A Sketch Blog Recording my Attempts to Render Pretty Feminine Faces in Pencil with Occasional Use of Charcoal, Crayon, and other Artistic Media

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Short on time for sketch viewing? See the first 272 (or so) sketches I've posted in a 34 second music video!

Sketch #66

I think this sketch is the best of my most recent postings. Her features strike me as delicate and attractive compared to the somewhat plainer appearance of the five before her. Nice to close out the week on a good note :)

Ted

Sketch #65

I drew the upper eye line a little too thick on the right side of the page in this sketch, possibly because my pencils were getting a bit dull and I neglected to sharpen them. This resulted in the all-too-familiar problem of glare in said area. So, as usual in such cases, I did a little touchup work on the computer. I think she came out in halfway decent shape - There are a few flaws, but I like her smile.

Ted

Sketch #64: Another Closeup

I added a little crayon to this sketch to darken her eyelines and give the lips a little more life. I usually photograph each sketch 3 or 4 times with different lighting and so forth in the hopes of getting one "postworthy" shot, but in this instance the battery in my digital camera died so I just went with the one I had. I thought it turned out nice though. I think maybe the battery partially died as I was taking the picture and gave it a sort of "soft lense" effect.

Ted

Sketch #63: Smiling Blonde on a Sunny Day

The title pretty much says it all. I thought the eyes, nose, lips, and hair were the best features of the drawing, so I went with the bright sunny look to show them in the most favorable light.

Ted

Sketch #62

As usual, I see a few things I could have done better in this sketch (nose is a bit long perhaps, neck maybe a bit too thick). I really like the lips and overall smile though - She definitely looks happy to me.

Ted

Sketch #61

I thought the hair turned out well on this sketch. I was less satisfied with the eyes and lips. I touched up the eyes a bit on the computer (and did some over all softening/lighting effects/etc.) I didn't make any specific adjustments to the lips yet - Maybe I'll give her a complete makeover on the computer sometime when I am feeling ambitious:)

Ted

Sketch #60: Spring Hat on a Sunny Day

This is the first sketch I've posted which includes a hat. I thought now would be a good time, seeing as we are entering the Easter bonnet/Spring hat time of year. I added a yellow tint on the computer to enhance the "sunny mood" aspect.

I like the way the sketch turned out overall, but I think the next time I draw a hat like that I'll try making it a little darker so that the flowers are lighter by comparision. Alternatively maybe I'll get out the colored pencils/crayons and add some color to them.

Ted

Sketch #59

I think this sketch turned out better than some of my other more recent ones. I didn't have to do a lot of post-photo processing on the computer to get her looking the way I wanted.

The sky was rather overcast when I photographed it - That may have been a helpful factor. I took the picture indoors, but I think the soft natural light coming in through the window was just about optimal, neither too dark, nor too harsh.

Ted

Sketch #58

I thought the face in this sketch turned out nicely. I don't think the various components - eyes, nose, lips, etc. are great, but I do think they are good and reasonably well placed in relation to eachother. I do think I may have drawn the forehead a bit too high though. Still, I think overall she is quite pretty.

Ted

Sketch #57

Well, her eyes and neck are a little larger than I would draw them if I were to do it all over again, but I like her expression. I think she has what I would call a kind face.

Ted

Sketch #56

I'd have to say her lower lip looks a little swollen, but I like the way the hair turned out in this sketch. I think she is my favorite of the three I drew on the 2nd. I usually do end up liking the last one best when I draw several on one day.

Ted

Sketch #55: A "Closeup"

I decided to do a closeup crop of this sketch, the better to show off her eyes and smile. I seem to have reverted back to drawing a somewhat overly round head, but I still think she looks pretty :)

Ted

Sketch #54: Learning to Use the "Tone Curve" Feature

I had a bit of a problem in the "digital processing" phase with this sketch. After photographing it with my digital camera and (as usual) making a few adjustments in Corel Photopaint, I noticed that I wanted the darks and lights to go in opposite directions - If I adjusted brightness/contrast to get the skin the way I wanted it, the hair, eyebrows, and eyelines looked too light. If I optimized for the darker areas, then the skin was not light enough.

To solve this dilemma I used Corel's "tone curve" feature. I have played around with the tone curve before, but I had not realized how useful it could be in this type of a situation. It solved my problem nicely. It did, however, have the unintended side effect of accentuating an area of uneven shading in part of the lip area so that it looks a bit like she has a cold sore. Oh well - maybe she does :)

Ted

Sketch #53

I think I drew the neck thicker than I intended in this sketch, but I like the way her hair turned out. I'm not quite sure what her expression is conveying ... maybe something along the lines of a little apprehension and a lot of resolve.

Ted

Sketch #52

Well, I think this sketch turned out somewhat decent, though I do see plenty of areas for improvement. It was hard going, as I had gone a few days without practicing. I try to avoid that as it takes a while for me to switch my brain back into drawing mode :)

Ted