This thread is an opportunity to share techniques, mediums and information with others on the forum. A work in progress or WIP is a series of images of a drawing or painting from start to finish.

To ensure that your work is all in one place, I would recommend that you just keep adding to your post by hitting the 'edit' button of your initial post when you want to add a new image of your progress. That way your hard work will all be in one place and everyone can see the progression. This is a bit of an experiment so any suggestions on how to make it better are welcome.

I have started the image of a black labrador dog and will share my process with you, slow as it may be! The initial drawing is on 11 x 14 sketchbook in mechanical pencil. I work up a detailed drawing freehand, creating a value map for where to place my tonal values later.

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Then I transfer the image onto the paper I want to use - in this case Stonehenge 9 x 12. This paper is a fairly strong tooth and holds enough layers of cp so that I don't run out of oomph before I get the colour build up that I want. The transfer was done in blue coloured pencil. I don't use a pencil as the graphite in it can transfer to the coloured pencil and affect the colour. I use blue because there is so much blue in a black dog. I use Prismacolor pencils. Its very pale here and in reality too so difficult to get a good image.

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Next I start in on the main focus points of the drawing - the eyes and nose. I find if I get those right, then the rest follows. If I screw them up, I'm doomed and its just another firestarter!

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This the current stage of the drawing. Its approaching its 'ugly' stage. All drawings go through this point and its sometimes hard to work past it as its frustrating. I've used a range of colours in this drawing blues, purples, greys and and some black. The background will be soft unfocused colours blending into each other. In each area there are from 3 - 12 layers of colour to build up to the final image.

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I cannot share the reference image with you as I do not have permission from the dog's owner. I welcome any comments or critiques and I will add more images as the drawing progresses.

Here's tonight's update. I scanned it instead of a digital photo so its a little grainy but also the colours are more realistic. There's not a big difference but I've started adding colour to sculpt the dog's face. Still more layers of greys and blues with a bit of purple and cream in there too as well as some pinks and henna to add warmth to the fur. Coloured pencil is a slow process and takes a number of layers to build it up to something that resembles realism. So keep drawing and checking back on this one. It may be a week or more in the making.

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Update for November 7th.
I've added more layers and started defining the fur on the face a little. I've added more touches of henna as well as indigo blue to the face nose and lip area and glazed with true blue in the highlights. I have also added more shape to the background, putting the dog in a woodsy autumnal setting. The softening and haziness of the colours help give the impression of distance and early morning light.

I'll start working on the ear next and continue sculpting the face.

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Here is the final update - at least I think its the final one. I'll leave it for a week or so and see what tweaking it needs after that. After that a quick spray of fixative then it joins the stash for marketing or sales.

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If only this was posted earlier! I did a quick digital painting last night, perfect for this thread. Oh well, I'll do something today and edit into this post

Your dog is looking good! I hate that 'ugly' stage. That's when all the "did I screw up?" and "Oh jeez, it's not working!" thoughts creep in

i think this is a great idea IslanderNL

i love your dog drawing i have a long way to go yet i dont know how you do it!!

i love the dog. one of my main problems is getting past the ugly stage. even in graphite i have a very hard time. and i also keep thinking it doesnt look right. also i have some questions on colors that you are using. why did you choose green, yellow and red for the back round? it does look very nice. but i have a hard time choosing colors like that. and how did you know how to choose blue, does it show in the picture? i assuming you will be layering, will you go darker with the blue. i probably should wait and see. i am doing a portrait of my sister on her wedding day. it just doesnt look right to me. i know the hair is all wrong, but i am just learning to do realistic hair and hers is curly, but her face seems just wrong to me. can i post the image and my drawing so far here? thanks
Lori

I understand that this was directed at J, however I would like to give a couple ideas that I use when you get to the point where you think your art is crying mutiny.
One way is to take a DP, or scan your drawing, place it side by side with the original, and identify where you are falling short. (Chin to low or high, cheekbones misaligned, so on)
Another way that I prefer is to take a pic, print it out the same size as the original, then place one over the other, and flip the top one back and forth, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker. Your brain will take mental snapshots of the two images, and it will start to compilate a 'error sheet'. Sounds hokey I know, but man, thats my Old Faithful if my drawing just refuses to come together.
As for the Ugly stage, that is where my WIP is. My foal looks like it has feathers instead of hair LOL. Hey who knows, maybe its a Pegasus!! HEHE
http://www.drawspace.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=519
Cheers.

