Here are some images and videos of the process involved in creating this soft pastel drawing of a seal. I have used Sennelier pastel card which, due to its fine sandpaper grain surface, can hold many layers of soft pastel meaning that I was able to re-draw the outline and to work over the top of previous layers to change colours and shapes.
The two brands of soft pastel I use are, Unison and Sennelier.
I initially began adding detail of the grass in the background but the drawing started looking too cluttered and the seal would have become lost. This was when I discovered Tracy Rocca’s work, who I mention in the video I made on this drawing. Her paintings show a landscape of colours, uncluttered with detail which draws attention to the palette used rather than all the tiny details of grass and leaf.
To see the videos that I filmed of me drawing this seal, see my IGTV series on my instagram profile.
https://www.instagram.com/izzyillustration/channel/
I went back to my drawing and blended all the detail into the background. And here is the finished piece!
Seals have a surprising wide range of colours reflected in their coats. Just to show that there really are all these colours in this particular seal, here is my photo that I worked from:
