I chose a photo from Alicia's Cyber Girl of the Month photo set, which was an outstanding series of photos. Alicia has a very curvy, almost voluptuous figure, and and exotic look that I thought would lend well to a portrait. I chose a 20" x 30" heavy Crescent Illustration board, with a lot of 'tooth' (very grainy). While this type of board works well on larger pieces, it can be tough to get the exacting detail I strive for in some areas. On the other hand, it really helps me 'rub' in the shading that I like to do, particularly around a woman's curves.
One challenge was the full front lighting that was used on Alicia---while it was easy to distinguish her body from the background, it really made it difficult to distinguish her hair. I had to go over the reference pics over and over to make sure I captured it properly, and I'm still not sure if I did.
However, I am very pleased with how her figure came out. As I said, Alicia smolders with a very erotic pose and gaze, and I wanted that in the drawing.
As for the finished art, my wife liked it so much that she had it matted and framed and it hangs in our rec room. While I have created other nude Playboy style drawings, this is the only nude that she has hung.
You can see a larger version of Alicia at my Fine Art America site. I'd love to hear your comments on this piece.
I followed the link, and it's nice to see the image larger and a little darker. Without the shadows made by her hair in the photograph, it becomes a very different picture. She looks caged in the photograph and more free in your drawing when the shadows disappear.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thanks CJ....I had forgotten about the shadows before I posted the original in this blog. I think she is just such a a beautiful model, and I think you're right...its less cramped
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