This album explains how I created Cheri’s curly “Afro-shaped” hairstyle….from a reference photo where the hair was not visible.
1
This is the original photo. As you can see, there is no way to make out the shape or details of Cheri’s hairstyle. She sent some photos taken at different times, but none of them showed the style she had when this photo was taken.
2
First, using Photoshop, I blocked out the background to make the basic shape of Cheri’s hair. She likes her hairstyle to be “round” (like an Afro). So I indicated that with a circle in the correct place, to guide me. (You will see I sketched that circle on my initial outline drawing.)
Cheri found some photos of models online with curly hair similar to hers. I’ve added a piece of one of them on the left side of her head. Her hair is very dark brown, but that photo shows me the curl shapes I need to aim for.
I will make some better curls on her forehead also.
3
Getting started in the studio.
My reference photo is on the monitor, with the Photoshop modifications I made. Large, so I can see details. To the left of the main photo are two pics of models with curly hair. The lower one is the one I used for the left side of Cheri’s hair. The upper one is what I’m using as reference for her bangs. On the right are 3 photos of a younger Cheri — with different hair, but I’m using them as reference because they show her accurate dark-brown hair color.
The pencils I’m using are laid out on a sheet of white paper. I’m working on grey Canson paper that has the outlines of the figures drawn on it.
4
I started at the lower left, on the neck, and worked clockwise around her head. You can see the faint outline of the “circle” that indicates the outer edges of the hairstyle.
5
The shapes go from very pale grey - the highlights on the curls, to black in the shadows between curls, with many shades of brown and gray to make the the shapes of the curls.
Cheri’s hair is very dark brown, what you might call a “black-brown”, which doesn’t have a lot of color in it. But I’ve added some chocolate and rust in the curls to give it interest and life. Otherwise, the pencils I’m using are warm greys, dark sepia brown, and black.
6
Cheri’s “round” hairstyle finished.
Using the photo of the model with curly hair to start the left side of Cheri’s hair gave me an understanding of how to do curls. From there I progressed by looking at the two models’ photos at the same time as the reference photo of Cheri, to create a nice hairdo of “soft curls” as she wanted.
This is how the portrait looks now:
When Cheri saw this in-progress picture, she wrote,
“It looks awesome - you GOT IT just right!!! But then, I knew you would.”
This is a double Head Study portrait, of a couple who were married for 57 years. It was commissioned by Cheri M. after the loss of her beloved husband Larry in December.
"Cheri and Larry"
🎨 Prismacolor pencil on grey Canson Mi-Teintes paper, 20 x 26 inches.
📷 From a photo taken by the McNealy’s daughter Sarah in 1988.
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