Remember the post about the female Io moth that came into the greenhouse early last summer?
You read about her in a previous post: http://thetompostpile.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/io-you/
You were promised a report on the drawing, once it was finished.
Here it is.
I took photographs periodically, as the work progressed.
Each photograph represents about two hours of work.
Step one was to draw the moth on tracing paper. 
Next step was to choose colors and set them apart, for easy access while working. It helps to make some test sketches, especially on parts you’re not yet sure how to do.
Once colors were chosen, colors picked, and test sketches were made, the details of the drawing were transferred to a good-quality bristol illustration board.
This is a time to be working in colors lightly and carefully. It’s important not to lose details.
Next came working on the lower wings.
Then, work on upper wing definition, and on the body.
More details, and shading were added. Colors were intensified.
Color blending, perfecting details, and she’s just about done…don’t forget the antennae!
Tease in your initials and the date, and the drawing is done.
Specimen Io is now reincarnated as Drawing Io.
do you have a lot of colored pencils? Great job on IO!
Yes, my Dear. I have many colored pencils. I keep them in metal boxes. The boxes have trays inside them to keep the pencils lined up and orderly. Disorderly colored pencils are a Great Bother to the Artist, who prefers nicely lined-up implements. I shall send you a picture of how my wife keeps her (many) colored pencils. She does not mind, for some reason, the tendancy of colored pencils, when in jars, to lean about in a disorderly manner. When you are an Artist someday, and have colored pencils of your own, you will have to decide how to arrange your own implements. If you make a drawing of coral, it will be a communist drawing, because coral marks.
I was going to say something nice until that last pun.
The detail, I do have to say, is amazing.
Sorry, fk…it was one of those things that just came out of the mouth without me thinking much. This drawing stuff is a lot of fun. Think of this moth as a fourteen hour time exposure.
Very cool. Did you use chalk?
Prismacolor colored pencils are the tool for these drawings.
Oh okay. I noticed the photo where you were selecting colors after I posted that. I had just looked at the finished piece and it looked like a chalk drawing to me. Chalk would not be a good medium for such detail though.