02 Jun
The Carousel - A Colored Pencil Drawing

Hello Everyone!


Here is my latest colored pencil drawing. As you can see, I wanted to simplify the composition so that the zebra was the main focus. I eliminated the bear on the left, the red awning, and several of the carousel poles. I also changed the floor from metal to wood, modified the bottom of the zebra pole, adjusted the reflections in the mirrors and added more of the roof/ceiling/tent at the top of the drawing. The technically challenging part of this piece was to get the perspective of the beams, the mirrors and the floor to look right. This photo was taken at Dreher Park Zoo in South Florida, so I was able to use a few other photos of the carousel to piece things together. It really was like a puzzle!

I used Strathmore Bristol Smooth 500 series paper and a mix of Prismacolor and Faber Castell Polychromos pencils.  Strathmore Bristol Smooth is just like the name implies--very smooth paper.  I like to put down many layers of color to create depth, and this paper didn't lend itself to that as the pigment tends to stay on the surface.  For many areas, like the zebra's stripes, it worked well--since I only used a couple of colors.  But for other areas that required more colors, I found it difficult to layer and blend them.  Once again, it is a paper that has both advantages and disadvantages depending on your technique.


Until next time,
Michele

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