Thanks UK, I can't resist an animal portrait And this thread is to show you how its done. So ask questions, practice techniques and enjoy. I'm sure many others will add their own works in progress here too in different mediums and styles. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of others work.

Lori, thanks. Colour choice in portraits, is a bit of a learned skill which come with experience and experimentation. When I look at a reference or individual, the play of light picks up a number of colours. It could be from the fur itself or from reflected colour from an object near the animal.

I used blue in this case as highlighted black in many cases has a blue tone to it. I wanted a soft muted background and used colours that will - hopefully - blend together and complement the colour of the fur as well as provide a bit of contrast too.

As this thread is for WIPs, I'd suggest that you put your post in the General Discussion forum here as a separate thread. Of course if you plan on doing a work in progress, by all means post it here. Or if you want more detailed information, post in the newly created Critique Thread pinned at the top of the forums list. There are lots of tips and tricks to get you on the right path.

OMG this is so perfect being as how last night I started another watercolour pencil drawing. I always start out with a light sketch in pencil and work from there. I haven't gotten to the point where I like drawing the subjects with the actual color pencils yet and feel more comfortable with regular pencils. (They erase alot easier in my opinion and unless you are using color-erase pencil very hard to erase). I started the picture from a reference photo of a tropical flower that I had in my collection and most of it is still a sketch while I have started with color. I am doing this particular drawing on aquarelle water color paper.

This is off to a flying start Venus, can't wait to see more. I wish I could do flowers but something in my brain just won't let me and they all end up as dog faces

Jeanette I am sure you are exaggerating...lol. I have seen your drawings and most of them are wonderful. I just have a passion for flowers though. I love them. Plus they are one of my favorite things to draw. Just takes practice. I think the hardest part is coloring them and trying to make them look real. Heck trying to make everything look real is hard for me, I think thats why I have decided to try to illustrating approach.

venus-- looking great. i cant wait to see finished. i have a hard time with color too. thats one of the reasons i want to see your work. i think you are doing fantastic with your colors. i think i will post the portrait that i am doing, i am also going to put it in the new critque thread. i really like these new threads, thanks islander!!
thanks horsewhisper, those are great ideas--i will try them.
Lori

Venus, I am so glad you are doing a WIP. Your other flowers got me all excited and I bought a watercolor tablet and a little set of watercolor pencils. Well, ahem. Pardon me folks but all the excitement in the world doesn't make your art recognizable. Holy cow, how can a flower be so hard? Or the pencils? It looked pretty good until adding a little water made it look like my 4 year old grand daughter did it. In fact, she walked passed it this morning and said, "I can do that grandma, let me help". Critics! Ha Ha Ha

Anyway, I can hardly wait to watch the progress. Thank you

I'm excited about watching the progress also but wonder how it will work with all the wips in one thread? Will we know which post has been updated?

Jeanette, unfortunately, you pictures kept timing out on me so I haven't seen them in their entirety yet. I won't clear my cache & will try again to see them as that will sometimes work. I really love animal portraits so want to watch your progress.

Oh, goody, Venus! I like seeing how others work so will be watching your wip too!

LOL @ Cyn! I'm just getting started with the w/c pencils myself so we can get past the childish stage together! I called the mail order company where I ordered my pencils & they're to arrive here about Wednesday! Can't wait!

Jeanette, with your skill, I'm sure you could do florals if you really wanted to. I think you nailed it when you said they didn't interest you. I find it very hard to do subjects that don't inspire me & don't do them very well if I even attempt them. I imagine that most artists feel that way.

