Cat Portrait in Progress
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 6:24 pm
Hi all,
This following pet portrait is drawn with Staedtler leads on Strathmore Bristol 500 plate. I still have the whiskers to draw (they are black), have a lot to do on the mane. and have more work overall, but I could really use some feedback. This commissioned work is of a deceased cat so I am really stressing to get it right. Here are my questions:
1) First, the cat is suppose to be black. At this point, I think I need to add workable fixative to be able to add more graphite to darken it. However I am concerned about making it too dark and losing detail. Thoughts?
2) The light source is coming from the left. I have dozens of photos of cats (besides looking at my own) to be sure the highlights are in the correct areas. My biggest area of concern is around the mouth and where the whiskers will be coming out. When I make it darker, it fades away. Suggestions? (The photos of the decreased cat are very dark and hard to see).
3) The long mane is actually lighter (brown) than the rest of the black cat, and the fur below it is very black fur. I wasn't sure if I should keep the dark fur I tried to draw below the mane (that looks like a ring of dark fur), eliminate the dark fur ring (since it doesn't look right to me), or draw more of the cat?
This is the first time drawing a cat portrait of just the head and mane of a cat. Mike, I have limited edition prints of your cat portraits (and your book) and was sort of going by those as to how much of the cat to draw. Thoughts?
Really appreciate any feedback of this in progress cat portrait.
This following pet portrait is drawn with Staedtler leads on Strathmore Bristol 500 plate. I still have the whiskers to draw (they are black), have a lot to do on the mane. and have more work overall, but I could really use some feedback. This commissioned work is of a deceased cat so I am really stressing to get it right. Here are my questions:
1) First, the cat is suppose to be black. At this point, I think I need to add workable fixative to be able to add more graphite to darken it. However I am concerned about making it too dark and losing detail. Thoughts?
2) The light source is coming from the left. I have dozens of photos of cats (besides looking at my own) to be sure the highlights are in the correct areas. My biggest area of concern is around the mouth and where the whiskers will be coming out. When I make it darker, it fades away. Suggestions? (The photos of the decreased cat are very dark and hard to see).
3) The long mane is actually lighter (brown) than the rest of the black cat, and the fur below it is very black fur. I wasn't sure if I should keep the dark fur I tried to draw below the mane (that looks like a ring of dark fur), eliminate the dark fur ring (since it doesn't look right to me), or draw more of the cat?
This is the first time drawing a cat portrait of just the head and mane of a cat. Mike, I have limited edition prints of your cat portraits (and your book) and was sort of going by those as to how much of the cat to draw. Thoughts?
Really appreciate any feedback of this in progress cat portrait.