Blog

Mainly a way for me to track progress, work through my thinking, and give myself space to reflect -- writing it down here tends to spark the next idea too.

Two coloured pencil head studies: a man with dreadlocks rendered in Polychromos, and a woman with red-orange hair rendered in Caran d'Ache Luminance

Progress log

August 23, 2026

Six Heads, Three Sheets: Pushing Past My Comfort Zone in Coloured Pencil

Six heads, three sheets, and a deliberate push into different complexions and ages -- plus what colour layering revealed about the drawing underneath.

Finished mid-sized coloured pencil portrait using only the Zorn palette, with a cheating ultramarine blue background

Progress log

August 22, 2026

Testing the Zorn Palette in Coloured Pencil

Testing whether the Zorn palette holds up for a coloured pencil portrait -- palette swatches, the pencils, four small studies, and a mid-sized piece.

Ink sketchbook page of three heads clustered together, hands raised to the face throughout, drawn from a two-value notan study

Tool walkthrough

August 16, 2026

Notan for Portrait Design

I usually judge light and shadow by eye. This time I ran every head through the Notan Generator first, working the design out in two flat values before inking.