Daffodil Colobus Monkey Skull: Watercolor and Ink drawing step by step

I tend to work rather small, I think an obsession with tiny minute details is the cause and this piece is no exception at only 3x3 inches square. It was partially an experiment in trying out the finest tipped pen I've ever used. A Rotring Isograph drafting pen with a tip size of .10.

I started out with taping off the edges and coloring the entire piece with Dr. PH Martins concentrated watercolors Daffodil. After it dried I set about drawing the skull from a reference photo in red pencil(I always seem to forget to take a photo after this step as I'm too excited to get to the painting)
I then used various reds and oranges from Dr. PH Martins concentrated watercolors to paint in the rough colors of the skull.

Once dry I added in the circle and began to crosshatch in the details with the Isograph pen.

More crosshatching to bring out the shapes and depths. You can really see how tiny the tip of the pen is as well.

Finally using a brush and Dr. PH Martins Bleed Proof White I painted in the highlights and stars.

The finished piece in a tiny frame I found at a thrift store.

Some of my other step by step posts.
Cosmic Maw: Stippled pen drawing step by step
Psychedelic Melty Space Face: Digital coloring step by step
Sally Dog: Oil painting step by step