Watching closely here, so get busy ladies!

J

PS - Jeanette (& other interested parties) I saw the Inktense pencils advertised on E-bay but they were from a seller in the UK, I think. The price was very, very good though - about half of what mine cost on sale - and they say they'll ship to the US. I would think they would also ship to Canada. Just a thought. Oh, & I finally saw something about their lightfastness - they have a very decent rating so the colors shouldn't unduly fade.

As I said when I join this site I haven't drew any in 4 years for personal and health reasons.Well I have hung around for a while now so I might as well get this behind me.I am soon to be 58 years old.I have been interested in drawing since a small boy,but never took it serious to be good at it.The health reason is my eye is not as good as they once were and my hands start to shake if hold something after a short period of time.You have inspired me to try my luck at drawing again.I have started a drawing of my youngest grand daughter,and if I may I'll show it here WIP.Here is the picture I'm drawing it by and the progress I have drew so far.
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11/07/06
After four years of not drawing this is way harder than I thought it were to be.I'll apologize in advance.
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11/25/06
Well here it is! I'll not say I'm finish,just say I quit.This is my first attempt at drawing in 4 years. The difference in being inspired and being good shows.Oh well,I tried.

I have a 1/4 inch clear grid paper that I put over the picture and drew a 1/2 inch grid on the drawing paper,Did the out line then erase the grid.I can already tell it is not going to be easy but I'll do the best I can.Ted

Thats one AWESOME drawing Ted. I cant wait to see the finished product. Keep it up.
Cheers.
Paul

Yes, you're all right, I could do them if I really wanted to, but they never seem to inspire me enough to complete one. I think they are beautiful and have tons of them in the garden, but drawing or painting them? Like I said, they turn into animals or people.

I'm sorry J-Lynn. I'll try reducing the size of the files and repost them when I get home later.
Hopefully that will help with the viewing issue.

THUNK! That's the sound of my jaw hitting the floor Ted as I opened your drawing of your grandchild. Simply beautiful! Keep going, its going to be a fantastic finish on this one. You got at least one adopted aunt here, no problem. Does that mean you send me birthday cards and come visit too?

"Does that mean you send me birthday cards and come visit too? smile.gif"I don't know about the visitation thing .Never been to Newfoundland,been to Greenland once as a stopped over coming home from Germany.I don't believe I'll be going that far north any time soon.

wow this is a great idea .. I love the dog .. I cant do animals very well just learning ...
and Venus your flowers are always so beautiful...cant wait to see it done .
Tehobu your drawing is beautiful also .. what a sweet pose .

Hey there UK,

GL on this exercise, I hope you do well on it.

As a point of observation, the perspective on the ??shed?? face looks 'flat'. To the right of the face is what looks like the side of this building. If that is indeed correct, then I would suggest reworking the perspective on the face of the building to go to a VP on the left of the sketch pad. This will also give your sketch much more depth when complete.

As well, check out dean's post @ http://www.drawspace.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=525 to give some ideas concerning inking of trees.

Continue to post WIP so we can see your progress, as Im sure you will pull this one off nicely.

Cheers.

Paul

hay Paul Thanks for ya post good to hear from you!

am hopeless with perspective but i will study the perpective from the drawing lessons on this site and i will see what i can Do no worries i will keep ya posted



oh To the right of the face is what looks like the side of this building. No its not its a Fence

IslanderNL: You are a very good artist! & im very happy that you are here! im also **thankfull** for all the time you give us its very kind of you and*** i love ya!! **xxxxx



Horsewhisperer: Your grass looks like grass!! it looks great and as for your horse pic WOW its out of this world ** very beauitiful** can i see an update on that pic please??? Oh ps paul dont put ya work down please you are a **good artist!!**



Venus: Well you have come so far ** keep up the good work! ** i love your flower your** very good **at it! i cant draw flowers lol .



Tehobu:*** Im very proud of you!! ** you have been though so much & that stroy you told us has really** uplifted me** Thanks for sharing how you feel , Just stay strong and keep going and do your best you are a** very talanted artist **and i cant wait to see the rest of your drawing well done heres a BIG HUG from your 2nd abopted aunt!! oh i could be your abopted Daughter!! i will be 26 years old this month time flys huh!! dont forget my bithday card



Take care u guys love ya all Ukartist xxxxxxxxx



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Thanks for the comments everyone. I finished with the coloring part so all I have to do now add the water to give it the water color look. Hopefully I will have enough time to post it tonight before I go to bed.

Wow Venus ... thats a great Job .. I love the colors you used ... and all your flowers are beautiful .

Thanks Kim!!!!

Thanks UKartist, you're always so kind. I like your drawing and think once you have the ink on it, it will really come to life. Yep perspective is tricky alright, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. I love the trees on the right in your drawing, great shapes!

Venus, the flower shades are lovely. You have a delicate touch with them. I'd love to see what you can do with coloured pencil on a smooth paper. I think you'd really do well with it. I still envy anyone able to make a flower look like flower

Ok so you ever hear the saying you should leave it alone? I think I should have or not used so much color. Anyways this WIP picture is done. I added the water and I think it truely looks like a water color painting instead of a colored pencil water color, which in my opinion is not a bad thing I was just exsperimenting anyways and trying to get a feel for them.

Jeanette yes I need to find the mat boards they are always talking about in my colored pencil books. I have yet to try them on a smooth surface. Almost all of my sketch pads are rough and heavy paper because thats what I like using for regular pencil. I know the paper for my water color pencils looks rough too. I need to learn more about different papers and such. I know there is a great forum on Wet Canvas specificly for colored pencils and water colored pencils maybe I will try there and learn something later this week or whenever I have time. So we will see how that goes.

Anyways enough blabbering....here it is.

Ok, I'm going to post something I've been working on for a bit and I'll catch ya'll up to speed to where I am now...This is a portrait of a friend of mine on her wedding day entitled ..."The Bride"

14 x 17 inches on Strathmore white (which is more like a cream, but hey what do I know they call it white)
I have only used a 2hb mech pencil and blending with a homemade tortillion made out of copy paper.

I've lost track of the hours I've put into this so far, but it's alot!

[attachmentid=660][attachmentid=661][attachmentid=662][attachmentid=665]

Sorry, had to remove the last image...my daughter stitched it together and I forgot how horrible it looked so I'll scan it tomorrow and put it all together for ya'll.


Thanks for looking,
Laura


11/7/06
Ok...found a couple of more rescent scans of this...it's not stitched togethere but does show the correction I made in the hand which was a bit on the small side...still is a wee bit...and shows more of the detail that is in the skirt....thanks for looking

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Laura


Ok, gang...took a photo with my camcorder and captured a shot of the bride...also played around with this trying to get it to look more like it does in real life...unfortunately this is as big and as good as it gets. Tomorrow I'll scan and stitch it together so you can have a better look. This is not finished I still have to put all of the embroidery in.

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11/28/06

Well...I'll give myself a couple days of not looking at her, and if I see anything that just glares at me well than I'll see what I can do about it...but for now I'm saying DONE!!!
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WOW!! Speechless,,with envy!!

Wow Laura!!!! Who are you trying to fool saying you need drawing lessons huh? Because you are sooo good i think you are crazy thinking you need any type of help. Great job.

Ted,
Thank you and I love the picture of your grandbaby!!!





HAHAHAHAHAHA...Venus, I never say that... I say I have so much more to learn...hehehehehe

If you get a chance look up Armin Mersmann on the net...he's my hero....I'll see if I can find the link for ya'll

Armin Mersmann

This is why I say...I have so much more to learn!!!!

