For the first piece completed for this Western Series I decided to take on a plaid patterned flannel shirt. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever drawn to date. I really underestimate sometimes certain elements of shading especially with fabrics.
This shirt took me about 30 hours to complete on the 24×30 inch wooden board its on. After completing the shit I realized I had only spent about three hours on the face and decided that wasn’t the best way to work. In college, i was taught to always move consistently around the piece you are working on. As the composition builds consistently throughout the work, your work will have a better sense of balance and understanding. For me, I rarely work this way. My illustration teachers always joked with me about this. A face would be completely drawn in and no evidence of work will have been completed in the background. The issue is that if you over shade one element it sets the stage for the rest of the piece and it can make your job of value placement much more difficult. And this is true, it does.
Now I am finished with the entire piece, check it out under the “Fine Art” tab and let me know what you think!