As of Yesterday...And Today

After coming home from work and the craft store, I unloaded my bounty of supplies. I spent most of the drive home conceptualizing my first piece for this series.

I had a lot of mixed emotions about the project. So...I chose a favorite of mine, Naruto. After the past few week's episodes, I thought of a lot things I could parallel in raw emotional value alone.

I opened up my package of new graphite pencils, grabbed my soft eraser, and unwrapped my first piece of canvas. I am too short on time these days to stretch my own (I know, lame).

Then, I got to work:

I didn't think to start documenting my progress until I felt the sense of accomplishment at drawing the first element, but here it is.

Naruto - Shifting to Nine Tails

Naruto - Shifting Nine Tails (closer)

After completing the first face, I began to work on the second face.  I would like to point out that it is increasingly more difficult to draw a mirror image immediately after working on the reverse image.

At the end of the time I had to work on it for the evening, this is how far I got:

Naruto - Nine Tails and Outline of Second Face Complete

Once I made it home today, I began to work again.  My trusty graphite pencil and soft eraser in hand.  The first step was adding some smaller details.

Naruto - Nine Tails and Second Face with Hair and Band Complete

Now to finish the face...

Naruto - Nine Tails and Sage Mode Complete

Naruto - Nine Tails and Sage Mode (Better Angle)

There will be more details on the canvas once the oil hits, but some of it will have to wait for the second or third pass as I layer the paint and add more depth.  After all, these are just rough sketches so I know where to paint; a guide if you will.

I hope to begin the first coats to the canvas tomorrow.