oil pastel, watercolors and colored pencil ~ 8 1/2" x 11",  stillman and birn 'alpha'
i've been drawing a lot of 'suzi faces' lately...   i bought suzi blu's new book because i wanted to learn how she gets her girls to look the way they do.  really, it had escaped me!  and that's probably because symmetry is a key ingredient.  symmetry!!  well yeah, that's off my radar!   i've practiced suzi's techniques pretty extensively and i'd like to give away my gently used copy of the book so that someone else can benefit from it.  i highly recommend it for learning about shading around the eyes (and the face in general) *and* it's just a lot of fun!  if you'd like to have your name placed in the hat, just say so in your comment.   be sure and let me know your e-mail addy if you don't have one associated your blogger account.  i'll draw a name on saturday and try to post the results soon thereafter!

colored pencils, watercolors and gouache in stillman and birn 'alpha' ~ 8 1/2" x 11"
the face at the top of the page was my first try,  following suzi's directions exactly.  i liked her alright, but not enough to make me want to paint her hair in, lol. the face on the bottom of the page was next and i liked her except she looks like she just swallowed a handful of tranquilizers. this time i followed suzi's instructions but i used my choice of colors instead of hers.  also, her colored pencil hair was awful so i painted over it with gouache. the cat on the right was next and i used watercolors instead of colored pencils - suzi uses 100% colored pencils for the faces in the book.     the face on the left was last and i used colored pencils and watercolors for her.  she's okay except her right eye is way too big (symmetry, remember).
colored pencil in stillman and birn 'epsilon'
the next day i used colored pencils in the stillman and birn 'epsilon' - it's the one with the super smooth paper and i wanted to see how suzi's technique worked on it.  although the girl/cat is strange (that smile), the paper was great for her technique.
colored pencil and watercolors in stillman and birn 'gamma' ~ 4" x 6"
this gentle soul is in my 'daily book' and i used mostly albrecht durer watercolor pencils to paint her.  a little colored pencil on the cheeks and around the eyes, but that's it.  also these are not true 'suzi eyes' because i just drew the top line of each eye in and let the shading define the lower line.  it doesn't come easily to me to draw two identical almond shaped eyes; this way is a lot easier (and more fun!) for me.
the girl at the top of the post is my latest, and for her i used cream caran d'ache oil pastel for the skin, then i used colored pencils and sennelier buff titanium oil pastel for shading.  at the end i used watercolors on her lips and eyes.  i really liked this combination.   these are most of my suzi faces...  let me know if you have any questions.  as i said, i highly recommend this book for learning more about drawing faces in general, and shading in particular.  
4" x 6" stillman and birn 'gamma'; 8 1/2" x 11" stillman and birn 'alpha'

my sweet books!  i clipped the faces by anne grgich from the latest slotin folk art auction catalog.