Act One and Two

Greetings and salutations dear reader. Today's post will consist of the first two stages of (another) ACEO featuring Bill, my dog trapped in a cat's body. I'll basically just be describing what I've done in each one and why/ how I did the work I did. This ACEO is my beloved Prisma's on a light taupe coloured Mi-Teintes (can't remember the exact name). I use Mi-Teintes regularly for my ACEO's because it comes in a variety of colours and has good tooth but not so much tooth that I can't get in really fiddly details. I've tried many a support for ACEO's and for me this is just what works best. So, without further ado here's Stage one:

I should note that this isn't really the first stage. The first stage (if you want to get really nit-picky) is to put down the initial outline. I'll usually do this with my cheapy HB or a medium french grey and erasing as I lay down my first smatterings (that's a technical term dontcha know) of colour.
So what I do after my initial outline is down, and this is with every work whether animal or human subject, is I get the eyes in. Many artists do this and I think it's so that you constantly have something staring back at you, not blinking, coercing you to finish the piece. I do it for that reason and because for me it attaches a feeling to the piece. I don't finish the eyes but I do need to get them in so that I can continue onto the rest.
After that I block in certain things, and in this case it was Bill's markings, whiskers and other peculiarities that make Bill the oddity of nature that he is. I'll also mark in my lights and lay down a base colour for any spots that will be punchy (another technical term).


Stage two looks like this:


As you can see, quite a bit has happened since the first stage.I've gotten in more of his colouring, but in it's lightest form, and I've defined his markings a bit more. I've also marked/ emphasized the punchy spots around the eyes and muzzle. He's starting to look more like a cat rather than some tick marks on a piece of paper. Who wants a cat with ticks? Gross.

Keep in mind that all of this is to give you, dear reader, an idea of how I work on my ACEO's. I've actually learned a lot since I started doing them since they force you to really look at what needs to be done and what you can cast aside. When working this small there are simply some things that can't be included for lack of room.
I've also become horribly addicted to doing them. Hey, they're safer and more affordable than hard drugs, right?

The next installment for Bill will be on Thursday as tomorrow I'd like to partake in a bit of babble and share with you an odd revelation I had while grocery shopping today. The canned goods aisle truly is a wonderful and revealing place.