How to Draw With Graphite and Colored Pencils, Ch. 4

Conclusion of the graphite portion of the pencil drawing

Today we will conclude the graphite part of the drawing tutorial. Tomorrow I will take you on a walk, or a cruise around the yard, or something to give your overworked minds a break from the minutia of pencil drawing. If you haven’t unsubscribed by Monday, you will see the steps of adding color to the drawing, last seen looking like this:

Step twelve: It is time to make a decision about the door and the shutters. In the photo, they are green and brown, and these shades are the same value (the same shade of gray if we turn the photo to black and white). I decided that the brown would be darker than the green when I did the shutter on the left. Now I want to be consistent with the green door and other green shutter, deciding which is darker and where it is darker, but in general, keeping the green lighter than all the brown. The way I do this is to only use 2B instead of 4B in the darkest cracks and for the darker edges, and do the bulk of the shading with HB. As I worked on the shutters and the door, the chair got smeary. I keep erasing it and cleaning its edges because it needs to be clean paper in order to take the colored pencil well later.

NOTES ABOUT FIXING AS YOU GO: As I shade, I find layout lines that need to be adjusted or erased. So, I take care of those as I find them while I am inching across the drawing.

Step thirteen: Moving across the rest of the scene, I am ignoring the picnic table because it seems like a giant So What, unless I figure out how to put a place setting, a mug, a book, a something on it. I allowed stroke marks show on some of the wood, always going with the direction and appropriate length of the wood grain. In this window, I started with 4B, added 2B, and finished off with B, leaving a few places without pencil. Then I used the tortillon to smooth it. This time I left a little bit of paper color and also sort of followed the shapes that appeared in the photo for a hint of what is inside the cabin. After blending it with the tortillon, I added HB to the darker places to make them even darker.

Step fourteen: A book on the table, but some confusion about what is beneath the table structurally. So, I will skip this for a bit and move next to the floor of the porch instead. Sometimes procrastinating gives my brain an opportunity to find a solution.

NOTES ABOUT CONFUSION: Even when working from one’s own photo, there are always areas of blurriness or seemingly irrelevant information. In spite of using a photo, some things just don’t make sense, so we have to make up things, cover them with darkness, or grow a shrub over the top.

Step fifteen: Because I have changed the perspective on this picture, the floor boards will be parallel to the horizontal edge of the drawing. Here is the photo again so you can see the how they slope upward to the right:

This is easy to do using my T-square, and I will guess the distances between the boards, simply eyeballing it and figure that closies count here (like horseshoes and hand grenades). Although I drew the lines using a straight edge, these boards are old and worn, so as I shade using a B, HB, and 2H, I made them a bit rough along the edges.

As I worked on the boards, my hand would have been resting on some of the completed parts of the drawing, so I put a piece of paper down to rest my hand on.

Step sixteen: All that is left to shade in pencil is the mysterious lower left corner. First, I looked at the uncropped photo to see if anything helped to explain the blobs: hmmm, some sort of legs. I could either make it all super dark (In which case I am telling my viewers, “Sorry, it was all in shadow, can’t be helped!”) or copy the blobs as I see them. This is the sort of problem that occurs when working with a photo one hasn’t taken oneself. Ahem. I think I did take this photo (unless Tracy or Dan did —thank you!), and I have actually sat at that table. But I have slept since then. . . End of excuses. I just picked up a 2B and started shading exactly what I saw, because unless it is really weird and distracting, nobody will notice or care.

Step seventeen: that lower left corner looked ugly. The bottom left corner was very light on the photo, and that didn’t look right either. So I just darkened the whole mess, burying it in 4B. And honestly, I was losing focus after drawing, scanning, and writing about it for 5 hours, so I just might have been getting careless and sloppy.

The final steps of the graphite portion of the drawing: erasing the margins, making sure there was zero pencil on the chair, looking at everything under that giant magnifying glass on my drawing table*, and then spray-fixing it with Blair Matte Spray Fix. This means (in theory, but sometimes not in reality and I don’t know why not) that you can still draw on the piece but nothing will either smear or erase. Yes, the spray stinks.

HOLY GUACAMOLE! I did this entire drawing without knowing where my real eraser is. I used the kneadable and the Tombow Mono Zero, a tiny eraser in a pen-like holder. It is best to be sure there are no pens lying around to be grabbed by accident when you use one of these—one of my drawing students did that once. Still, I sure would like to know where my Staedtler Mars white plastic eraser is hiding.

Oh for Pete’s sake. As soon as I unwrapped the stubborn cellophane off a new eraser, I looked in another pencil mug on the drawing table, and there was my old eraser. Were there trolls messing around in my studio over Christmas??

