Alisa drawing process

The first 8 photos were taken with a tablet computer.  They are of lower resolution than the final photo of the completed drawing.  I have included a few notes, as far as I can remember, for each stage.  The photos were each taken at the start of a new day, but may represent only perhaps 30 minutes’ work up to 2 or three hours; I do not draw to a fixed timetable.

1    Initial sketch made using a 0.3mm/2B Pentel with Ain Stein lead.  Key positions marked and some outlines drawn in, all very lightly to avoid damaging the paper surface, using the ‘slip and slide’ method.  Embossing tool used to indent light stray hairs where they will appear against the dark background.

2    Initial shading of the face, hand and background using a 0.3mm 2B Pentel mechanical pencil with Ain Stein lead and circular shading, blended with a paper tissue.

3    More circular shading and blending with the 0.3mm pencil on face.  Left eye darkened using the 0.3mm pencil.  Some darker shadows on the hair marked in with the side of the point of a Mars Lumograph 4B pencil and blended with a tissue.  Background darkened with circular shading and blending using Mars 4B and then Faber Castell 6B, using the side of the points.

4    Work on the left side of her face and left eye using 0.3mm pencil.

5    More work on facial shading.  Eyes, nostrils, boundary of hand and details of knuckles darkened using 0.5mm 4B mechanical pencil and 6B Faber Castell.  Details of hair added using HB, B and 4B pencils with blending and a kneadable eraser and TomBow ultra-fine eraser to add highlights.

6    Hair details added on the right of the picture using pencils and erasers as before.

7    More hair details added on the left of the picture.  6B and 8B pencils used to add darkest shadows under chin.  Kneadable eraser used to pull out locks of hair in deep shadow.

8    Skin tone darkened a little.  More hair details added, particularly bright stray hairs with the TomBow ultra-fine eraser.  Contrast in hair increased in places using the 0.3mm pencil at overlaps or around erased stray hairs. 

9    I realised that the highlights on the skin on the face (forehead, cheeks and chin)  were far too strong, so had to tone these down.  This was annoying as I had already erased stray hairs over the forehead and elsewhere.  It had to be done so I just had to add the stray hairs again!  I also darkened the wrist and the underside of the hand.   Final darkening of the very darkest parts using an 8B pencil.  The edges of some bright locks in the hair were softened and, for the hairs crossing the left side of her face, the sharpness increased and width reduced using a 5H pencil and 0.3mm 2B Pentel.

A high-resolution upload of the final drawing can be seen here .

Drawing processes of some of my other portraits: