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 #122

I was quite pleased with the way this sketch turned out, especially the hair. It does seem, however, that she might be just slightly cross-eyed. Oh well, nobody's perfect :)

Ted

Sketch #121

I went with a somewhat more abstract style for this sketch, particularly in the overly egg-shaped head.

Ted

Sketch #120

I used a bit of ink to accentuate the eye lines and eye brows of the woman in this drawing. I can't say it made a huge difference one way or the other. It might have been a little too dark for the eye brows.

Ted

Sketch #119: "A Profile"

I tried another profile for this sketch. I think I still need a lot of practice drawing the side view, but I do think this latest attempt is an improvement over the one I posted back in July (the 21st).

Ted

Sketch #118: "Irish Lass"

This sketch just seemed a little plain, so I added some color on the computer and did a fair amount of editing/enhancement. If you want to see what the original looked like, click here.

Ted

Sketch #117

I thought I'd try a few new things for this sketch. I drew one eye shut and the other nearly so, which certainly helps to create a different expression. I also added an abstract colored background with a Prismcolor crayon.

Ted

Sketch #116

This sketch is one of my favorites so far. As always, I see several areas I could have drawn better, but I like the overall look.

Ted

Sketch #115: "Lady with an Oval Broach"

This sketch is a bit of a departure from my usual style in several regards - shorter hair, somewhat different outfit, the necklace. I drew the eyelashes longer than strict accuracy would call for, but that's ok - I wasn't necessarily trying for rigid realism.

I've been doing quite a lot of sketching lately, so I may be posting more frequently for a while at least :)

Ted

Sketch #114

Without meaning to do so I think I gave the woman in this sketch a somewhat wry expression, in large part by drawing her mouth with one corner turned up and the other not. One might get the impression that she is trying to present a smile, but her heart is not in it. An alternate interpretation might be that she is attempting to surpress an inappropriate smile.

Ted

Sketch #113

After I did this sketch, I was struck by its similarity to sketch #107 (posted August 4). The resemblance was not at all by intention - It just happened that I drew the subjects with similar hairstyles and poses and with somewhat similar builds. The result makes me think of sisters who dress alike or of someone styling her hair/makeup/etc. to immitate someone else, perhaps for a costume party.

While each drawing has its strong and weak points, I am happy to say that I think the current one is distinctly better, so it would seem that I am showing some improvement. To see the two sketches side-by-side, click here.

Ted

Sketch #112

I think the woman in this sketch has a better (and happier) expression than some of my other recent postings. Expressions are a difficult element for me to control. A slight alteration in the eyes, the lips, or the smile lines, and everything changes. I never know for sure exactly what mood the subjects of my sketches will project until the sketch is done. I find this unpredictability to be one of the things that makes sketching so much fun :)

Ted

Sketch #111

I noticed the eye on the right was a bit lower than the left in this sketch, so retouched it a bit on the computer. It's still not quite right, but it's better than it was :)

Ted

Sketch #110

In contrast to my mixed feelings about the previous sketch, I really liked this one. I have a few minor quibbles about certain aspects (like the hair flowing a little oddly), but basically I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Ted

Sketch #109

I have mixed feelings about this sketch. On the one hand, I think the facial contours, the eyes, and the fringe of the dress turned out quite well. On the other hand, I think I could have drawn the mouth a lot better (and moved it a tad higher). I like the neck (although I think I drew it a bit too thick). I like the texture of the hair, but I think its placement looks a little odd to me now. Oh well, mistakes are how we learn :)

Ted

Sketch #108

I think the woman in this sketch looks somewhat pretty, but I think she could have been a lot more so if I had drawn her features to be a little more delicate - lighter eyebrows, smaller eyes, thinner neck, shorter nose. Oh well, 20-20 hindsight and all that :)

Ted

Sketch #107

The previous sketch took the last of my Strathmore sketch paper ("Papier a' croquis", 9x12 acid free 45 lb), and my usual supplier does not have it in stock, so I did this sketch on Mead "Acade'mie" Sketch Diary paper (acid and lignin-free, weight not listed). The Mead paper is not bad, but the Strathmore product seems to erase a lot better. I think I prefer it overall, but I'll give the Mead paper a chance for a while.

Ted

Sketch #106

I think I did a better job on the right side of the page in this sketch. If I hold my hand to cover up the left side I find the result much improved. I'm tempted to just crop the offending section out (or place her partially behind a stop sign, etc.) but I think that would look a bit too contrived :) She might be a good candidate for a trace and redraw at some future point.

Ted