Bruce

Probably one of my favourite drawings. I think what makes this picture is the white background - I was extremely careful once I had finished my outline to shade from top left to bottom right.

The drawing is done completely with carbon pencil - my first of only two pure carbon pictures. As carbon is difficult to erase, especially the solid black, I find these sort of drawings quite stressful. Putting a good sixteen hours into something is a big investment for it to be messed up in seconds. I think that's why I've only done two - my Laurel & Hardy drawing is my second.

The three things in this drawing that stand out to me are the skin tones on the cheek, the reflection in the suglasses, and the shine of the leather jacket.

This is a classic example of the importance of accurate outlining. The particular set of the lips and smirk on the cheek is so identifiably Bruce Willis, but one slight line out of place, and it could be anyone.

Drawing what you see and not what you think you see is a key part of the outlining and shading process. Look at his right nostril. Now, one part of my mind says that it looks as though his nostril is ridiculously large, and the temptation is to draw it smaller (I've seen other people's drawings of this photo, and they've done exactly that). Looking big picture, I can see that the black is not his nostril, but only a shadow.