Hi everyone, my youngest daughter is having her first baby and, as you can't buy cards for expectant mums I would like to make her one! I've done a practice sketch of a baby's hand, but am not sure how to finish if from here - do I use smudge shading, hatching, crosshatching - I've always just smudged shading in my previous drawings, but I'd like this to look really good for her! Once I get the drawing right I can then work on a verse for the inside of the card! All critique, advice and help will be very much appreciated. Sylvia

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Congratulations on your new grandchild!!! I cant help you with your shading questions, but if you plan on uploading it to editing software to add text or photos I may be able to help. How are you planning on laying the card out. The baby hand is a great idea, Are planning on adding anything to it though such as a text statement other than the verse?
shucknjive

I think it will be a perfect card ... to shade it well I can only say what i do .. I never smuge ..but thats just me .. it can be done but i cant do it well .. I just use my hand and feel the pressure of the pencil .. I think your hand looks great the way it is .. but I agree with shuck .. to maybe add text to the front or even a border would set the drawing off more then you think .
Congrats on the grandbaby !!!!

Hi shucknjive and Kim, thank you very much for your suggestions. Also for the congratulations, this will be my ninth grandchild, but unfortunately my daugher and partner are emigraiting to New Zealand at the end of May, so I won't be there when the baby is born. Another reason I wanted this card to be so special. I thought I might do something like To the Parents to Be, or maybe make it from the baby - To my Mum and Dad or something. I hadn't actually thought of doing something in editing software, but quite like the idea of it! This is only a pracice piece to see what I can do with it, once I have done the drawing to my satisfaction I'll redraw it and complete the card properly. I'm open to suggestions for anything else you might think of too!

Shucknjive, I would be most grateful for your help with this, I can practice editing on the practice drawing before I take the plunge for real. Thank you so much for the offer! Sylvia

I would be Happy to answer your questions. What editing software were you going to use? I gotta remind you though that I am no expert, but I have been doin this stuff for a couple years and I am sure that if you have a question that I cant answer off the top of my head I will be able to find the answer elsewhere for you.

My husband did this with a picture i drew of him .. check it out .. if you are able to do this it would be a really cool gift .

http://www.fairyfuzion.klik-union.com/animated/invoker-1.swf

This file is 10 megabites I think so its long but it very cool to watch .

"do I use smudge shading, hatching, crosshatching? - "Either you send you card as paper card,E-mail card, or a video card as Kim made has nothing to do with the question above.
No one can tell you which style of drawing you will be best at. Once you decide which you like or better at then someone may be able to give you some tips on improving .I am a fair drawer in my style but just can't connect with hatching or crosshatching,but that do not mean my style is better.That is just what I'm comfortable with.Try all styles ;don't get stuck with just one like me.

Shucknjive, I have Serif Photoshop, I don't know if that qualifies as the sort of software you mean? If I do something like you suggest would I be able to do it around my drawing, or would I have to insert the drawing.?

Kim, thank you so much for that, it's brilliant (and your husband is gorgeous!), but it's a card card I'm making, folded and with a verse etc.

Tehobu, I guess you're right! I cannot get to grips with hatching either, so thought that I wansn't doing it right.

I've done a bit more on it, so it you all don't mind I'll post on here for your opinions - please be brutally honest as I really want to get this right for her! Thank you all very much for the interest you're taking in this! Sylvia

[attachmentid=2714] Just as well this is just a practice piece, it gets messier by the day!

I think it looks perfect .. I would keep it just like that .. she will love it

Oh, thank you Kim. The card it's in is pretty grubby by now, so I will have to re-draw it, but at least I know what to do with it now. Thanks again! Sylvia

Sylvia,

This is lovely. 2 observations....a larger range of values in your shading from dark to light and check your spacing between the pinky finger and the ring finger...examine your own hand and you will see that wee bit of web we have between our digits and it seems to be missing here. Just to confirm my thoughts on this I checked my four yr old's, Sara's, hand and it is even a more prominent feature of her hand than it is in my own. This will be beautiful when you finish....BTW...I loved the original rough of this...both versions are lovely!!!!

Laura