Colouring 'Gorjuss' with Spectrum Noirs

The following steps through my first attempt at colouring my new 'Gorjuss - You Brought Me Love' stamp (GOR 907106).

The image was stamped with Memento 'London Fog' onto blending card (purchased from Crafty Capers) as I wanted a soft outline. Sorry about photo quality here - cardstock is actually white!

  My downloaded and completed colour chart was used to select Spectrum Noir colours to match thesuggested colours on the stamp as follows:

Skin: FS2 with FS5 for shadowed areas + BG2 - see note * belowbeside first picture.

Cheeks: PP3 with FS6 to soften

Petticoat, socks, bows: Blender pen and BG1 (+BGR3 for socks)

Dress: BT9 and BT8 with  BGR4 shadow base under medium and dark areas as photographed further down.

                                          Hair: IG5, IG8, IG10 and True Black

For the skin I wanted a very pale tone with pinkish grey shadows. I'm happy with the final result.

I feel the finished cheeks are a bit too pink and would probably palette-blend PP3 and FS6 for a softer pink next time.

My addition of a warm grey to the dress on the shaded areas was because only the BT9 and 8 matched the colour I wanted but I felt the image I was matching had grey tones in the shadows.

 I tend to colour the lighter skin areas before darker hair and clothing, my logic being that if I do the dark areas first the lighter solvent-rich colours may push away my dark areas.

So - legs coloured first, then arms, then shoulders/chest, then face. (*After colouring the legs with FS2 and FS5 I added BG2 to the areas of darkest shadow at top of legs and reblended the area - BG2 chosen as a  warm grey. I did the same at the side of her neck.)

  

 

 
Dress coloured next, laying down light area then BGR shadow. First image here shows BT8 and BGR4 on lower part of dress. (Top bit has had BT9 blended with BT8). BT9 and BT8 then blended repeatedly over this base.

Shoes in same colours as dress.

Petticoat next, then socks. Blender pen over whole white area then BG1 touched onto shadow areas; softened with blender pen if necessary. Same technique for her bows. The socks were a challenge - my BGR3 nib is 'wide' and the pen very juicy so I used tip-to-tip from BGR3 onto BG1 (narrower nib, less juicy pen) to colour the outer edges of the stripes on the socks.

 

Dots on dress drawn on with Copic black 0.03 multiliner.

Bows outlined and dotted with multiliner. Eyes retouched with multiliner.

Borders of hair and areas beside neck done with multiliner.

Hair coloured (as 2 groups - right of part first then left of part) by applying IG5 to 'shiny' areas of hair. IG8 flicked in from centre of part into IG5. Ditto IG10 then True Black.

My next job will be to put Gorjuss onto a card - hopefully some time this weekend.

I can't wait to try colouring her in purples for this month's Spectrum Noir Challenge.