Looking for advice: Watercolour Pom
Right, so I’ve been trying to think of ways I could practice my watercolours without ruining too many things, and thought up the idea of making a series of small illustrations of dog breeds and/or cat breeds or something and painting them. So excited of this prospect was I that I ran out at the first available chance and bought an awesome post-card sized pad of watercolour paper just for this occasion!
I actually defied my law of procrastination and sat down and started one on Tuesday. Here’s how far I got:
Now I’m looking for suggestions/critiques/advice/what-have-you. I know very little about watercolours, really only the very basics of how to use them, and I still have a long way to go.
What I’d like some advice on if you’ve got any:
Shadows: Should I add another layer of shadows, possibly in a purple colour? What areas do you think would benefit the most from this? How stingy/generous should I be with this to really make it pop?
Background: Simple gradient, simple shadow on the ground, something more elaborate…? What colours do you think would work well in a background? Should it fill up the whole rest of the paper, or form a smaller rectangle/oval around the subject? Should it have hard edges or fade into the white of the paper? I’m pretty stumped here, actually!
Pom detail: Is there enough detail on the pom? Too much? Should I attempt to do more, and if so, what would you suggest? It’s kind of hard to see from the crappy photo I provide, but I did try to lift some of that yellow off the edges of the fur and in certain places to make it seem lighter. I also went in once with a darker orange colour and added some little swipes with that; blah blah.
Right. So, basically, I suck at colouring things. I have very little practice, and a lot of the time my coloured pictures turn out looking very preschool-ish. Since colour in watercolour paintings is so important, I thought I’d ask for advice; and any technical advice/critique you have to give for now, and for the next one would be so welcome!
Thank you in advance for any help you’re able to give; and if not, I hope you like the look of this (poorly drawn) pom. =) My internet was down when I started drawing it so I couldn’t look up refernces; I hope it’s recognizable. If not, I’ll do better on the next one!
Anyone interested in purchasing this for $5 when it’s done, or others in a series like this?