Blog of scratchboard wildlife artist Heather Ward.
Comments about new and upcoming work,
book reviews, and tutorials.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Diamonds in the Rough
Here is the finished version of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. This is a 9"x12" scratchboard. I think, after doing all those scales, I may not complain about bird feathers too much.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
WIP - Rattlesnake
base layer |
detail added to the head |
I find I can get a bit impatient when I have to draw large areas of the same thing. This goes for fur to some extent but I knew these scales would drive me crazy. So I took the fiberglass brush and marked in where all the scales will go. Since taking the first photo, I blacked in most of the left side and re-did it (this was the last part I worked on, so I was rushing too much instead of paying attention to where the scales should really be). Next, I took my new really sharp knife - I'm going to do a post soon on all my new tools - and started detailing the scales on the head. I'm using a diluted ink wash on each scale followed by additional scratching of highlights on top. In the second photo, the head is nearly finished.
I know this drawing will take a long time given its tedious nature and large size (9"x12"), but I am enjoying working on it and I know it will be worth it in the end.
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