A step by step process post about my latest watercolor portrait.
Hello and good Saturday!
Today I thought I would write another step by step/ process shot post about one of my latest paintings.
I usually like to document my process, but lately I've just done quicker works where I've ditched the photosessions and just focused on the painting.
This little portrait however I made the other day and decided before I started that I would take clear process photos.
One of the reasons being, I wanted to try adding some more drawing in with the watercolor and was curious about the reslut.
Ok, so lets start!
This is the finished version of the portrait I will be talking about;
Now this portrait is not a spesific person, it's more or less a ''madeup'' person. That happens sometimes when I don't want to care too much about likeness, but just focus on a technique.
Step 1: The drawing
When I make the drawing I use a soft pencil, like a B2 and lightly sketch up bigger proportions and planes. A plane meaning where the form breaks and creates a half tone or a shadow. One area this usually is evident is the nose.
Step 2: Filling in the shadows and darker half tones.
In step 2 I chose a neauteral color and put in a lightdark value to bring forward my drawing. I never put down my darkest darks in this step. This is watercolor, so naturally we go from light to darker.
Step 3: Putting in a light was of the general skin color.
In step three I put in a general value and color for the skincolor. I also make sure at this point that I don't put the color down where I have marked for the highlights to be; the tip of the nose, the lips, the eyes.
Step 4: Put in a couple of notes of darkers value.
At this point I usually pot in a couple of notes of darker value to set my value range.
Step 5: Adding more color and halftones.
Now that I've stablished my main areas of shadow, what my darkest dark is going to be and the general value of the lightshape I start adding more color and halftones. What this means is that I am starting to build form.
Step 6: Adding the hair and more details.
In this painting I waited for a while before I added the hair. The reason was simple really, I didn't know what I wanted it to look like. On one side I wanted it done up, but then I didn't want it to look like her hair was short, so I went with this behind the shoulders, obviously she's got long hair, but I don't have to deal with it solution.. hehe..
Step 7: Adding more chroma and cross hatching with pencil.
In this last and final step I added more color in on her nose and lips and cross hatched the form with a pencil.
To cross hatch is a technique that is used for building form in drawing or painting. When you cross hatch you basically work with and across the planes of the form with lines. It is a way of buildng and strenghtening the sense of form that I like to use.