Next, we will add color. Nope, I don’t have a mouse in my pocket. This is the royal we speaking.

*See the giant magnifying glass? Also, note the mug of tea. NEVER do this. 

How to Draw With Graphite and Colored Pencils, Ch. 3

Today we continue the tutorial that takes you step by step through drawing with pencil and eventually, colored pencil.

EDGES OR OUTLINES? Real life has edges; coloring books and cartoons have outlines.  Rather than separate items with a black line, use different shades of gray. It is a constant questioning: is this darker or lighter than the thing it touches? Sometimes it will change as you move through a particular area—within a particular item, it can be against something lighter in one place and something darker in another.

Step eight: Keep layering. I used 4B for the shadows of the battens above the door, and added 2B on top of the 4B and over the boards and battens. You can see that this little area isn’t as dark as its neighbor on the left.

Step nine: I continued on the upper board and batten section, and this time added HB on top so it matches the previous shaded areas. I also placed the erasing shield over the top of these parts and erased my jagged lines that went over the border.

MORE NOTES: There are many little finessing techniques that I do automatically and if I called them all out and scanned each one, it would be 2026 before you read this tutorial. A few of those techniques are (1) erasing little pieces that cross over into other territory; (2) darkening areas slightly in order to separate them from their neighbors; (3) ditto #2, but lightening, sometimes tapping gently with an eraser; (4) using a straight edge to clean up edges.

ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT TOOLS: With old buildings like cabins, I first use a straight edge to draw a line, but when shading, I do it freehand so there is a touch of wobble, which gives the look of age and wear (sort of like my face these days).

Step ten: The window started with some 4B, then 2B, then B (yep, a new pencil I hadn’t used yet) over all the glass. I am just pantsing this part because I think the photo has some unimportant specifics, and I’d rather put my efforts into the parts that matter, things that are identifiable.

NOTES ABOUT COLOR: When working from a colored photo, you have to decide which colors are darker and which are lighter. We don’t use black outlines in realistic drawing, so the different colors in real life are depicted by different degrees of darkness in a monochromatic drawing (single color, in this case gray) called “values” in Art Speak. I choose to work from colored photos instead of converting to black and white because it sharpens my ability to see the values; it also helps me know when 2 items of the same value are actually 2 separate items and not one indiscernible blob of gray.

Step eleven: I decided that the glass on the windows looks too fuzzy, grainy, textured, so I used a tool called a tortillon, which is sort of a paper “pencil”, to smear and blend things. A Q-tip, tissue, or your finger will also do the trick.

MORE NOTES ABOUT VALUES: When one item is on top of another item of the same color, the one behind will be slightly darker where the two meet. That’s the way to separate them without the dreaded outline. 

Tomorrow: chapter 4, in which we complete the graphite portion of the drawing.

How to Draw with Graphite and Colored Pencils, Ch. 2

Happy Birthday, Trail Guy!

Hello, my guinea pig friends! Today I continue testing out my tutorial writing skills. 

The Next Steps

Step five: Straighten out the lines. It is NOT “cheating” to use straight edges. If it took a tool to build the actual item, it most likely will take a tool to draw it accurately. There is quite a bit of erasing at this stage, and I use the erasing shield to remove the tiny lines that are wrong. I want my work to be clean and accurate, without hairy or double (or triple) sketchy lines.

ANTI-SMEAR TACTIC: When you erase, you make crumbs. If you flick them with your hand, you will smear. If you blow, you might spit. (Yes, spit happens). Use a drafting brush, a soft paint brush, an antique shaving brush, whatever you have.

Step six: start shading. Shading is the fun part, the party! It is when things come alive with textures and depth. Because I am right handed, I start on the left and the top. This keeps me from dragging my hand across the shaded parts and smearing it. 

I start with a 4B, using the side of the lead. The photo has lots of indiscernible blobs in the window, so I chose to just do some fuzzy sloping strokes, almost a painting technique. Keep the pressure very light, because you can always add more, but it is a hassle to erase if you get too strong in the beginning. The scan looks much darker than the actual drawing because I want the texture to show.

PENCIL TALK: There is no industry standard, so the same pencils look different in different brands. “B” means black; “H” stands for hard. The higher the number with the B or H, the more of that particular quality. For example, 4B is blacker (and softer) than 2B; 6H is harder (and lighter) than 4H. HB is smack dab in the middle, and is the equivalent of a #2 pencil, which is a completely different pencil rating system.

Step seven: Continue layering. Over the 4B, I put 2B using the same type of strokes, and extended it to some new areas, then followed with HB layered on top of the previous layers, and ended with 2H, on top of the previous layers and on the rest of the glass on the window. I just kept layering, working on the glass and the wood surrounding it. I build my shades with many layers rather than pressure, and mostly use the side of the lead rather than the point. Then I come back with a point to sharpen the edges.

