How to plan a portrait (Part 2)

OK please don't judge me. This is not pretty, but it is the next step in my painting process. This is the underpainting. I like to do this for a couple reasons. It helps me to catch mistakes before I spend time mixing colors. If you look at the girl on the right, you can see that her body is much too small for her head. I may not have caught this as quickly if I hadn't done the underpainting. Also, it helps me to lay in some value structure (hence, the splotchy faces). It may not be pretty, but once I start putting color on top it gets better! Lastly, I really like layering lighter colors on top of darks because it gives the painting depth and interest.

One thing to remember when doing an underpainting... keep it thin. You want it to dry before you start painting color on top. (Also follows the "fat over thin" rule in order to prevent cracking). Stay tuned to see the final painting!