I’m not known for being a speedy drawer at all and most drawings take me over a month to complete. The ladybird however was my fastest drawing to date, and only took 3 days!
The one thing I knew I needed to get right with the ladybird for it to work was its shininess. A ladybird’s elytra (wing cases) are known for their shine and my focus was to make sure that I accurately captured the light reflecting off them to give the drawing that gorgeous gleam.
I found that the way to do this was to make sure there was a real contrast between the light and dark areas, and then lightly go over each section with a paintbrush to give the drawing a smooth finish.
Fun fact – ladybirds aren’t all red and black! There are over 40 types of resident ladybird in the UK and about 5,000 worldwide, many of which are small and dark in colour, meaning we often don’t recognise them as ladybirds.