The Creation of Frannie

I am just going to jump into the action on this one.

Frannie started out as a regular No. 2 pencil sharpened just right. No special bells or whistles. I took two photo shots of her with a nice shadowy and silky look. I sketched her with soft edges and in the second shot her lines were defined more.

Below, I began adding a little blue oil pastel in the background to have Frannie appear to pop out on the page. Frannie’s hair was taking on oil pastels in a shiny sharp black sheen with highlights of golds and reds. I worked the streaks in place. Then I started adding some florals under her chin to add to her beauty. The flower lines were traced in Fuchsia and hot pink oils and smeared to create the effect of pink petals. Sepia was shadowed lightly in the groove of the flower. Pink and purple oil pastel defined the whiskers in the centers. I used a black extra fine sharpie to give the center whiskers a defined look.

   I darkened the royal blue, immensely, in the background. I darkened her hair and shaded all around the streaks. I blended where one color met another, giving her hair the appearance of luster. I took an Ebony pencil and darkened in her eyes to give a hint of light reflection. 

My color pencils were brought out at this point. I used the golden skin-toned oil pastels to create a deep shadow from the baseline of around her face.  Then, I took the skin-toned pencils and blended outward from where the oil pastel left off to close in the whiteness of her face. 

(Below) Okay, so I took a photo of her and darkened her tones. I needed to take a step back to see what else I can add to her to bring her to life.  Afterwards, I took yellow oil pastels and dabbed within the petal areas. I, then, shadowed under her chin and gave her a green halter top.

(Below) I took a photo of her and changed the tones to more contrast to see what she would look like had she been standing in a studio with light shining on her.  The golden streaks in her hair shone bright as the sun. The yellows in the petals of her flowers were even brighter. I created stripes under the flowers as a pattern (yellow and purple) to keep the shades in the same family. I didn't want to steal the power away from the flowers.

I also added a hint of white oil pastel to her forehead, cheeks, and nose to create a light reflection.

Frannie is sitting in a room with mellow lighting. She is in the twilight.

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