Portrait of Abby - another commission

A few weeks ago I received my second commission for a child portrait.

My new client was referred to me by Kristen, who had asked me to make a portrait of her daughter Bee a while ago. Apparently the portrait was a hit and a friend of hers wanted to have one made of his daughter Abby.

It was a very pleasant surprise, but also a bit of a daunting task. It is one thing to make a drawing for someone you know, quite another to make one for a complete stranger.

The reference photo I received was just adorable and not the type of photo I would usually use, so it was an added challenge.

I decided to add Tentacle Kitty on Abby's shirt, as her father told me it was one of her favourite toys. I had never heard of Tentacle Kitty before, but I think it's super cute.

I'm glad to say that my clients were satisfied with the result, which in turn makes me very happy.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to scan the portrait properly before sending it, so the colours are slightly off on this image, but it gives a pretty good idea of the final result.

Draw Tommy Kane

I love Tommy Kane's work. I don't know if it's his style or his humour I like most, or even his clever self-promotion.

He just seems like a nice guy. Someone I would love to hang out with.

He has this Tumblr account called Draw Tommy Kane, where he showcases portraits of him made by anyone who would like to draw him.

Check it out, it's quite fun to browse through this big diversity of drawings.

Here is the one I made.

The squirrel is a last-minute addition. He seems to like them and he has this very cool drawing of a squirrel with a gun.

There happened to be some tape with a squirrel on it among the presents I got from my friend Sari for my birthday, so I added it.

Different paper, different styles - part 2

The next type of paper in my Lamali sketchbook series is the one I use for my portraits with washi tape.

It's light yellow-orange in colour, like on the second picture below (with the days still so short, I only get decent light for taking pictures during the weekend).

I didn't really know what to do with this paper at first. One because of its colour, and two, and more importantly, because it's too thin to take water well.

I guess the other type of paper I mentioned in my previous post is very thin as well, but it can be compared to Chinese calligraphy paper in a way.

Over time I have started adding colour besides the washi tape to these drawings. I feel the results are really hit or miss, for it's not easy to choose the right colour and, more importantly, to know when to stop adding to the drawing.

On this drawing, I have mixed feelings about the black background. On the one hand it really makes the subject stand out, but on the other maybe black was a bit too radical a choice?

Why so gloomy?

I had fun with this next one. On the original picture, the glasses are fogged, so I wanted to recreate that effect with the tape somehow. In the end, it probably looks more like she has dark glasses on, but that's ok.

Fogged glasses... I know the feeling, girl!

On this last drawing, I didn't think it would be wise to add even more colour, seeing as the patterns were already so strong, so I only shaded some areas with pencil. I might make them darker, though.

How  wonderfully dapper you are, Sir !

I really need to improve the pictures I take. On this last picture the paper looks so grey! Not at all the right colour. The washi tape looks good, though...

I just discovered washi tape

"What is this washi tape?", you might ask.

It's a kind of masking tape, only with very cute patterns, made of paper. Not surprisingly, it comes from Japan (like almost eveything cute!).

I saw a picture of a drawing including a strip of washi tape and thought I'd give it a try.

I was lucky to find some. It's not that easy to find interesting craft and drawing materials here.

I have a Lamali sketchbook with very different types of paper in it: recycled, white, orange, black, some kind of fibre, etc. I'm using it exclusively for portraits.

I chose to use the kind of orange-coloured paper instead of the white one. I think it makes it more interesting.

Here are some portraits I did for JKPP, in which I used it.

Anne

Adrienne

Danielle