Audrey Hepburn

This is Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. I've been hearing about her and the movie for a while so I decided to check it out. 10 minutes into the movie, I knew that I have to draw her. Her beauty is the kind of that radiates elegance and grace, something that is really hard to come by, especially in this day and age. And the way she portrays Holly Golightly, you'd be hard pressed not to fall in love with her. I spent 3 hours on google looking for a photo of her that would do her looks justice. Sadly, nothing comes close. This is perhaps the best candidate, though even it doesnt show just how beautiful she is

So anyway, about the drawing process. From a technical standpoint, the reference isn't that hard though some part are rather blurry so I had to improvise. I really like how the hand turned out. Way better than I expected, considering this is one of the first time I'm drawing hand with such details. The earing is another thing that I'm quite happy with. The reference is so blurry, I had to make up quite a bit of stuff. I'm surprised that it actually look real

Through out the 12 hours or so that I was doing the 2nd half of this drawing, I was simultaneously battling this terrible flu that has plagued me for the last 3 weeks. It's gotten so bad that I actually watched my meals go in reverse a few times But drawing is more important than health so I just sucked it up and dragged my reluctant body back to the desk Besides, I'm in the army so the past 2 months, I can only have a normal life during weekend. That's why I cant let some life-threatening flu get me down

Time taken: About 25 hours
Paper: A3 Daler Rowney 220g/m2
Pencil: 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B.
Reference: [link]
WIP:
You may notice that this drawing doesn't have my usual watermark. I just thought this is one drawing that I shouldn't ruin with the watermark.

EDIT (13 May 2012): I've uploaded a newer photo, this one taken with a DSLR so it's much clearer and also, I've gotten rid of the previous shadows.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others. - Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)