Freehand Friday (in color!)

So I know I promised a colorful sketch today...but *in a high-pitched whiny voice* I'm so uncomfortable using color. I try to layer colors on top of each other to make them richer, but I have such a hard time getting the realism correct. However, since I was so inspired by The Hobbit and the palette of the story and the way the colors conveyed emotion in each scene, I gave it a shot. (I don't think I've done a sketch in color since college...)

I chose to use a production still of Bilbo Baggins that I found on Google. And I thought it might be fun to show both the beginning and layering steps that I use when sketching (it's the same for graphite and charcoal sketches, except I use gray tones to layer shadows instead of colors). So here's a compilation view of four stages of the sketch I did today, starting with the outline and then adding colors and building up the layers:

Maybe because it's easier to sketch in black and white is the reason I choose to work primarily in graphite pencil, but I do like the way the colors seem to add more character to the image. I'll try to branch out of my comfort zone and alternate between color and black and white sketches in the future--to add some variety to my portfolio and give myself a bit of challenge. Heck, maybe I'll get so inspired I'll start painting again...although, paint makes me nervous; but maybe...maybe I'll give it a shot again. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, here's a slightly larger view of how far I've gotten on this Bilbo Baggins sketch. Certainly this sketch isn't finished, but it kind of resembles Martin Freeman...maybe?...even though I may have aged him by 10 years or so...