I decide to define the eyebrow before adding in the shading for the make-up. Still using the medium black Bic biro pen I start gently adding the strokes of the hairs that create the eyebrow.
I follow the same directions as the hairs when making the marks with the pen, and the hairs go in different directions, overlaying each other, thicker in some places and sparse in others.
It's really just a case of patiently laying down lines to create the mass of hairs, but how you apply pressure really matters when making the marks with the pen - where the hair comes out of the skin needs to be lighter than the other end of the hair, so the pen stroke needs to reflect this.
This character's hair is very dark, and the eyebrow needs to be dark as well, so I continue layering the pen marks, still paying attention to the direction and thickness of the hairs.
Once I'm happy with that, I move back onto the shading around the eye, but not because I'm still trying to avoid the moment when I start the make-up! I need to plan how the make-up will sit on top of the skin and so I need to define the detail under the eye first. This is an older character, with lines and slight bags under his eyes so I lightly shade those in and then start adding the make-up.
As I add the make-up I follow the highlights and furrows of the skin.
Slowly, I work down the face, adding the carnival make-up detail, all the while checking the depth of shading on the overall face so that the drawing stays in balance. The shading around the eye needs more attention as I add the darker layer of the make-up, so as to not lose the form of the eyeball and socket.
Time has gotten away from me, and I'm not going to get this finished today, but I'm happy with the sketch so far. It doesn't seem like I've done much work when you compare it with yesterday but building the shading takes a lot longer than it seems.
It's looking good. Let's hope I don't mess it up tomorrow; you can't erase pen lines!
