Work in Progress: Savannah, Update 5

Work In Progress: Savannah, Update 5

I think I’m nearly finished with the face. But I’ve found over the past week that, as I’ve begun adding tone to the hair, that I notice some tonal areas of the face require some tweaking, so I’ve done a bit more here and there. I’ve added more tone to Savannah’s chin and left cheek. I’ve darkened her right temple and right cheek also. Looking at the face in low light has also turned up some spots that need some additional work. It helps considerably to walk away from the drawing for an hour or two, then come right up on it quickly. I then glance around at the face and look back and forth to the photo without looking at any detail but looking at an area in general. Things will pop out as needing work. Then I’ll sit down and tackle those areas. I’ll probably be doing that until it’s finished.

I introduced the 4H pencil for areas on the left side of the face and nose, the areas in sunlight. From the high contrast prints I made I could see that there is some tone, albeit very, very light, but there is some, and it seemed to add more dimension to the head.

I started working on the hair with 4H and 2H pencils, blocking in major forms, getting a feel for the shapes, shadows and highlights. One aspect of the portrait that’s given me some angst are the highlighted hairs running counter to the general trend of the underlying masses. They are very interesting and add something to the drawing but are a problem for me to add in. They are smooth, fine lines, curving over the top of darker, underlying hair that’s been gathered up to be tied into pig tails. I tried impressing the fine light hairs, then working in the darker tones, leaving fine white lines, but that didn’t really work. I didn’t like the reflectance left on the edge of the fine line. So, I covered them up. I finally decided that I would have to take the time to lightly draw them in and then carefully add tone around them. I also looked at a great many pencil portraits and don’t see too much in the way of fine highlighted hairs running counter to the general direction of the hair masses. But, in Savannah’s case there are many of them and they form an important part of the hair mass. So I’ve endeavored to include many – but not all of them. I want to give the impression they are there without having to add all of them in.

            After blocking in the hair masses, I started back over with darker pencils, going from the 2H to the HB and then to the 2B in the darkest areas such as the tightly bunched group of hair above and below the hair clips. These are the areas where shadows intensify.

            I’m working back and forth between pencils, working in details and delineating fine hairs. I’m creeping up on the darkest tone of the hair, comparing one area to another, seeing how they relate to one another. I’ll be doing that over the next week, when, I hope to have the hair completed.