Miniature "Zebra Muzzle" - FINISHED!

And here it is! Completely finished. Obviously, I'm a bit behind my goal of one miniature every two weeks... and I do plan on rectifying that situation, just not any time soon! I've been consumed with a number of other tasks, mostly related to creating the website and program for the NOAO Show coming up in April. On top of that, I am panicking to get the last few things done for the RFA show this weekend. And, last but not least, I've been SO VERY SICK for over a week now! But of course, that's enough of all that. This zebra muzzle was a lot of fun, and it's the first image I've done that didn't incorporate an eye in the scene. It was a unique challenge, and I'm happy with the result. I had a lot of fun completing this one!

Miniature "Zebra Muzzle" - WIP 4

Well I know it's been a while, but I've finally put pencil to paper again on the zebra muzzle. Of course, it's because I have a deadline - the piece is registered to be entered in the RFA show this weekend! And now, it's complete, and ready to be scanned to be turned into prints, which will hopefully get done just in time to put it in a frame for the art show. Here's the various steps, in order, since the last post. I'm not going to write much about each one - they speak for themselves. The next post will have the finished image.

Miniature "Zebra Muzzle" - WIP 3

So, another four hours has passed while working on the zebra, and I must say that although I knew that doing a short-haired animal like this would be time consuming, it's even more labor intensive than I thought it would be. It's fun, even though it's a lot of time. I find that long hairs are easier, as you can use longer and faster pencil strokes to fill an area in. I'm still enjoying this project, and each day that passes I'm even more excited to see it finished. And not just to "get it over with" - I'm actually excited to see the results. The following five pictures are the in-progress scans from tonight's work.






I'm actually really enjoying the challenge of doing the wrinkles in the soft skin on the zebra's muzzle. I'll admit there are parts that I'm not looking forward to, but ultimately it all has to be done eventually, but there's no point in putting it off just because it seems challenging, right?

Miniature "Zebra Muzzle" - WIP 2

I've put in another 3 hours or so on this piece, starting with the side of the face, underside of the jaw. I have to admit that I really didn't know where to start on this muzzle... usually a project has an obvious "start-point" that I can work from, but this one I really had to think about before deciding to start where I did. Also, I typically like working in small sections, completely finishing each section before moving on, as you've seen in my previous works. However, I'm approaching a point on this piece where the rest of the muzzle is mostly a smooth continuous shade, meaning working in tiny quilt-like sections isn't ideal. The next bit of progress will likely be a larger piece done all at once, which I tend to find overwhelming! However, I must say that I'm happy with how this piece is going, and it's a fun project to work on.

This is the start, and already it's noticeable how crisp and detailed the foreground is compared to the background.

This step shows some of the first layer work, before burnishing.

This image and the following one are completed sections of the face, in the order I worked on them.

I think the detailed stripes and skin look a little out of place without the rest of the image, but I really think it's starting to come together.

Miniature "Zebra Muzzle" - WIP 1

Here are the first few in-progress photos from the "Zebra Muzzle" miniature. They show the progress from the first five minutes right up until about 4:30AM, approximately 5 hours after I started. The background is now complete, and I'm ready to start working on the actual muzzle. I'm excited for how this background will look once the crisp details of the foreground are there for contrast. The backgrounds tend to look pretty boring and blurry without anything for that depth of field. I'm already having a lot of fun with this project!
The photo above shows the picture with only black so far, in rough strokes for the first layer.

Added to the black above is some color, which will get burnished by the grey in the next stages.

This and all the following images show the burnishing of the background. This involves using a grey pencil (in this case french and warm grey both in 20%) and pushing incredibly hard onto the paper, working in tiny circular motions to blend the previous layers of color together. As necessary I add some more dark or light into the burnishing as I go.



And now on to the best part - the detailed foreground!

The next miniature is...

A unique one, to say the least! This may be a first... a miniature artwork that does not actually have an eye anywhere on it. This newest miniature, just started tonight, is a zebra muzzle. The photo was taken by me at the Calgary Zoo, and this zebra was an excellent subject. I have so many great photos of this zebra, including the photo that inspired "Eye to Eye Pt. 2". When I was looking through my photos for a new miniature to work on, this one of the zebra's soft fuzzy muzzle and light-catching whiskers caught my eye. And, it gives me another chance to work on the very blurred background so I am well prepared to tackle my next huge cougar project, "Regard". Here is my reference photo: