m exaggerating form much more than I do with other mediums – I’m not quite sure why its especially obvious in this drawing, where I’ve obviously elongated Layla’s torso quite a lot. I was aware that I was doing it but it seemed quite a natural thing to do with my pencils.
I drew this with Polychromos coloured pencils in a HannehmĂĽhle Nostalgie sketchbook,
drawing faces 