Wow, this looks great! How did you get the colors to flow so nicely into one another?

Thank you!! Oranges are definitely the most fun to shade, and as they're the smoothest in this picture, I'll answer for that. It involves using a range of marker colors to shade one color (I like to have at least three, but that isn't always possible, and a similar effect can be created with two). Orange mixes well with reds and yellows, so for that color, you'd color the area you want to shade with the lightest color, then go to the darkest shade and color the areas you want to be the darkest/most shadowed with red. Blending works best when the colors are still wet, so the faster you work, the smoother the blend will be, at least in my experience. You then use the middle color (the orange) to blend the red and the yellow together, creating a nice mid-range. You continue to work inward, moving from the darkest areas of the picture to the lightest (working color-by-color, of course, so you can work while the colors are still wet). I hope you find this helpful!

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply! I'll definitely be giving that technique a try next time I work with traditional tools. :D

No problem! I hope it goes well!

Exquisite colours and blending. Very good face, especially the eyes.

Thank you!!