Laura

Laura he is pretty good. I don't really have an ideal artist that I really admire much. I love Brenda's lesson and she is a fantastic artist as well as Lee Hammond. I also like Krity Ann Kutch for her colored pencil techniques. Well I guess I do have a few that inspire me...LOL but you are pretty good yourself. That portrait of your friend is amazing. I know I cannot draw a person that well. I still have a problem with clothes and hair. I think I can get a basic likeness to the persons face but I have only drawn two pictures of actual people. Those were past draw space challenges. One was the baby and the other one was I believe the picture of 3lansir? Anyways look forward to seeing the finished picture.

Venus,

I enjoy Brenda's work too and I also admire how willing she is to share information...I'm still reading as many of her lessons as I can each day...which isn't easy...I have 4 daughters and a husband a dog and a cat to take care of! I forgot to mention that I really love the flower your working on! Color is so hard for me...I work in pastels too but mostly graphite and I find it hard to switch from my black and white world to color!!! This is actually my first voyage into clothing...I have mainly stayed with the faces up until now.
Well, I'm off to bed! Night all.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Laura,
I'm in awe, whites terrify me. There is no don't in my mind that I'm looking at a white dress and veil. The dress looks silky and heavy and the veil looks ethereal. I have several white subjects that I want to tackle when I've gone through more of Brenda's lessons. I'll be checking out your work when I do. I had to laugh I have 4 boys, a husband, 1 dog and 2 cats. Being laid off is great fun I never would have found time to do this when I was working.
Paulette

Thank you IslanderNL you have made my day its my 1st ever tree that i have drawn bless me lol oh i was gonna ask you how long have you been drawing for?

and Venus love your flower ya so good at that !

and as for Laura01 your pic is out of this world very beautiful u saw you need drawing lessons!!



x

Paulette,

White terrified me too...eek...nothing like a wedding dress to cure you of that...hehehehe...you just have to draw what you see...with the veil...I have mostly painted it in with my dirty tortillion. It is also about indicating the negative space around the veil and dress too...it's been alot of fun and a real challenge for me. It's not finished yet of course and I still have alot of detail to add in...there is embroidery up the back of the train and around the other side of the skirt as well.

Ukartist,

Thank you! Well gotta get back to it....hopefully will have another update in the next few days!

Laura

Your finished image is lovely Venus. The colours and shading are well rendered. I'd suggest something will a little more tooth than matboard to draw on. You may not be able to get a lot of layers on that. But then again I haven't used it much so its worth experimenting with. Its good for graphite work, similar to illustration board.

I use a variety of papers for coloured pencil work, but mostly stonehenge as I like the texture. You could try a smoother one, like Strathmore or bristol vellum to experiment with dry pencils. Yes WetCanvas has a great coloured pencil thread. I've posted some things there in the past.

Laura, this is exquisite. You've done a fabulous job on the folds of the dress and veil. Just beautiful. Yes something with that much detail does take time.

Your welcome Nicole. I've been drawing for going on 30 years now I guess. I started more seriously in my early twenties but had created or drawn as a child and teenager. I had some wonderful mentors and teachers along the way so just kept going. And here I am!

PS I added an update to my WIP of the dog last night.

Please try to keep all your progress updates in the same thread so then people don't have to search all over the thread for them. It looks really neat to see the progression in a single thread. Rather like one of those fast forward films. To do that, you need to hit 'edit' then 'full edit'. Once you've finished updating you hit 'completed edit' and your done!

Wow Wow Wow Wow Laura.

What else can I say?? Thats some AWESOME work there. Personally I think you captured the pose quite nicely.

Cheers.

Paul

ted-- thats looks so great so far. i will keep watching.
Laura--like everyone else WOW. that is fantastic. i hope to be there someday. i have a very hard time with color too. i am exploring pastels right now. and looking into color pencils. which brings me to Jeanette and venus-- i love to watch you both with color. the colors you choose is awesome. i just dont know how you decide on the colors you choose. i know the obvious is the color of the subject but like yours jeanette, you put some pink in there. i see it around the eye and in the mouth, is that the only places you put it in.
i love the backround venus.
i am thinking on taking some courses in drawing--not sure where or what to take. any recommendations?
Lori

Venus .. i love the drawing of the flower .. I do not feel the colors are too bright that is what i love about the drawing ... it looks ready for the wall in a fine dinning room .
Laura .. I am impressed and I am not alone lol ... I think you captured the pose the dress .. the fall of the dress .. the lace even the vail .. your friend will love this .. it looks like something that would cost soo much money to have done .. wonderful job .. makes me want to try and do a wedding dress .
may i ask what homemade tortillion is ?

