JSPaint Girl

This was an artwork I created on JS Paint as a challenge for myself. JS Paint is a copy of Microsoft Paint, except it can be run on any browser without the need to download any external apps. If you are somehow unfamiliar with what Microsoft Paint is, it is a very basic digital drawing/painting tool, equipped with the bare minimum; a pen tool, an eraser, a paint bucket, a brush tool, spray paint, text, & various selection shapes.

I wanted to see if I was able to paint an illustration with limited resources. Seeing as you can’t mix your own colours, I opted for a black & white reference picture. I started by outlining where the bangs would go so I can have a clear reference for the eyes. Those are one of the things I struggle with most, so I wanted to bang them out as soon as possible. Using the eyebrows as a guideline, I managed to align the eyes to be somewhat proportional; it’s not perfect, but it was enough to make me happy.

After wrapping up the first eye, I decided to take a break & work on the right side of her head. I got a good chunk of her hair out of the way, then added subtle shading to her cheekbones & got to work on the nose. Noses are another thing I struggle with, so I just added the base tones to start. As long as I kept using my reference, I knew I’d manage.

I found it was easier to get the nose proportions right if I started working on the mouth, so that’s exactly what I did. The lips proved to be surprisingly simple to draw. My reference has quite glossy lips, & I was really excited to convey that glossy texture with tiny pixels. I drew in the teeth, added the shading, & then the cupid’s bow, which gave me a perfect guideline to continue the nose. With all her features done, there was only one last thing to complete. I could no longer procrastinate getting the other eye done.

All I had left to do now was the hair. I blocked off a good chunk using the spray paint tool, then went in with the pencil too to refine & add highlights. This was the easiest part, but I had already been working on this piece so long that I just wanted to get it over with. looking back, I should’ve stepped away & taken a small break, but alas, we move on.

And with that, I finished my challenge. The verdict? Definitely something I wanted to revisit. (Spoilers, I have. Click here to see how that went.) I love forcing myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to art. I often stay within the confines of what I’m good at because I hate failing, but had I never tried to challenge myself, I never would’ve discovered I could do this.