Doodling for Beginners: Masked Lady
I thought that for today's post I'd give all of the nervous doodlers out there a hand and show you a straightforward project that looks stunning! You can complete this page with just a few materials and with only a little experience and imagination. Now this is quite a step-by-step project so grab your favourite doodling pens (you know mine are Copics) and let's get started, because we are creating this masked lady!
SUPPLIES
- Copic Multi Liners in 1.0, 0.5 and 0.3
- Copic Markers: 0 (Colorless Blender), C1, C3, BV0000, BV000, Y26, E47, E49, E00, E11, E21and E23
- Copic Airbrush (optional)
- X-Press It Blending Journal or Blending Card
- Magazine Image - Photocopied or Laser printed in black and white
(ink jet printed images will not be suitable unless the ink in your printer is Copic safe) - Tracing paper
- Soft lead pencil
- Favourite Stencils or masks, I used:
Memory Box: Garden Leafy Branches
Coffee Break Designs: Birds 59
Stencil Girl - S100 Ferns
Crafter's Workshop - Birds of a Feather
Prima Mask - 550035
iStencils: 05-00031 R SC (repeat design)
What I Did:
Copy or print a black and white portrait onto Blending Card. For mine I have scanned an image from a magazine advertisement and using a black and white laser printer, I have printed this directly onto a page in my Blending Journal. You could also print onto a piece of Blending card and glue this into your journal later. If you are a little more adventurous you could draw your own image or even use a face stencil as the basis for this technique.
Using your Multi Liner 1.0 outline the major facial features - you are aiming for a comic book style outline for this step. Colour in and dark areas (nostrils and inside mouth) for a dramatic look.
Lay tracing paper over the face and plan a simple mask - the tracing paper allows you to draw and re-draw the mask until you are happy with it. Once satisfied with your mask design, trace the image onto your face in pencil. Go over the pencil with Copic Multi Liner and erase all signs of pencil marks once the ink is dry. If not sure what to draw, Google filigree masks for interesting ideas.
This is where the stencils and Stendoodling come into play. Grab your favourite stencils and add stencilled designs to your image, some great spots for the stencilling are the hair, mask or face. You may like to draw outlines only or use the images to add design elements eg: a birdcage ear-ring!
Now that you have this done, it's time to add some Stendoodling - what is that?
Well Stendoodling is where you add parts of smaller stencils inside each of the sections of the larger stencil. Michael has more info over here on his blog or you could check out his Pinterest board! You can add a lot or a little and this may depend on the size of the stencils and pens that you have access to. On this image my Stendoodling is very subtle (I'll show you something with a bit more punch later!).
I've added some Stendoodling to my birds to add pattern and to my leaves for interest. For the most part with the doodling I've stuck to repeating patterns, so that the doodling doesn't compete with the face for dominance. Add as much or as little doodling as you like. If you have a look at mine below you will notice I've used lots of repeating patterns and have varied the width of my lines for some added drama and to really draw the attention to the eyes.
Finish colouring the skin by adding E11 into the shadows for a little extra depth, I've also added a little extra around the jaw and hairline. If you are using a mask - you can remove it at this point.
Using BV0000, BV000, Y26, E49 and E47 - carefully colour the eyes - these are the focal point of the whole page so pay attention and colour carefully.
Add some grey to the mask to distinguish it from the face - just a little and keep it light.
I used C1 and C3 - blend with a little E00 if it begins to look a little too grey.
As a final touch add E23 and E21 to the pattern on the neck and as shading around the eyes - really amp up the colour near the eyes.
You can immediately see that by colouring the eye area more heavily than the rest of the image, it really focusses your attention. I've intentionally left the hair and background uncoloured to enhance the look of the face. By keeping the colours to a minimum and using what is essentially a monochrome palette, I think it produces a softer look that is still appealing.
So while at first glance this project may look complicated, by taking things step-by-step I think this is a page anyone can try!