Boys in Surf

I have finished this commission drawing of the little boys running in the ocean surf. I added the boys to the drawing focusing first on each piece of clothing, it's folds and highlights to make it look realistic and form around the contours of their bodies. The details in the bathing suits took a little bit of time to add – I didn't want it to be overly busy and detract from the picture so I kept the marks simple. Next I added their hair in various shades of light browns and finally the skin tones and shadows in the skin tones.

For skin tones, I used Prismacolor pinks, warm yellows, Pumpkin Orange,  Burnt Ochre, Imperial Violet and Luminance Manganese Violet & Ultramarine Violet. I wanted to create highlights and shadows on glowing skin, making it look realistic in flesh tones.

After I finished the boys I went back and adjusted the tones in the water, making some of the waves in the water darker. I added colors such as Prismacolor Clay Rose, Nectar and Burnt Ochre and the Luminance violets to the sanded area in the foreground. I burnished the sand and the waves with a bristle brush to smooth out texture.