Back to Fly Fishing. I went ahead and did a digital “charcoal” study of my brother.

I decided to use this picture for a number of reasons.

What caught my eye the most was the sharp shadows and highlights. Especially seen in his eyes and the right side of his face. This would be perfect to use the charcoal to create a similar effect to my other Fly Fishing pieces, but without color.

I also liked his “pose” because it is simply candid. I favor taking photographs of someone who is not posing, than that of one who is.

I went in with a rough approach, aiming to drop the shadows in heavily. I barely focused on the accuracy of the darks in the vest. The part that had to be accurate was his face. The proportions came out great and the illusion of the face, despite it not actually being drawn in, is wonderful.

I want to try to change the color of the charcoal to recreate the same piece, almost to look like colored pencil or pastels. The major difficulty will be drawing the background, which will consist mostly of greens. I am pleased on the result of this drawing and cannot wait to see what the next version will look like.