Well, I did it. Geez, it felt like forever. The scan of the pencil portrait worked great as a sort of grisaille which saved me a lot of time. I didn’t have to build layer after layer of shadow. I really admire people who work in colored pencil. There is so much discipline involved. You have to be even when applying strokes. As you can see my background is pretty uneven because I wasn’t patient enough to really move my pencil in a way that would ensure even color. Oh and working on vellum Bristol board didn’t help either. It was nice to have the texture at first because you can apply so many layers of color. The problem with that is that I realized that I don’t have the patience to apply the number of layers needed to really do this right.
It took me days to finish this, and I’m sorry that I rushed the background. It’s no masterpiece, but the flesh looks fleshyenough to suit me, so I will put this in my success stack. This was a wonderful exercise. It was definitely worth doing. I see potential here and if I stick with it I could be pleasantly surprised by the results.
So bless all of you colored pencil artists. There should be a special medal for you.
It’s been a wonderful two days. The sun has been out and my daffodils and crocuses are up. It’s feeling like spring and my heart is singing with it!
Mellanie Collins, Artist 
I love the texture of the colored pencils, it makes it lovely. Nice, very nice!
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It is really, really good. You are too hard on yourself! I love it.
I know what you mean about the texture of the paper. There are usually little crevices that it’s near-impossible to get the color into. Have you tried a colorless blender pencil? They are pretty cool. I have tried the prismacolor blender marker, but didn’t like the smell of it, and if you’re not careful, it can make your drawing look muddy because it can transfer color over (it’s definitely something to play with on scrap paper first)
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love how you did the hair, and his eyes are very compelling. The modeling and lighting on the face is very nice.
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This looks really great! The colors are blended nicely too!
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Well done, the flesh is very fleshy. He is three dimensional, and the color is nice. Great work.
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Scarlett: I love colored pencils for just that reason. Glad you like the portrait.
Darla: Glad you stopped by to see the finished product. Thanks for the tips. I know that you specialize in pencil portraits, so your checking on me gives me a real boost.
Jafabrit: I’m glad you like the hair. That’s always the hardest part for me. If everyone were bald, my life would be so much easier. 😀
PamYla: Thanks for coming by again. I’m glad you like the portrait.
Kris: It’s always nice to have you visit. Thanks for the lovely comment.
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You have done such great work that I’ve missed these last few weeks…I especially love that favorite tool you did, truly exquisite!This portrait is also so good and like you I admire those who work in colored pencil, so therefore, I bow to you too!
Ronell
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I’m sorry, I’m logged in as Myfrenchkitchen, so I apologize that it doesn’t take you immedaitely to Africantapestry..
Ronell
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Oh my, this is really wonderful! You work beautifully with colored pencils.
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Oh Ronell, your comments really gave me a boost. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Casey, I’m thrilled that you like it. Now if I could only do as well with wc pencils. 🙂
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Beautiful work. I admire those who are patient enough to use colored pencils. It is truly a “discipline.”
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Thanks for the kind words, LeaT. I really appreciate it.
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Nice job on this. Nice site. Found you on BlogCatalog. Will return to see more of your art.
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You have done an amazing job on this portrait. The flesh looks really believable and the eyes are great. I have tried coloured pencil myself and it is not as easy as it looks. I use it frequently for my rough sketchbooks though. Great blog btw.
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Thanks so much Cathy. Colored pencil is pretty time consuming. I really like your pen and ink work. I’d like to spend more time doing that. Glad you like the blog. Yours is a great read and your birds are wonderful. Great characters.
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Nice color job. For not liking colored pencil I think you did a truly fab job. I do horse portraits with colored pencil and love them so much it’s hard for me to want to use other mediums. Your layers look nice and as far as the background goes, the textured look is kind of fun and adds a sketchy feel which makes the portrait seem warmer and more inviting. I really like it. A trick I use for hair is to take a sharp clay sculpting tool and remove the pencil at the highest shiny parts and add white through it. That leaves a wow shine, you just have to be careful and gentle with the paper and not mash it, but pick at it instead.
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it seems like everyone here has nothing but positive things to say about this drawing. that’s not the way you learn. the skin tones are very good, but the eyes need some serious work: the iris placement is off, and the eye shape is slanted too severly to give a clear likeness. the bridge of the nose is too curved one his left side which throws off the entire facial symetry. i’m not trying to be a jerk because there’s a lot here that i like, but if noone gives you some criticism you won’t improve.
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Hey Casey,
Thanks for the constructive criticism. I appreciate it. Good to know you enjoyed my drawing enough to push me on to better things!
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