Realism
This small bumblebee has a white tail tip. I worked it in colour realism just below the knee.
There is no outline anywhere in the piece. The whole body is held together by shading and by how densely the pigment is packed, which is why the edge of the fur stays soft instead of stopping at a line. Under the bee I put a loose stipple shadow, heavier at the legs and thinning out towards the edges, with a little warm ochre for bounced light. That shadow is what lifts it off the skin.
The wings are worked so the skin tone shows through them. I picked out the veins with light strokes rather than black lines to keep the small wings open.
One sitting, two and a half hours. Photographed straight after the session, so the skin is still red and shining. The black-and-grey plants underneath are older work and not mine.
