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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Last night's party--evolving page


Last night we went to a birthday party for a friend...the only place we cold find to sit was near where the children were playing, so of course I grabbed my journal for some quick sketching!  They were moving constantly.

This is on tan paper...


You can tell there was no time for anything more than a suggestion of detail...and a few of the sketches were just  a line or two as the girls kept moving, hopping up, leaving, coming back, getting a new toy, changing places...




This morning I decided to add some gouache to the most promising one, of young Annabelle at play.  I added the first layers with flat, simple colors.


When those were dry, I started modeling the hair and clothing, and adding details...






I wanted more detail than I was getting with the waterbrush, so I got out my colored pencils and sharpened them, strengthening values and colors as I went along...



Here's how she turned out when I finished.  I may add more to the page, I may not...they DO evolve...

12 comments:

  1. I LOVE what you did with this little girl's drawing - the colors are amazing!

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  2. Thank you, Shirley! That's why it stuck in my mind, I guess, because of her really cute outfit...

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  3. Kate, I love, love, love this. It stands alone as a terrific argument for using toned paper as well as gouache! Roz

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  4. Thanks, Roz, it was FUN. Mixed media rocks...

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  5. Love it. What a great build up.

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  6. Fabulous examples for your Quick Sketch mini-classes. I'm bookmarking this page so I can come back for inspiration!

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  7. Her pose is so expressive, and I love the hint of background you've added behind her.

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  8. Thanks all! And Sandy, I've tweaked it a bit more since then...and did one of her little sister, too. They just keep evolving.

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  9. Simply love the little tutorial, but most of all, it's a gorgeous sketch and it totally shows how simple lines(that some may call just doodles) can be transformed into awesome illustration ^^

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  10. Thank you, Alex! Sometimes I'm perfectly happy to let a quick sketch stand as is, but that one begged to be carried further, since I so clearly remembered her red dress and striped leggings!

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  11. A most inspiring evolution of a page and such a beautiful looking girl all coloured up. Thanks for sharing this one and your process.

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