This is the second version of this lovely lady. The first was a watercolor I hate, and please forgive the language. I admit I am not the best watercolorist in the world, but I don’t blame the medium for my failure. The piece I did pretty much sucks from sketch to final piece. My wife said she likes it, but she has to. I think it’s part of the wedding vows.
That said, I found the same reference photo and got busy. I took the reference photo at South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. I took it on a two-day safari, and it was an absolute blast. We saw these lovely giraffes, plus many other animals. During the night safari, our guide drove us into the middle of a pack of female lions. That memory will be with me till I die.
Back to the drawing. As usual, I started with a pencil sketch. Then I broke out my pens to do the linework. Once that was done, I used light ink washes to define shadows and the giraffe’s spots. To finish it off, I used a white charcoal pencil to accent the highlights.
This time, I was much more pleased with the results.