http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm115/jmk3482/DSCF0998.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm115/jmk3482/DSCF0999.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm115/jmk3482/DSCF0997.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm115/jmk3482/DSCF0996.jpg
This was my first attempt at a bridal henna. I was just doing a lot of filling and some flowers. I hope to improve.
Good job! Things to keep in mind as you move ahead...
Vary your line thickness. If you're using cones you can make them with different sized openings, or just apply more pressure for fatter lines. Drape the lines and move more quickly for thinner lines. As far as composition, do some doodles and then go back and go over some lines to make them fatter. See which seem to make the design easier to absorb in a quick glance.
Mind your negative space. Just like with the width of your line, negative space should vary too. Leave some larger areas of negative space around larger elements, less in the filler. You can even leave some completely "white" space that is just as dominant in the design as the lines.
Practice line quality. One good way to do that is to drape long lines across a sheet of paper and try to vary their thickness and avoid having them break or curl. You could fill pages of just lines and learn a lot! You can also print of some of these step by step patterns, put them in sheet protectors, and doodle over top of them. This will also improve your vocabulary of design elements.
Good luck!
What are some pattern books that have good step by step patterns?
Thanks Jen! I really appreciate the tips. This henna batch didn't have enough sugar so it cracked a lot. And I was having trouble getting lost in my own design. I hadn't really planned it out well. I kinda look at this as a little endurance training. (My hand was getting sore!) But I think it's a good first step.
I do have another question, if anyone cares to answer. When doing tight lace-like henna work on the skin near the elbows, weather you start on the inside or the outside of the arm, once you have the client turn their hand the other way, the skin nearer to the elbow doesn't turn entirely. So, your perfectly symmetrical design becomes lopsided.
How do you compensate for this?
I keep a couple pieces of string or loose rubber bands in my kit that I can tie
around and arm or leg to get an even loop all the way around....Then just untie
the string or cut the rubberband.
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