Rihanna Illustration - Trying to Raise Money for Japan 生 愛 平和

Since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami I've thought, ARGH?! What can I do?! Aside from donating a couple of pounds here and there I've really wanted to use my talents to raise some money for the cause. So I've created a illustration which I want to sell/auction. Luckily via twitter (@CharlottesNotes) I've found a way to do this. I'm donating the piece to an auction which is being held by blogger Katie Antoniou (@katieantoniou) so fingers crossed it raises some good money.

The illustration is of Rihanna. Random some might say and yes I suppose it is random, but say I drew a catwalk image or anything else fashion related that would be equally random and I love Rihanna. She's a fierce female and lovely to draw.

© Charlotte Hoyle

It's on acid-free Watercolour paper 12x9 inches, 300gsm, so thick paper. Its hand drawn with graphite and ink. Here are pictures of the creation process.

Sketching Out - First time I used watercolour paper.

I drew with a mechanical pencil with a 0.3mm lead.

Adding the details of the gems took the longest.

I used red ink for the hair with a water wash. This allowed me to build up colour.

Building up the colour, trying to keep the white paper clean! 

Final - I'm really please with the result. Watercolour paper is the future! 

I love the final piece, and I hope someone will love it enough to take home! Once I know the details of the auction I will post. Donating to a good cause, and I've learned to use a new medium, boo yeah! 生 愛 平和 Japan.