Hey, Pixie McQueen the boldest fairy of the web, in here!
Well, it’s been a while since I didn’t write anything on this blog (6 months, hum, hum…) BUT, I did stuff, okay !
Taylor Momsen’s Rock Chicks is finally done ! Her hair was awfully hard to draw because it was so messy, and also because it’s platinum blonde. The thing is that platinum blonde hair must be light but also have visible locks to be more realistic ! So I have to admit that her hair is not the most beautiful thing in this portrait !
Despite her hair, Taylor is a very fun singer to draw because she has this sharp look in her eyes that makes a face that could have looked angelic on this picture (delicate face, blonde, curly hair and blue eyes…)
So, here’s the original picture:
On this recent picture, Taylor looks classier than she ever did 😉
I chose this picture because it was black and white and Taylor has this really interesting expression but her messy hair made me hesitate…
STEP 0: SUPPLIES
Since I’m not a professional artist, my supplies are very basic :
–Graphite pencils: HB (medium)/B (dark)/4H (light)
-Black and red pencils for the background
-Pencil sharpener
-Regular rubber+ Kneaded eraser, if you have one (but I don’t so you can draw without it)
– A paper sheet (A for me)
-Optional: Varnish depending on the kind of paper you use
– Something to stump: a stump, a handkerchief… or your finger !
There you are, young blossoming artist ! Ready to draw this super rock portrait !
STEP 1: GUIDING LINES
I started by drawing guiding lines on the picture that I printed to copy them on my sheet, the being A format. I’m just saying that, I don’t know why but my printer zoomed the picture so the drawing will be zoomed, too.So I drew the lines to have important elements such as eyes, nose, mouth, shoulder,etc… in the right place.
Those lines allow you to keep the right proportions for your drawing.
STEP 2: CONTOURS OF THE FACE
In my opinion, it’s the most difficult step of a portrait. Why ? Because, at this very moment the drawing has to (kinda) look like the original picture, but also look like it has no soul ! But, seriously, I could’ve traced this but I thought it was cheating (and I’m also not 6 anymore…) That said, nothing prevents you to do so if I can’t draw it or if you’ve just started portraits, contours can be rearranged and it’s not the most important, anyway (even if it’s a good basis to start the portrait).
So, no particular technique to draw contours, practice makes perfect. But don’t worry: if you practice on a regular basis, you’ll make it ! 😉
STEP 3: THE EYES, WELL… THE ONLY ONE SHE HAS HERE !
On this picture, we only see Taylor’s left eye, the right on is hidden by her (huge) hair, will be represented by shadows to suggest it through it.
For the right eye I used my three pencils:
-4H for contours, first grey layer on her eyelid, iris and shadows on her eyeball.
-HB for shadows around the eye (skin), first grey layer on her pupil, eyelashes, eyebrows, and also to give more depth to the shadows of the eyeball and to the eyelid, as well as the second layer on the iris.
-B to darken the pupil, the external contour of the iris, a little bit on the eyebrows as well as eyelashes and eyeshadow.
STEP 4: THE MOUTH
For her mouth, have to admit that teeth are still difficult to draw for me, so I decided to ignore them and to fill in the mouth with with my B pencil (not literally !)
Then, her lipstick is kinda light so I only used 4H and HB, respectively for the fist layer and then the second layer as well as shadows. I use 4H to draw the curvy “lines” we have on our lips to give them more volume and realism.
Also, I drew her mole with the B pencil, you must not forget détails because they are the ones that allow you to catch the likeness the most possible ! 😉
About the skin around her mouth, at this moment you just have to draw her chin drawing a little curve under her lower lip, shading it with your HB pencil.
STEP 5: SKIN PART 1: THE BACKGROUND, THE FIRST LAYER
For this first layer, we’re gonna color her skin lightly with 4H pencil to have a basis to draw the shadows later. We can already start to lightly draw the lighter and darker places of the skin, so we’ll have marks for the rest. I also started to color her black jacket with B, but we’ll need more layers of grey for it to be dark enough. I also rounded her face a little bit because I thought it looked to angular.
By the way, don’t forget her neck ! =)
STEP 6: THE HAIR: PART 1
As a said at the beginning of the tutorial, Taylor’s hair is HARDCORE to draw for two reasons:
1/ It’s platinum blonde
2/ It’s messy as hell !
First, I think platinum blonde is the hardest hair color to copy in drawings. Indeed, this color is light kind of yellow that, ironically must not be to yellow…The thing is that I didn’t find a solution to this problem for the moment…
Then, when you have to draw platinum hair in black and white, you have to use a very light shade of grey but to also have a strong relief to make the hair more realistic. For that purpose, you must draw “guiding” locks to draw the movement of the hair with your HB pencil on a basis lightly colored with your 4H pencil. After that, you must “draw” locks with your rubber to enlighten the hair.
Personally, I’ve been loosely inspired by the hair of the picture because copying it excatly would’ve been way too hard for me.
Also, you can already darken her roots with your HB pencil, but we’ll make them even darker in the second part.
STEP 7: END OF THE PORTRAIT: SKIN & HAIR PART 2 + BACKGROUND
Yes, I could’ve divided this in two, even three parts but I forgot to scan the drawing…=X
FOR HER SKIN: Taylor’s skin is light so no need to color it entierely a second time ! Bu we have to darken the shadows and erase the lightest parts of her face and then stump that, to make it more realistic. HB will be enough for shdows.
By the way, don’t forget her neck (again !)
FOR HER HAIR: Taylor’s hair is as light as her skin, so, same, we’ll draw locks with our HB pencil, then erase it, stump it, draw it, erase it, stump it, draw it, etc… Until you get to the right result !
FOR THE BACKGROUND: You just have to hatch the background with the color you want (black and red for me).
At last, you just have to sign, date and (if you want) give a title to your work of art !
IN CONCLUSION:
TADAAA! =D
I’m kind of satisfied with the result, even I wanted the hair to look better ! It isn’t my most lifelike portrait yet but I thought it was interesting to add my own unique touch of human craft because it makes the portrait one of a kind and it reflects my point of view on the picture !
BONUS: EPIC FAIL OF MY FIRST ATTEMPT
Go ahead and laugh ! xD
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I already have the next Rock Chick in mind !
If you have any idea of a female rocker that I could draw for Rock Chicks or any advice/opinion you can tell me in the comments !
Skillet & Stardust ! =P
Pixie McQueen xx
PS: This tutorial is inspired by another one from the French site Graphit’Art (sorry it doesn’t exists in English :() and thanks to it I progressed a lot ! So you should definetly check it out ! (No sponsoring ;P)
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