Final Piece #3

For my third final piece, I created a coloured pencil sketch of a leopard gecko, in the shape of the letter 'a'. I decided to draw a leopard gecko as part of my book, because I liked the patterns and shapes of the animal, and also I had access to a live specimen, which because of this I felt meant I had more of an understanding, on the anatomical side.

The illustration as a work in progress (WIP).

For this illustration, I (like the other finals) sketched out the basic latter using a fine pencil. I then looked at a few photos of Leopard Geckos for reference (my own photos), and lightly sketched a rough line art of the animal, until I was happy with the shape. I erased pieces I didn't like, and kept the parts I did like.

The finished piece.

After finding a suitable lineart, I went over the fine pencil, to make it the final outline and then began to add such detail as the gecko's scale patterns, bands and also items like the complex eyes, mouth and nose. After the detail as complete, i added colour, in the form of pastel tones using coloured graphite pencil.

This illustration is a bit more unique than the others in the book, as it was made with coloured pencils, not watercolour paints. I love the colour tones in this illustration, and I also love how the anatomy of the head is accurate. The only gripe I have, is the tail is a little bit too small in my opinion. It isn't as wide or long as a real leopard geckos tail.





Thomas.