As I neared the number of pen and ink with watercolor images that would make up a healthy portfolio (20-25), a friend suggested that I should add a few more ethnically diverse children to the mix. I took the suggestion to heart, and created three more illustrations, the first of which was this image. It started off as a kid who was singing at the top of his voice, but I envisioned him on a stage or something. I wasn’t sure how I would show that though, without having to draw a whole scene with a full background, and as that isn’t the kind of illustrations I have in this portfolio, I felt stuck. Eventually, for some reason, I started drawing a rock underneath my singer, and it just immediately felt right to me. Here was a kid who was out walking, found this rock, and, noticing that he was alone, began belting out his favorite song. I can relate to this as I used to lock up a church at night, and would take advantage of the empty rooms to sing loudly without worrying that I was off key or singing the wrong words. Here is my cleaned up pencil sketch of this young man:
For my coloring choices, I went with mostly earth tones. I created this image in the fall, so I’m sure that subconsciously influenced my decision to make the grass look as if it’s beginning to die. I am really pleased with how the shading on the rock came out. It looks very true to life, to me at least. I’m also getting better at the shading on people’s faces. I have a tendency to over do the shading, but here I think it’s just right.