Hi Margaret- the stems and leaves are beautiful! It can be very effective to use the background color of colored paper as the mid-tone, but you can not rely only on it solely for the toning. The majority of the petals have a transparent quality and they lack definition. Other than using the background paper color for the mid-tone there is no additional toning to give the petals definition and form. The overall sphere shape of the flowers is also missing the toning that will give the flowers their spherical form – highlight side, dark side and the mid-ranges in between. Illustrating white flowers on color paper is very effective, but the white here is almost neon. Adding the needed toning will help tone down some of the white.
I have been trying to capture Peonies but could use some feedback on this drawing – my first attempt. What do you think it needs?
Hi Margaret- the stems and leaves are beautiful! It can be very effective to use the background color of colored paper as the mid-tone, but you can not rely only on it solely for the toning. The majority of the petals have a transparent quality and they lack definition. Other than using the background paper color for the mid-tone there is no additional toning to give the petals definition and form. The overall sphere shape of the flowers is also missing the toning that will give the flowers their spherical form – highlight side, dark side and the mid-ranges in between. Illustrating white flowers on color paper is very effective, but the white here is almost neon. Adding the needed toning will help tone down some of the white.