Babydoll Eyes and Hair [WIP on Portrait Practice #14, drawing blonde hair and eyes with heavy eyelashes]

Babydoll is the protagonist in Sucker Punch, a movie that I like very much despite it being almost universally panned by critics. While it may not have been the director's intention, the story theme that resonated with me most was the fact reality is to a certain extent determined by our own mind. Also Emily Browning played an unforgettably sad character that I have always wanted to portray in drawing. As an added bonus, this piece allowed me to try my hand at drawing light blonde hair.

Baby Doll Portrait Drawing, work-in-progress on blonde hair and eyes

An inclined table is helping me get better proportions when drawing

To source a suitable photo reference of Babydoll, I used the art book of Sucker Punch which had photos of scenes from the movie as well as some concept art. Babydoll's most iconic look is that of her in a sexified Japanese school girl costume. Hence I'm using that look for her portrait drawing.

Sucker Punch film art book

Reference photo of Baby Doll used in Portrait Practice #14

Proper makeup be it eyeliners or mascara coupled with a pair of heavy fake eyelashes (or eyelash extensions) is one way to make one's eyes look bigger. This is evident in Emily's makeup which transforms her into the Babydoll character. To draw heavy lashes and not make it look too fake, I also used other photos (not shown) to view how they interacted with her eyes from different angles e.g. three quarter view, side view, etc. It gave me a better idea how to blend the lashes into her eyelids.

Heavy eyelashes maketh the eyes ... at least in the case of Baby Doll

Emily Browning, before a pair of heavy fake eyelashes/eyelash extensions (left) and after (right)

Another new challenge in this latest Portrait Practice piece was drawing light blonde hair. It's much easier to draw dark as opposed to light hair. To achieve the texture of light blonde hair, I used a higher ratio of hard graphite pencils (2H, H, HB, 2B) as well as a combination of a do-it-yourself (DIY) template containing cutouts of hair-like strands and an electrical eraser to lift graphite out via the template. The latter process simulates strands of blonde hair as can be seen in the photo below.

Drawing the texture of blond hair using graphite pencils, a DIY template and erasers

Cutting out templates of hair strands on a blank transparency

Drawing always comes as a welcome relief in between painting projects. It helps me avoid burnout from painting. But drawing is something I love doing anyway so it's a fun hobby regardless. There are still a few things I need to tackle before Babydoll's portrait is complete. Chief among them is her trademark big pouting lips. Other items my to-do-list include shading of her skin, parts of her dress (the collars in particular) and the rest of her blonde hair. One mistake I constantly make is to increase the pace of my drawing as I near the end. Not anymore. This time I plan to finish at the same pace as I started. If it results in a better end product, progress will be made. That's good enough for me.