I think we will have about 2 more days of this tutorial, and then I’ll abruptly change topics so I don’t lose my readers who are bored with watching paint dry.

 

How to draw with graphite and colored pencils, Ch. 1

My colored pencil artist friend Carrie Lewis asked me to write a tutorial, showing the steps of completing a drawing with pencil and colored pencil. 

I said, “How do I do that?” 

She offered to type while I talk through the steps, but I realized we’d have to be on the phone for about 8 hours. 

So, I chose a photo, started drawing, photographing the steps, and writing about it. Well, yes, sort of, sort of not.

The first session was confusing. I took notes, was sure I’d remember what they meant in order to transcribe them later. 

I photographed a few things, and also scanned the drawing as I went along, but then it was tricky to figure out which order all the pictures went in. Then, I realized there is a lot of information that doesn’t fall in line with the steps.

I’ve decided to post the whole tutorial here on my blog, in 5 chapters. Maybe we can tighten it up together.

How to draw with pencils (and later, add some color) 

The first four steps

Step one: Choose your photo. I chose this because the red chair is a good candidate to be drawn in colored pencil, with everything else in graphite. You can just tint things at the end of a drawing or you can choose a specific item to do in full color. I prefer the latter method.

Step two: crop the photo. Beginners often feel chained to exactly what is in front of them. Over time and with experience, we learn what matters and what doesn’t, and eventually decide that we are the boss of our own artwork.

TOOLS: I use the items in the photo, working at a slanted drafting table. T-square, ruler (with picas so I don’t have to deal with fractions), drafting brush, erasing shield, calculator, pencil sharpener that catches its own crumbs, and Tombow pencils, from 4B to 2H, along with a couple of erasers that don’t show. I prefer the Mars white plastic, but seem to have lost mine. Because I began drawing so lightly, the kneadable eraser works, but it is too ugly to photograph. (It looks like gray chewed gum, gross.)

Step three: draw the borders, making a size that is proportional to the photo. Measure, use math, eyeball it—whatever works best for you. I measure and use tools. It is always best to have margins, so you don’t view the edge of your paper as the edge of your drawing. If you misjudge sizes while drawing, this will give your drawing room to grow. It also prevents a signing or framing problem, should you decide to get it framed. I draw the border with a sharp point on an HB, using a very light touch. I might want to move the border later, draw exactly up to it, or draw over it without it showing through.

Step four: Start figuring out where things are going to go. Look for the main items, in this case, the door and the chair. Draw very very lightly. My lines barely show, so I darkened the lines (just on the photo using my scanner) in order for you to see them.

DISCLAIMER: I chose to alter the picture, to appear as if we are looking straight on the scene rather than from an angle. In most pictures, vertical is always vertical. It is the horizontal surfaces and lines and edges that disappear off toward vanishing points. However, I decided to keep the horizontals and verticals all true to a straight on view rather than slightly angled, as the photo shows. THIS IS REALLY HARD TO DO WHEN YOU ARE STARTING OUT, so you will have less trouble if you just stick to the photo.

Tomorrow: the next steps.

Better When Scanned

This pencil drawing commission of a Mineral King cabin is finished. 

First, I went over the whole drawing with a giant magnifying glass and fixed everything that needed a bit of polishing.

Then, I scanned the drawing.

No matter how carefully I clean the glass on the scanner, there are always little black specks. No matter how many different ways I adjust the settings for scanning, there are always gray areas that should simply be paper white.

So, I clean it up with Photoshop Junior (Photoshop Elements).

Can you tell the difference? At this small size, it might be difficult to see the little improvements. However, I keep track of (almost) all my work, because I never know when I might need a good version for a calendar, some cards, some sort of advertising, to impress a potential customer. . . and to think I used to either make a photocopy or take a slide! 

Speaking of calendars, there are still some 2023 Mineral King HIKES calendars available here.

$20, including tax and mailing.

Drawing in My Little Studio

This is my studio when the flowering pear tree (a leaning tree) was at its peak fall color. The smaller building in the back is where I draw; the closer one with the open door is the workshop where I paint (and where the cats are fed and kept safe at night).

Where was I before all that irrelevant information?

Drawing. Drawing in the studio, using pencils. Drawing a cabin. Drawing a Mineral King cabin. Drawing a commissioned pencil drawing of a Mineral King cabin.

(There. That should satisfy that greedy search engine’s demands for short sentences and repetition.)

Remember this?

It morphed into a real drawing. Here are the steps, some of which you have already seen (but I understand that you actually have a life, and may have slept since then or perhaps even drank a bit.)

