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I started with a sketch of a woman looking over her shoulder.
This pose is a bit tricky in that the angle of the face is a 3/4 view and the neck is oddly turned.
But it also is an interesting challenge in the shoulder region.
When thinking in terms of a woman, the bones are light, and the shapes are more organic...rounder. Her skull is fuller,
not because a woman has a bigger head, but because a woman's head is bigger in ratio to her body.
Speaking of ratios...
There is a common misnomer in the drawing world. That the woman's body is 6.5 heads tall and the male body is 7 heads tall. Actually,
that creates a squat person. In actual ideal proportions (which you can and should, as I have mentioned, skew for character design) a woman is a full
7.5 heads tall and a man is 8.
In this tutorial, the hieght is immaterial, but the proportion of the head to torso is very relevant. So keep an eye on that.
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As with the previous tutorial, the sketch is in red and the clean-up and development is in blue, so that you can see the progress of the
drawing more easily.
This woman is a bit sly, a bit sultry. That is partly in the pose, partly in the facial expressions as they build. Right now, getting the foreshortened facial proportions correct is paramount.
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Here she comes...a beauty in the works. The lines are fleshing her out.
Her right cheek was too round, too full. The point of her shoulder too sharp...
Now the features are developing so that her expression
is clearer. It's now a bit easier to envision where this is going, yes?
Her lips and nose are now shaped, and the eyes are more defined.
The lids are heavy, at half-mast. She's definitely coming to the front as a seductive image.
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This is the point where final line
is asserted shadows are considered. I decided she is lit from the left...behind her.
That will make crosshatch shading her easier later on and the choice to light her from that side accentuates the feeling of her pose.
Let's take a look at her now....
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At this point, the red sketch layer is gone and the full line work strengthened even more.
Her eyes have strong, dynamic line quality, and the pupils
have been added. I thickened the lashes for added effect. And I added her teeth and a hint of tongue.
I also made the lips fuller and changed the mouth shape a little. I think the poutier quality suits her and now she is ready for hair. maybe something simple...
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Okay, now I am back to sketching again.
I am working in red again to show the additions clearly.
The markers for her hairline become valuable yet again. delicate curls and other soft shapes accentuate her femininity.
Note that the addition of hair ballances her face so that her jaw, abnormally prominent because of the twisted pose...doesn't look so heavy. |
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And here she is.... Everything brought together in a balanced composition.
To let the power of the pose convey what I wanted...I kept the hair simple and so too will I keep any clothing in line with this.
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As before, a little clothing addition helps finish the composition nicely. Her gown is being difficult, it just won't stay up on her shoulder. LOL!
(This particular costume addition accentuates a purposeful nature to her seductive stance. It says very loudly that if you had ANY question in your mind, she is indeed being that way on purpose.) |
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And here she is. I think I will call her Magdelena. *snort*
She is ready for crosshatch shading, or painting, or anything else I might wish to do with her. And creating her, despite the difficult pose, followed all the same paths as creating the straight forward pose.
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A finished seductress! She is shaded, fine-tuned (I worked with her lips again) and quite done. Nothing left to do but sit back and wonder who she is giving that look to.
I hope this was helpful. Thanks for stopping by!
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