DRAWING AND PAINT

To draw the eyes simply draw an oval that starts and ends within the marks we have done previously. The eyes have not this shape but we'll get in soon and shape them properly.
Eyebrows are just two thick lines and, you see, nose and mouth are really easy to draw.
Finally draw the headband that occupies al the forehead. It starts just where the ears are.
Let's start put some detail into the eye and eyebrow now. I have drawn only the right eye here to show you the difference to our sketchy eye.
The bottom part of the eye is flat then it goes up in a gentle curvature. The upper part o the contrary is round and stays pretty much close to the shape of the oval we sketched in the first place.
The eyebrow is just slightly thicker see? Narrower in the middle and slightly bolder on top of the eye.
To draw the pupil make a cross in the eye and center the pupil and iris in the middle of that cross. Remember that pupil and iris are concentric.
Drawing the hairs can be a chore but here is a trick to draw them perfectly.
Starting from the upper side of the headband draw these curved lines moving outward (see the arrowhead) and laterally. The central lines are linger than the lateral ones. Using these lines as a reference we'll build the hair mass in the next step.

The way I used to color this drawing uses a technique based on flat colors laid on different levels underneath the drawing. This technique is simple and achieves a decent result that is cartoony so perfect for this type of characters.
The thing to do is to create a layer for each area of the drawing that has a specific color. For example a layer called HAIRS where the coloration for the hairs will go, one called FACE for the face and so on. As many as you want but try to use the minimum number possible to keep things easy to manage.
So go on, create the layers and label them. All the layer shall go underneath the drawing, this is very important.
Once you have created the layers start painting inside them with a base color like in the drawing below. Choosing the right color is a tricky part and the only way to do it correctly is through a bit of trial and error.
Fill the relative ares with flat color, 100% hard brush because then you'll have to select those areas again.
When you use the eraser to delete part of the color that do not comply with the drawing use 100% hard edges as well. Now let's go on and fill those areas!
We'll use a very soft toning for this drawing, we do not want harsh shadows or highlights. To color an area of flat color simply select it in photoshop using shift+left click on PC on the correspondent layer. Once the area is selected you can play with colors in it without being afraid of coloring outside of it.
To obtain the final effect of this drawing you need to use a brush with similar characteristics: 50% soft edges, 15-20% opacity. Select a color that is slightly darker or slightly brighter than the base color and start painting in adjusting the size of the brush while you go.
Your aim is to create slight shadows and highlights building up color very slowly so to obtain this smooth and pleasant effect.

Before finalizing our drawing we want to use the same treatment for the neck-guard and a little bit the neck itself.
The final step is enhancing the shadows a little. Here is a trick to do it and to achieve a similar effect as the painting here. Apply a dark color where you want to shadow to appear. Say the face. Well apply a dark brown, for example at the sides of the face as I have done, then blur it to make it blend with the background.
Proceed as follows: create a separate layer in Photoshop and call it shadows. Apply all the shadows on this layer and then apply the BLUR filter to make the shadows blend with the background.
Before applying the final touches and creating a background for the drawing let's enhance the line work. To do it duplicate the layer where the line work is and set it to multiply mode.
The final effect will be a richer and darker line work that will give the final painting that UMPH!
The background I have created is also very simple and effective to do. Use pictorial brushes that you can find free online or just here for example, and fill randomly (but with a bit of taste) the background varying just the size and lightness of the brushes.
To finish it off apply a radial blur and you will have just completed your drawing!