This was an exploratory piece wherein I was trying to establish my illustrative style.
It is unfinished and something I need to come back to.
I explored using a colour block as a background as a means to effectively establish highlights and shadows correctly. By using an unrelated colour, it is easier to determine whether the values are correct, as our eyes will be able to tell us.
When I return to this piece, I will need to be bolder about the harshness of the highlights and the shadows. Here I am still incorporating my illustrative style by using harsher highlights and shadows rather than blending them smoothly, but it still needs some refinement.
I spent a lot of time and effort on the hair, especially. I didn't have a specific brush for braids, and so drew everything by hand. Although I now know a shortcut, I appreciate the time spent since it allowed me to show how texture can be applied to an area that would usually just be a flat colour.
