This week I specifically wanted to do something just for Sunday Sketches. Prior to this I’ve only really submitted half hearted scrawls and whatever I had in my sketchbook from the previous week’s work. This time I wanted to do a real sketch. Just sit down and draw, something I haven’t done in ages.
I thought about it for awhile, mainly about what I wanted to draw. I wanted something smooth so I could do some nice tonal shaping. years ago I did this frog in graphite pencil.
And I’ve always liked it, rough sketch and all. So I thought I’d do another frog, but challenge myself by doing it in colour. I don’t think I’ve ever done a rough sketch in colour. Full on designed and precise works, yes, but not a straight out sketch. So a little challenge for myself.
I’d come across Blue poison dart frogs on the Net one time before, so when I plugged ‘frog’ into Google looking for stockshots and inspiration, and a BPD frog came up, I immediately narrowed the search to just those. I love the colours on their backs and the contrasting white, blue and black. Lovely stuff, so hey, another challenge for myself.
I poked around until I found a shot clear enough to base a drawing on. You can find the image I worked from here on Flickr – Blue poison dart frog by Ucumari. Check out her other beautiful photography, stunning stuff.
So I then spent the day just drawing (in between motherhood tasks, of course). I tried not to worry too much about accuracy, though that is something I find hard to ignore. I did just draw, no tracing, a simple exercise to work some long unused muscles.
This is what I came up with.
Blue Poison Dart Frog, watercolour pencil with a touch of gel pen, 190 x 190 mm.
It went a touch further than just a sketch. I used my watercolour pencils and they are great for adding that extra of dimension to pencil work. It has its faults, but I’m happy with it.
Here’s a few in-progress shots.
First up, a brief sketch to get perspective and some of the tonals.
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Then work over some of the rough areas to bring in more colour and to get some more final positioning.
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Fill in all areas with base colour.
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Brush with water to activate the watercolours.
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Work over with another layer of pencil, add more water if needed and re-lay pencil.
Touch up highlights with white gel pen (because I’m a slacker).
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And there you have it. I drew a frog.
Nutty
(happy to have achieved art today)
Comments
20 responses to “Sunday Sketches – Blue poison dart frog”
Oh my gosh! This is simply amazing! I think you did a really fantastic job and appreciate how you shared with us some of the steps that you took to get to your final piece. I really like it and am impressed. 🙂
Happy SS and ty for being a part of our lovely little art co-op.
Beautiful work. I love the graphite sketch you did before and this colored one is fantastic. I love my watercolor pencils, so much fun to work with.
oh gosh, this is fantastic, I have no other words.
Happy Sunday, wow, this little guy is really well done. You have a real skill with the colored pencil!!!! The colors are beautiful, too! xxoo
I love seeing the in progress pieces! Both drawing are nice, the old and new!
Wow! this is truly amazing work!
this is amazing! I absolutely love it when I get to see the process an artist uses, step by step. This turned out so great! Love the colors – my son would love this as he just loves frogs!
Smiles and wishing you a wonderful Sunday!
What a frog he is. Kudos to you for tackling such tricky markings. It turned out wonderfully and you really captured that damp sheen on his skin.
wow, ur sketches are great, for a moment i thought that blue frog was a photograph.. 😛 cheers 2 that! 😛
Oh my, this is really good. Thanks for sharing the process. It is interesting to see how you use the watercolour pencil.
Wow, you are an amazing artist! These are really breathtaking!!! You are so good…I want to get THAT good
It turned out beautifully!!
Those are gorgeous frogs – such a shame about the poisonous darts…
You are SO talented!
I love seeing each step of the way. Wonderfully colorful piece.
Very, very cool.
I love seeing the process you went through.
What a wonderful subject to draw – great composition, colors and patterns!
And wow, your white gel pen really makes it pop… fantastic.
xo
Kristin
We love dart frogs! Thanx for teh tutorial as well – a treat!
Such a good drawing….thank you for sharing all the stages, it’s so great to see this.
A great drawing.
Awesome attempt for using muscles long rested. Nice!
[…] flamboyant with watercolour as I have been with acrylics and not make mud. It is an experiment. Last time I tried, I got really involved with the subject and it ended up much more realistic than I intend for this […]
[…] have been meaning to do another frog, leading on from my Blue Poison Dart Frog for sometime and this was the perfect opportunity. Not only can I submit this for Sunday Sketches, […]
[…] For further detail on how I created this drawing please see Blue Poison Dart Frog. […]