Blog marathon once more. Post 1--a portrait of a good friend.

Okay folks--Going by the huge encouragement  I have got on FB as well as twitter, where I asked if I should do a blog marathon again (have done it for three consecutive years now--2009, 2010 and once  and  2011), I have decided to take the plunge and do my fourth now, starting today.
Wheeeeeeeeee :)

So starting today, for the next 30 days, this blog will be updated daily! :) On some days, when I am too tired to write a new post, or if I (or you!) feel bored hearing the sound of my own words,there might be guest posts by some interesting people. Some days, there might be just a picture that I might want to share with you and sometimes maybe even an interesting video I found or a dish I cooked.

Either ways I promise you  all good stuff :) Not 'filler stuff' written to just make a post. (Readers who have followed my blog marathons do know that).

It would be great if you could join me on this journey by leaving me a comment, just so I know you hear me. I might not be able to reply individually like I do for all my posts, but I will try. And definitely will be looking forward to reading what you have to say as comments do matter to a blogger.

My first post is a portrait of a very good friend Ajay, that I completed yesterday. He was so pleased with it, that he has made it his display picture on his FB as well as BBM :)

The portrait took me about 14 hours to complete.(I did it over three days, not at a stretch)


When I put this up on FB, a few people  who do not know that I do portraits,commented asking which software I use! Some asked how I do it. So I thought would put up these early pictures, which explain how this portrait developed.


The first step to a portrait is an accurate line drawing. You should not start shading until you are absolutely convinced that the line drawing is correct. Even the smallest millimeter can make a huge difference in the final look of the portrait. So you have to take measurements and see that the outline is PERFECT--only then can you hope for a good resemblance. A mistake many beginners make is that they start shading straight away even when the proportions are wrong.Then they wonder why there is no resemblance to the subject in the finished portrait.

 When I make the line drawing I also mark the light and dark areas. I use a very very light pencil (2H) so that the lines do not show in the final portrait. I also use masking tape in the side to hold my work in place, on to the drawing board.


Some people like to do the eyes first. I started with the hair. The hair took a LOT of work, as it has to be built up layer by layer. I prefer doing the hair and eyes first, because these two areas are my 'darkest darks'. All other tones will be in comparison to these darks. In pencil portraits, there are many shades of gray and you have to very observant to see which shade of gray brings out the light, and how dark a shading should be for a realistic effect.

As you can see, there is beginning to be a likeness in the picture above, but still there is a long way to go.

I usually play music when I do my art. When I was making this one, the music that was playing was maula mere maula, Snow patrol's Chasing cars and Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing"
(click on links to listen to the songs)

After I made the eyes and hair, I went on to the lips and other parts. I had to lift off, smudge, blend, lift off , smudge, blend (techniques in pencil portraits) endlessly till I was satisfied.

Making a portrait as you can see is a lot of hard work.

But oh the joy!! :)

So there--for the first post of this blog marathon, you got three nice songs to listen to, apart from knowing how a pencil portrait is developed. Wasn't that interesting?

Good night folks! See you tomorrow.  :)

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Comments

  1. Awesome portrait....amazed at your ability to work so diligently on everything you do.....it takes a lot of focus and sincerity.

    And yayyyyyyyy for the blog marathon :)!

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  2. Indeed true, I always tend to start with the eyes. Yes, I love to sketch and make portraits. And thanks Preeti that you have given me and other good tips here in your post. :)

    Loved it.

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  3. Anonymous1:15 AM

    Really love the portrait ... And all that hard work u put into the hair shows! lovely!

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  4. Good Start...... I always Love your works....

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  5. @Ajay - Chicken Chicken :). You are not supposed to send your photo for a portrait. You are supposed to sit still and not move a muscle for 3 full days :):)

    Yes Yes Blogathon.

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  6. Ramesh: ha ha.He did not even know I was making this. I clicked the pic when he had come for the Bangalore Launch.(same one you attended). he never knew what was in store :)

    Leela:Thank you!

    Cozy little nook: thanks!!

    Naresh: Do send me a link to your portraits. Would love to see.

    Shachi: Thanks!

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  7. The portrait is just too good, more so because it came as a suprise to someone close.

    Between, you said there will beguest post on your blog. Is this opportunity open for your readers?

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  8. The portrait is just too good, more so because it came as a suprise to someone close.

    Between, you said there will beguest post on your blog. Is this opportunity open for your readers?

    ReplyDelete
  9. The portrait is just too good, more so because it came as a suprise to someone close.

    Between, you said there will beguest post on your blog. Is this opportunity open for your readers?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful portrait..I like the way you put your heart and soul in whatever you do..You are truly an inspiration for me ..I am looking forward to reading all your posts in blog marathon..Yesterday it was a reading blog marathon(your blog) for me...I wanted to comment to each and every post that I read but managed to do only couple of them...

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  11. You always surprise me with your ability to do different things with ease.

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  12. :) I have one good reason to be online everyday now! M planning my blogathon too.... but a bit later. :) Only after I did the blogathon did I realise how difficult it was to make 30 posts back to back. So all the best for the same! :) *hugggs*

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  13. Purnima: Welcome back online :) When your sweet little bundle is napping you can login :)

    Viraj: Oh there is a LOT of hard work behind it! U only get to see the results!

    Anu: yes--loved your comments--read all of them :)

    Pinky:Thanks! The problem, if I open guest post to readers would be that I will be flooded with requests and it would be difficult to weed them out without being unfair. Therefore will be asking (if at all I ask) a couple of other authors. That was we can get to see the minds of other authors.

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  14. Super-o-Super. I was checking if you use any gridline method but not. Very good Preeti. Marking my presence to blog marathon.

    Check your mail too pls

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  15. Hi Preeti,

    This is indeed a great start to the blog marathon. The artists are going to love it. It's really very thoughtful for you to share these outlines.

    Many thanks again for your insightful posts. Keep it up!

    Best regards,
    Aditya Pranav

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  16. Anonymous3:09 PM

    Hya:-) congrats for Starting Third Blog marathon :-)

    Loved your Portrait:-)

    Regards
    Sathya

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  17. Learned something abt pencil Portrait... :-)....and new things u try to do like writing this blog for 30 days....

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  18. Anonymous8:40 PM

    That is surely a lot of hardwork, glad you enjoy it. :-)

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  19. Cheers to life: thank you!

    amusingveracity: yeah, its a passion :)

    Vipin: Thanks. Have done a vblog marathon twice in the past :) This is third time.

    Sathya: thank you!

    Aditya:Thanks a lot!

    maddy: yes, still havent got round to weighing the books and checking charges. Will do and revert. Give me a couple of days please?

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  20. Anonymous11:33 PM

    You mentioned 'posts by some interesting people'. Can we send articles ma'am? :)

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  21. just answer me a simple question MAM..... from wer do u get all these energy..... oh god... u r amazing....

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  22. Amazing u and ur portrait....

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  23. @Preeti - Will be doing that soon. I left most of my sketches back home (Manipur). Once done, I'll let you know :)

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