Lori, you could try community colleges, universities, private art studios, look in art stores for flyers, etc to find art lessons. You never know what's in your area til you start poking around.

I use a variety of colours in my cp work as my work is made up of layers and layers of colour. Black doesn't make black dog fur in my drawing. It is a combination of blue, brown, red, yellow, green purple, etc. These together give a much deeper, richer colour black or the illusion of black. Black on its own would look flat and boring, but when you inject colour into the layers it becomes alive.

And of course every object is coloured too by reflecting hues that surround them, including natural, or artificial light, both of which cause considerable differences in all colors.

To test the theory, take some fruit - an apple for instance and place it on different colours of construction paper and see the tones that are reflected in the fruit.

This is why the dog for instance, on first glance is black, but in reality is made up from many colours. Disco Dog!

Ok i got help from my mother in law with this drawing as i dont have a clue lol

i have updated the drawing so here goes i will be inking it tomorrow



heres what my tutor asked me to do for my exercise



A drawing in pen and ink , of any overgrown part of my environment. it can be a garden, a park or even an abandoned scrap yard. try and work in layers of pen line in order to build up the density and rishness of the vegatation.

I like the updated drawing .. nice path ... cant wait to see it inked .

Kim,

A tortillion is a blender similliar to a stomp...here's a link to make your own tortillion

I keep 3 on hand...1 with a fine point...1 sanded so it's fussy on the end and just an extra one incase one of the kids looses one of the other 2...hehehehe they come in handy for those really fine areas and when they are loaded with graphite you can paint with them as well.

Jeanette,
I've really would like to work with color more so I am watching you closely...nice update....how many layers of colored pencil do you think will go into this?



Ukartist,
I'm on the wrong computer right now to see your update ...the file is so big....I want to see it so I'll have to look next time ....can't wait to see you lay in the ink!

Laura

Thank you Kim

Thank you laura I will be making me some of those .. I take it you use it for blending the detail.

This is coming on well UKartist. The path 'sits' much better now, don't you think? This will be very interesting once its completed.

That's a great link Laura for the tortillons. I use them mostly for charcoal or carbon work, so a free supply is always welcome. This would be a great post for the 'HOW DO I....?' thread if you'd like to put the link there too.

Colour layers for cp vary from 3 to 12 layers usually. It depends on how intense I want the colour to be and simply how many colours or layers it takes to get to a particular hue. Right now I'm up to about 6 I'd say. Hopefully there will be an update later after I scan it.

Kim,

Yes, that's exactly right!

Ukartist,
The path looks so much better!!!!

Jeanette,
Will do! Hope to see that update soon!

Laura

Tonight's dog update is posted.

Jeanette,

I was just getting ready to log out and there was your update!!! Yippee....He looks like he's just spotted something...you know that stillness that dogs get just before the chase!!! Love the colors your using in the background!

Laura

Islander fantastic job on the dog. I love it. The colors are superb. I haven't really tried to do that fine of an art project with colored pencils I am still pretty much learning and getting a feel for them. Basically exsperimenting with the colors still. I will have to get some vellum paper? I really don't know what is good for colored pencils. I have tons of sketch books I have bought but really don't like the thickness off the paper and think it is too "thin". I like heavy paper I just find it rather hard to find. I don't have the patience to wait for it through the mail. So I basically just try to go for the heaviest I can find at the art store buy me which is more of a craft store so the art section is kind of limited. All the good stores and miles away. So I think Micheals had it last time I was there but I didn't know what it was for because it didn't say on the front of the pad. So anymore kinds you can think of let me know.