Meanwhile, the rains came down outside the studio, pingety-ponging off the metal roof. How’s that for a description of the blessed, life-giving, relief-bringing, green-making, dust-removing rain?

P.S. The drawing will be better when it is scanned, rather than photographed in low light with a substandard camera. Thanks for bearing with me on this process. 

 

Artistic License On a Pencil Drawing

Asking for a commission

Someone contacted me about visiting my studio, along with visiting Mineral King to find the cabin where her dad spent time as a child. I put her in touch with the current owner of the cabin, and then let her know that I accept commissions and can draw the cabin for her to give to her dad.

Gathering photos, making sketches

She was very happy with that idea, so she sent a few photos, the current cabin owner sent more, and I took a few too. Then I worked up different sketches for her to choose from. She chose A, and asked that I draw it 11×14″ instead of the original 9×12″ size chosen.

Beginning the drawing

I had a day without many interruptions, a day to just park in my studio and draw. That has become a real treat in November, consistently my busiest month. 

Instead of printing out photos or ordering good quality prints from Shutterfly, I chose to work from the photos on my laptop. That is now a regular method; it is a real bonus to be able to greatly enlarge a photo for the details.

After a full day at the drawing table, this is what I had.

Taking artistic license

There is a bit of artistic license being taken here, with permission from my customer, of course. In the olden days, I felt bound by reality, enslaved by the photos, and handcuffed by indecision when I ventured away from exactly what was there in person and appeared in the photographs. These days I feel a lot more freedom. Is it because of needing and learning to make things up with oil painting? Is it because I have so much more experience? (I’m kind of old-ish, being well ensconced in the S’s.)

Whatever the reason, the process is enjoyable and challenging. It makes me feel like a real artist instead of a copy machine. 

Calendars

2023, Mineral King HIKES, still available here: Calendars

To see the back of the calendar, you will need to click/tap on the link. 

 

Art Emergency

A long time customer has regular art emergencies. She is Important, and works with Important People. Sometimes those Important People suddenly retire, and then she needs a custom pencil drawing on fairly short notice.

For clarification: she was a friend long before she became Important, but all my friends are important to me. The friendship factor is what keeps me saying yes to her when she calls with an art emergency.

Previous pencil drawings for art emergencies

 

 

The beginnings

The request appeared one month before the piece was needed. The photos arrived about a week later. Since I didn’t take the photos, I don’t feel free to publish them. They were downright scary, but I am a professional, and I managed to suppress my fear (although I whined to my drawing students, warning them to NEVER say yes to projects like this–small size, design complications, poor photographs, tight deadline).

Here it is in progress. This is when I decided that 9×12″ is probably too small to be cramming in this many scenes, particularly with this many tiny windows. (Two years ago I decided that 8×10″ was too small.)

I felt fairly certain that the recipient of the drawing doesn’t follow my blog (our paths have crossed a few times, but he has been Important since I was a kid, so friendship isn’t a factor here.)

Finished!

I was able to finish the drawing in a timely manner, and even was able to deliver it.

Congratulations on a long a fruitful career, 31 years of serving the City of Visalia, Mr. Important Person!

 

 

Five Different Reasons to Send a Note

Everyone loves to get real mail, and as Crane Stationery used to advertise, “No one has ever cherished an email”. (This was before texting, which has made email look personal and handcrafted.)

The other morning I wrote a bunch of notes. A list had accumulated of people I needed to communicate with, and each one needed to be handwritten. Sometimes email just doesn’t do the trick.

As I carried them to the mailbox, it struck me that each note was written for a different reason.

  1. Thank you
  2. I’m sorry for your loss (any of my cards, blank inside, would work for this).
  3. Get well soon (any card with a blank interior will work for this)
  4. Happy Birthday (nope, none of my cards actually say this inside, but I have great confidence in your ability to write those words)
  5. An invitation (I used a blank card for this too)

There are many other reasons to use cards and hand-write notes to people.  

I’ll give you some other ideas tomorrow.

 

Drawing on the Side

What does “drawing on the side” mean? Is that like salad dressing on the side?

In this case, it means that I have a pencil drawing in progress that I keep with my drawing lessons supplies. That way, if I get to lessons early or if no one shows up for class (REALLY?? Yeppers, it has happened), there is something I can work on instead of just knitting.

You thought what? That I would play on my phone? If you thought that, you don’t know me very well.

The back tree needs to be darker and there is a little patch of unfinished background.

No rush. It isn’t a commissioned pencil drawing. It is just a way to A. indulge my love of drawing, B. show my students a piece in progress, C. give them a chance to evaluate my work because we must tell one another the truth, and I want to know if they have been paying attention, D. be productive in otherwise empty time.