I really like spooky characters

I have done this drawing as a tutorial and hope you enjoy. Here is the finished drawing. Worked on the lighting in this drawing hoping to capture the soft light from the candle she holds. This was fun... Just a character sketch.

Here is the finished drawing...(above)

Let's start... (above)

An idea came to me - imagining a medieval lady roaming the halls of some huge castle - maybe as a ghost. She is mourning a lost love or an unrequited love... create the story however you wish.

So important starting point I wanted her head dipped on an angle. That's all I had at this point. Her hands wide as if pleading? Holding her skirt? Holding a ... something.

Building The Structure - Clothing...(above)

At this point I was imagining the gown she would be wearing. Definitely medieval. Some dresses from that period were nothing more than layers of a shift underneath and differing weights of wool dresses over, depending on the temperature of the castle. They were often tied with a cord of some kind, wrapped in different ways.

So this is how I started building the structure of her dress. Often even the arms were wrapped to keep the long dragging sleeves under control. Oh fun with sleeves!

Sleeves and planning what to do with the hair! (above)

Adding The Hair...(above)

I guess I can see that this character is going in the direction of Mortisha from the Addams Family. Click Click. I always loved that show as a kid. Some of you may not know who that is... it's okay she became a classic goth character.

Long straight hair with a small crocheted kind of cap on her head... perhaps with small jewels hanging.

I am also starting to lay down graphite on the hair. Want it to be dark.

Starting To Fill in - Adding Graphite...(above)

Really filling in now.

Oh... forgot to mention that I added the candle stick... and this is when I got the idea of playing with light as the exercise of this drawing. Remember I tell you usually to decide on the direction that the light is coming from - well with this character I have decided that the light is coming from the candle. This makes it more interesting.

So as I am laying down the graphite (or lowlights) I am making sure that it fits the plan for the candle light.

Laying Down Graphite - Working On Plan For Lighting! (above)

Darkening and shading... leaving highlights.
Keeping the darker shading towards the left of the figure and imagining a circle of light hitting her body, face, hair from the right side - i.e. the candle.