Graphite Process Step 1 - Lines

I thought that it might be fun to show a brief view of my graphite on toned paper process.  This post deals with step 1, the lines

The first step is, in my opinion, the most important and as such can take the longest.  It's the line work.  This is the structural foundation on which you will build the rest of the image.  It will guide and inform the entirety of the rest of the image. 

I understand that to a lot of people lines are boring, but too many people get it 'good enough', and just rush in to the modeling of light and shadow.  DON'T DO THAT!  You will only succeed in lowering the overall quality of your work.  I will admit this is something I struggle with myself, but trust me, if it takes you an extra hour to make sure that your lines are accurate, it will be an hour well spent.  If you are working from a live model make sure that they don't need a break.

 

My advice for this step: Sometimes even shifting lines very small amounts (like literally one or two pencil line widths worth of shifting) can make a huge difference.  If it looks off try again.  I redrew the contour line on the right for her face like 40 times. 

When shifting a line that you are otherwise pleased with it is a good idea to draw the new shifted line before erasing the old line so that you can use it as a contour guide.  However if you are shifting a more complex element such as an eye or mouth you are probably better off completely erasing the original first and starting fresh.  

Just draw lightly otherwise even if you erase you'll get subtle ghosting effects later when shading.  Again this is something I sometimes struggle with as I like the aesthetic of heavy lines even though they are not really your friends at this step, and many people dislike them on lit edges.  

In the next post I'll discuss highlights. 

More Graphite Practice

Here is another face study done in graphite and white colored pencil.  What's funny is that I started doing the shading with graphite dust as before, but due to how long it takes I was getting impatient.  So I decided to just go at it with a graphite stick and a blending stump (Please note that in the past I have never found great success with that method, but I was encouraged by my use of the blending stump on the toned paper in the previous pieces, so I gave it a shot).

Much to my surprise and delight I was not only pleased with the results, but I rather enjoyed the process.  I think I might just drop the whole graphite dust thing for now and do more of these studies with the stump.  I am betting that the dust method would really shine on larger pieces, but this is still at the 8.5 x 5.5 inch size, so the stump is more than sufficient.  

I feel like a broken record at this point, but I just really can't express how much using toned paper has breathed new life into a medium that I previously found flat and uninteresting to work in.    

I plan on doing more of these for the double fold reasons of better understanding facial anatomy and structure as well as gaining proficiency in graphite as a medium.  

Graphite Dust!

A week or two ago if I were to read the title of this post I would think it was going to be a rant about getting your hands all messy when working with graphite, but that's not it at all!

I'm actually referring to using graphite dust as a medium/technique.  It's a pretty simple idea really, you either buy some graphite dust, or use a nail file and wittle away part of a pencil or a graphite stick (you don't need much, a little goes a LONG way) and then using a paint brush(s) to apply it to the paper.  

I first tried this technique all by itself and just 'painted' an egg.  

Overall it looked a bit too soft to me and I was using a stick eraser at one point to try and lighten an overly dark area and ended up with a smudge right in the highlight area.  I do not like the idea of solely using graphite dust, but I certainly saw it's potential to be added into my graphite arsenal.

While doing that little egg I also re-discovered how much I hate working with graphite on white paper.  These days if I'm doing something with shading I much prefer to start on mid ranged toned paper and be able to push the value in both directions.  So, out came a new 5.5" x 8.5" Strathmore 400 series Toned Gray Sketchpad.  I think I'm exclusively going to use it for little sketches of faces.  A facebook, if you will :P.  

Here are the first two entries in the book:

 

Both were done using a combination of a mechanical pencil, graphite dust (with a small flat brush), a kneaded eraser, and a white Prismacolor colored pencil.  I think I am really starting to enjoy working in graphite.  :)

(Also, sorry for the long absence.  I've been busy doing more card art for L5R, they keep me busy!)

Collaboration

I've been rather busy working on card art for AEG recently, hence not too many updates (that and I just don't seem to make time for it), but I wanted to take a moment to talk about a very exciting and successful art collaboration I recently had.

My wife works on Saturdays so I spend every Saturday with my now two year old son.  In the past few months he has taken a special interest in ‘drawing’ and has even done several family portraits (mostly rough ovoid shapes which he consistently identifies as specific people, pretty cute actually).

Two weekends ago we were sitting at his little table and he had selected a brown crayon had had made some interesting looking marks and then handed the page to me and said ‘Here you go Daddy, Draw!’ and he grabbed a new clean sheet of paper for himself.

Crayon on paper, 6.5 x 4.5 inches.  (Digital deconstruction of final collaboration)

As I looked at what he handed me I immediately saw a bird.  I saw a slender beak, a rough body, and some wings.

I knew what I had to do (he did tell me to draw after all).  So I selected a green crayon and I worked over top of his initial sketch...

Crayon on paper, 6.5 x 4.5 inches.

...and there you have it, my first official art collaboration with my son.  He thoroughly enjoyed the finished product, and I will treasure it for years to come.    

Put 'em up!

I've been dutifully doing hand studies and face studies and occasionally a little study of the shoulder in a particular position.  I've been pretty happy with the result but now that those areas do not have as many glaring issues I've noticed a new problem to focus on.  (If you are new to drawing or painting this is something you need to get used to.  You will forevermore be seeking to improve on one thing or another...)

My figure's overall poses feel stiff and well, posed...I figured the best way to learn the natural rhythms and flows of the human form was through both careful observation as well as repetition/rote memorization.

Pencil on paper, 9 x 12 inches.

These are all little gesture drawings based on photographs (Thanks Google images!).  Each was done in under 30 seconds.  The idea for me is to stop letting my thinking get in the way.  Just draw what I see, then more on to the next one.  There isn't time to think about angles or proportion, it's simple quick reproduction of what I'm seeing. 

If I do enough of these over a long period of time I'm hoping I will develop an innate sense of what makes a pose balanced, fluid and dynamic.

I'm not really sure why I did pictures of boxers...

Please leave a message...

...because I'm busy painting a clementine.

Watercolor on paper, 5 x 8 inches.

Some people go for a jog, while others browse the internet.  Some people even eat during their lunch break.  If I've brought my travel kit with me (which ironically is carried in a black insulated lunch bag), I like to do a little painting.

I found orange to be a particularly difficult color to work with.  I'm sure with more practice I'd be able to achieve the vibrancy I desire.  While I am perfectly happy with this piece, the darks and middle tones read a bit more like burnt orange than orange orange.