kitten in shoe

[Della]

:) Hi everyone i thought i would post my lastest piece for you it is 10x8 which is quite small for me and is in pastel pencils and a few touch ups in cp. I really enjoyed doing this little fellow he's so cute, and is the first time ive done a background i had to make it up does it look ok? all c+c welcome
Della. :D

[Della]

:) Hi not sure if i should post this here as well i have posted in Pastel pencils but thought i would go ahead and post in this forum. this is 10x8 pastel pencils on velour a few touch ups of cp all c+c welcome first background i have done is it ok.
Della. :D

[Aggie]

I love the kitten and the shoe.......wonderful work!!!...

[Dee]

Wow You did a great job.

The detailing on the shoe is amazing. :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Arlene]

Congrats on your background. (you'll find i'm a stickler for planning backgrounds. I've even been known to wield a hammer when people ask after the fact about putting in a background. :judge: ;) ) I think your background works quite well with this adorable picture and you've done a very good job. I've never used pastel pencils (i know I'm allergic to pastel dust...sigh) but to my eye the technique looks great and I like that you mixed with a bit of cp's.

What I would love to see is you play up the shadows and highlights a bit more to make the kitten and shoe pop more. One of the things I've noticed is there doesn't seem to be a light source. i hope you don't mind but I played a bit using photoshop.

I added a light source coming more from the left then shown...I think you probably used a flash when taking the picture? by not using a flash when shooting pics you get more dimension in your objects because not having the flash won't wash out the values.

anyway, I added the light source and then added highlights accordingly...afterwards I darkened those areas that would be more in shadow and added some shadows to the shoe where the laces would show them.

The first scan is the changes. The second is your drawing shown in grayscale which is a great tool for seeing values and the third is my changes in grayscale.

[Arlene]

i commented over in the pastel forum

[Norma69]

Hi Della - Love your drawing !! I am learning all about lighting and bg (I have had the benefit Of Arlene's hammer several times :bangin: )
Is this your cat? Do you have a ref photo, I would like to study the ref and Arlene's lighting changes - learning purposes.

Your submission is great, but Arlene's changes really make him pop!!!!

Welcome to the forum, show us more :bye1:

Norma

[Della]

:) thankyou everyone for commenting.Arlene thankyou for showing me that i can see the difference i shall go back and have a play, i am going to post the ref photo it isn't my cat it was from WC and yes it does look like it was taken with a flash, i was a bit unsure how to do the light source but i can see now thnakyou Arlene i will repost the painting after i have done it.

[Gemma]

You did a really terrific job on this kitten so far. Can't wait to see the finished piece after you work on some of the shadow areas.


Gemma

[CindyH]

Della, Such a cute pose! You did a wonderful job with the textures (leather, fur, cloth). I too would love to see more shadows and highlights...thanks for posting the ref picture that helps alot.

One detail that was confusing me when I first looked at it was the little piece of string the kitty is chewing on. I wasn't sure at first if it was a whisker that had gone askew. When I see it in the photo it reads better. It will have its own shadows to cast on the fur...even though they are really subtle. Plus the piece of string that comes out of the right side of the kitten's mouth (viewer's right) has a bit of a cast shadow where the light is not hitting it in full force.

What kind of paper, pastel pencils are you using? Anything you can tell us about your experience of using them?

[Della]

:) hi again well i have added some shadows and light i think it looks better, thankyou Arlene for the advice and to everyone eles for commenting.
din't know if i said before but it is on velour paper using fabercastell pastel pencils and carbothello, i like using the velour much more now i don't find that i have any problems with it, a lot of people say they don't like it because the pastel falls of easily, i dont find it does maybe it is a different brand paper they use, i buy this from great art in big sheets.Anyway please let me know what you think now
thanks Della. :D

[caulfield]

Wow - what a cutie! Love the soft effect you got with this! I just want to pet him! :)

Nicole

[Arlene]

this is looking better and better. You're almost there. I still would like to see somemore darks. I circled the grayscale version of your drawing to show you where I feel it could still be darker. Don't be afraid to do it.

[Arlene]

oh and to the left inside of the ears

[Nancy]

Lovely kitten and great shoe!! Where did you you get the velour paper from? Is it a soft paper similar to suede? I'd love to try some. It has a wonderfully soft effect on a painting.

Great work!! :D

[Della]

:) I've added a few more shadows i don't think i can add anymore as it's getting difficult now but i am pleased with how it looks. i didn't take the picture very well so please excuse that but i think you can see where i added more anyway i'm going to call this finished thanks for all the help and comments.
Della :D
opps sorry nancy i get my paper from a place called great Art in the uk are you in the UK? i can send you the web addy if you want but they usually send a big catalogue it's massive lots of things :D
Della.

[Arlene]

good job. it's time to frame it. see how she really pops now?

[Jazz]

Oh you have done a gorgeous job with this kitten -Bravo!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

As others have commented on I love how you have rendered the different textures and the kitties fur looks sooo.. soft -well done! :)

With Arlene's advice with regards the shadowing and light source it has really enlivened an already excellent portrait.


Huge hugs,


ALI

[Della]

:) Arlene thankyou again for all your advice it does pop now as you say and i am pleased with it.
Ali thanks so much for you lovely comments i always like it when you comment on my work as you have given me such good advice and warm encouragement since meeting you thankyou. :D
Della.

[wanda]

Ahh Della how cute! I love the way you have handled the shoe and the fur. Two things that stand out to me........one the white string? I think it would read better if there were a cast shadow from it and a little shading to the string itself. Two, a little more shading from the shoe on the cat. Just a few tweeks really and this will be even better! Great job! wanda

[Ironhorse]

Oooo great job! Love the eyes they really pull you in!
Twyla