https://steemitimages.com/DQmVfPL3sGLV3FQ4CkbTLYmcfQ18mKsFvjG9Kz5zcjoMpkc/Titelbild_V2.jpg

Hi everyone!

Thank you all - for your warm welcoming and kind words. It may seem weird to you, but I appreciated and celebrated every comment, fellowship and upvote. :) Now - that I decided on following this art journey, I feel a bit nervous - but very happy that you joined me. I will work hard, in order to improve and meet my very own - but also - your expectations. :) Without further ado - I will walk you through my drawing process for “Violet Girl”.

1.) The Sketch

https://steemitimages.com/DQmcKJAUTWrDh6FXfDT9WGPkGzpKZcFf4Y7FkhjQv1x3qzD/1_hairgirl_xs.jpg

As usual - I started by a rough pencil sketch in my journal. For “Violet Girl” my main reference was a picture by Loish. Maybe some of you know her, she has a very unique colourful painting style. (If not, you can check her out on loish.net or also on Instagram under @loish.)

https://steemitimages.com/DQmPsGG9QdJ9PcgGAd8dUKayXyCzDge34XsZmG5Woy7Kfmm/3%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

After the rough sketch - I made a pic with my trusty phone and then put it as the first layer in Photoshop. Then I did the line art on a second layer - with a charcoal-kind-of-brush. I like the texture very much, as it is very similar to a pencil.

On a side note:
I use a wacom bamboo tablet, which was gifted to me … years … ago. Well, I can hardly believe it myself - for actually starting to use it only very recently. * sigh *

2.) Base - Colour Blocking

https://steemitimages.com/DQme7vFnWw3XEDgAE7D4z9drQcogoPrTeoWRTQA6AdE9gp4/5%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

Here you can see, that I gave it another shot on the monochrome technique by blocking in the base values only in shades of violet. This time - I think - I could hold on to it.

But ... well ... you will see, that I eventually changed my mind - but only in some cases
- again. (In the next picture... ;)

3.) Problem Area - Skin

https://steemitimages.com/DQmXBdeKeXtr9wxQ3uQm8TSVnK3tVWV3YLHDZV2CL5a21FV/6%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

Although you may not assume it, but it took me - literally hours - in order to get the skin done. And to be honest, I am still not very happy with the result. But well, it only means - practice, practice and more practice!

In this step - I also coloured the eyes, as I used the same layer for them. I chose a greenish teal hue, in order to let them stand out and … to wake up the character out of her monochromatic slumber. ;)

4.) Hair - My living Nightmare

https://steemitimages.com/DQmdkaY3DA9zCD1dyWt1sEu1PsovY7Q7T7xiF7ymYxvNDDV/7%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

Now to my nightmare of hair. Although, the purpose of “Violet Girl” was to study and practice drawing hair - it was such a pain. It took me several attempts to eventually end up with … what you see right now. The challenge was to let the hair flow and fly effortlessly. I don’t need to add, that I am still not happy with the result. But I am not giving up - - - yet. Just kidding, I won’t. I actually enjoy drawing soo much - right now. That it is pretty much the first thing I do, when I come back home. :)

5.) Clothes and Accessories - Monochromatic Fashion Style

https://steemitimages.com/DQmcK7kFAeRD4j3c6TG6RcqH1WhoH7CRM2rGeat9KwVTqMq/8%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

Next - I added some shading to the clothes and accessories. Everything looks very dark, right now. But I kind of wanted the base colour to be a very dark violet for the hat, jacket and leggins. And after shading they ended up … um … darker… If anyone has tips and/or suggestions, you are very welcome to leave them in the comments below.

6.) The Background - Bokeh Flair

https://steemitimages.com/DQmSCQbxh9BC2vEpYj3KxoTUSVJuhRvgxfpJbgpGUBwZTNi/9%20hairgirl_xs.jpg

I have to admit, that I had the most fun while drawing the background. At first I mixed several shades of violet, pink and a very dark blue to create a bit of depths. Then - after scrolling through Instagram that day - I wanted to integrate the light effects, which you can nowadays add easily by choosing the respective filters. As I really liked, what I saw - I thought about integrating those light effects into the background.

After some online research I learned that the light effect was called “bokeh”. Due to the research I also learned about “light flares” - and without hesitation I watched some more videos on Youtube. I even learned how to make my own “bokeh-brush”. :D So - here we have it, the final background with added “bokeh” and “light flare” effects. https://steemitimages.com/500x500/https://steemitimages.com/DQmVs2ePbhur4eD4v9DdPtwRFArZnqWurkUnqp3fGVztoCe/11_hairgirl_xs.jpg

And last but not least -

I created a GIF, so that you can see the drawing process more properly. https://steemitimages.com/DQmZ3hT8J6CzdDCyMcDZ4QmGGHqS5HECXVxmvUdNQa21rcY/GIF_VioletGirl.jpeg Yay - we finally reached the end! ;) If you like, what you see - please follow, upvote and resteem. Your support is very much appreciated. Thank you so much for reading - and see you next week! :) -ArtBunny-