FALL WIP wasn't sure I wanted to post...

[chrisaakins]

Here it is inked. I think you are right @Chip-Valecek It really pops.

[MissMushy]

@chrisaakins really cool portrait! I like the inked version better.
Just curious - is there any meaning to the way her fingers are holding the gourd? almost looks like sign language shape - not sure if it is trying to communicate something?

[chrisaakins]

@MissMushy I play with my fingers as I hold things. I figured she could do the same. She is a supernatural creature so she might be enchanting the gourd.

[robgale]

@chrisaakins Nice! I love the concept of this supernatural woman changing as the day progresses. I like the inked version better as well, it gives it a little more pop.

[Chip Valecek]

@chrisaakins for sure it looks great!

[Jason Bowen]

Have you added an extra finger in the right hand on purpose?
Some nice line work here

[TessaW]

Wow, it looks really good with the linework. It makes the colors feel richer. Did you enhance them after you added the linework, or is it just the linework that's making them pop? I'm really feeling the style it's created.

[chrisaakins]

@jason-bowen not sure what you are referring to. I count 10 fingers total.

[chrisaakins]

@tessaw all I did was add ink digitally and voila it came together. I am pretty amazed myself.

[Jason Bowen]

@chrisaakins oh sorry I was tired and my eye must have been confused. Apologies.

[chrisaakins]

@jason-bowen haha no problem. Thanks for taking the time to look at my artwork.

[demotlj]

When you initially asked whether to ink it, I was going to say I liked it as it is but now that you’ve posted the inked version, I love it more. As others have said, the colors become more vibrant with the ink and the whole thing looks like an illustration from the early 1900s. It’s a great style.

[chrisaakins]

@demotlj Wow! Thanks for that. I actually love the illustrations of illustrators like N. C. Wyeth and J. C Leyendecker.

[NessIllustration]

I think this looks really nice! The anatomy could be a little polished going forward (the hands especially, and the face is a little asymmetrical) but the facial features look really nice and the rendering is great too! The inking gives it a really nice look as well, and your line work is well done. Great work!

[Whitney Simms]

@chrisaakins looks beautiful! If you used your wife as a model she should be very pleased. There is a lot of love in your painting. Love the veriations of color in her hair.

[chrisaakins]

@nessillustration Thanks for the tips and the compliments on the line work. I have been working toward making my lines more expressive and watching the weights and such. I will say it is easier to do digitally than with a real live brush pen. About the hands... I realized that one hand was drawn too small and one of its fingers is probably not capable of bending like that, but I was too far down the road so to speak to change it. I tried enlarging it with paint and it helped some but I know what you mean. Oh well. FInished not perfect right? As far as the face goes, you will have to take that up with God since I was using a photo reference of my wife as the model. (Of course, since she is perfect in every way, I MUST have messed up! hehe.)

[NessIllustration]

@chrisaakins LOLLLLLL re your last sentence Haha smooth!
I find that sometimes, even when using a photo reference I can still skew the proportions especially if I'm working in a big format... In this case,flipping the picture might help you see discrepancies in the symmetry:

I don't know if that helps at all... I'm also a great believer in "finished, not perfect" and think most of the time it's best to take it as a learning experience and move on to the next piece! Reworking the same piece over and over is kind of a creativity killer

[chrisaakins]

@NessIllustration Oh Wow! I see what you mean now that I see it through your eyes. Thanks for the advice. Ha! That one pointer finger that you corrected was the one I tried to fix by enlarging it. I think I made it look like she smashed it. Who knows, maybe she did. I think the face became asymmetrical when my wife expressed her dismay at the double chin I was creating. I think in fixing one problem, I created another. In the work that I did not show, her face was more symmetrical but her chin was way too big. That is the downside of working with traditional. Once you make a giant mistake you have to either embrace it or scrap it. I had already scrapped one start so I decided to go with it. But that thank you so much for the advice about flipping the image. I would not have thought of that. I will try that in the future.

[NessIllustration]

@chrisaakins Hahaha you're funny! Maybe she did smash it And for the double chin, I can totally imagine how this went down. I had a similar conversation with my fiancé this morning when I asked him to take photos of me "working" for my website I'm currently building. He told me maybe we should wait until tomorrow because I looked tired and puffy - than line of thought did not go well for him

[Chip Valecek]

@nessillustration LMAO!!!