Lets Draw It

Pencil Sketches of Faces

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Have that ever happened to you before? You start drawing a face to find that when you're done, it's nowhere near the person that you're trying to draw?

The problem is that all faces are a unique combination of a set of features. When we take these features apart, we see that there are hundred and one different features. We all have different lips, different noses, different eyes, different ears, different hair, and different face shapes.

And when all these different features come together, it makes the task more difficult for the artist to capture the visual resemblence on paper.

Also, we have to take note of the age of the face that we're drawing. If you're drawing babies, the best time to draw them is when their asleep. Because you can't have them moving around when you draw them.

When drawing babies, keep the drawing simple with few lines and only capture the features of the face.

If you're drawing a child, the features are more defined compared to those of a baby. So you'll have to lock in the features with stronger and darker lines. But the skin is still smooth and gentle. Try not to add to many lines to the face of a child.

Teenagers are young adults. You may approach drawing the face of a teenager in the same way as you would approach drawing the face of an adult. The key to drawing a mature face is to capture the essence of the face.

That means capturing the personality of the face. Some people have a confident look. Some have a shy look, and some have a mischievious look and so on. Try to capture that in your drawing.

Finally, remember not to draw all your faces to look like hollywood stars. Human beings do not look like plastic in real life. So keep your drawings realistic by including any details that make your drawing look more human.

Explosive Tips on Drawing with the Pencil

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:52:00 +0000

Author: Todd Harris

Drawing can be difficult. Drawing with a pencil can be really difficult. There are common problems artists face when drawing with a pencil. When you achieve pencil and line control, the benefits are astounding. It is difficult, however. But never fear, there are great tips to help you around these trouble areas.

The first tip I would suggest is to start watching how you lay down your pencil. You want to be observant and see how your pencil is hitting the page. It sounds simple, doesn't it? You can improve your drawings just by observing how your pencil is laying down graphite.

I would also suggest that you keep your lines varied. What does this mean? It means that you can vary how thick or thin (weight) the line is by pressing harder on the pencil or by allowing the pencil to lift. You may think to yourself, duh! It's sad to say that a lot of artists don't do this enough. Reducing or adding weight to your drawings can really help your drawings come alive.

When shading, try using a small circle motion to give your drawing added texture. Always shading from side to side is not a great idea.

Smudges a problem with your pencil drawings? Get a kneaded eraser. These are the best for erasing and eliminating little smudges along the way. Knead your eraser so that the shape is a ball with a pointed tip on the end.

Lastly, keep your pencils sharp! Granted sometimes, as an artist, you'll want a duller edge, but most of the time keep em' sharp. I go through many pencils a week because I am continually sharpening them.

When you learn pencil and line control, you will be able to draw pieces that mean something to you, even if they are never seen by anyone else. You'll be able to more fully capture the essence of what or who you are drawing and achieve a likeness like never before.

These short tips will help you in your drawing endeavors and keep you from making some mistakes. If you currently struggle with drawing well and having good line control, you should definietely try these tips. Also, doing some line variation drills will help. Drawing can be difficult but if you start with a basis you have a strong foundation to build upon.Try these tips and you'll see your drawings come alive.

Interesting Pencil Sketching Exercises

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Some pencil sketch tutorials will ask you to shade squares just to get some blending practice. But I find that ineffective and exceedingly boring. And I tell myself there must be a better way to learn pencil sketching.

The problem with shading squares is that squares have no meaning. They don't represent still life, and they don't represent a living thing. Therefore, such exercises don't really stretch the muscles of the artist.

And anything that's not a real challenge isn't going to help anyone become a world class artist. If you're a beginner, you may want to consider some alternative exercises.

What you can do is that you may want to pick just one simple subject that you would like to draw. Don't be too overly ambitious if you're just starting out. Just one good one will do. I suggest choosing something like a soft toy or a plant. These subjects have simple basic forms and shapes and are perfect for sketching exercises.

Next, when you proceed with your drawing, keep in mind that this is just an exercise. So your primary goal is not to create the perfect sketch. Instead, you should constantly remind yourself that since this is just an exercise, you should try as much as you can to experiment. Be adventurous! This is just an exercise, so there's no need to be timid.

Draw all kinds of lines if you can. Experiment with all the different shades of pencils. Use different types of drawing paper and observe what happens.

This will keep you busy for hours, and in my opinion, even though the approach is a little hap-hazard, it's still much better than just shading squares. No boring squares for you and me.

Learning to Draw? You're going to need a Pencil

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Author: AdamValentine

Choosing a drawing pencil like it should be simple. You just go to your pencil jar and grab one, right? The hard part is that there are so many to choose from. Believe it or not, it is not as simple as choosing to use a number 2 pencil. Number 2 pencils are fine for math class, but not necessarily for drawing. There are both hard and soft pencils in varying degrees.

Hard pencils are not harder to draw with. It is the graphite that is described as hard. Because it is hard, less graphite breaks away from the pencil and a lighter line is drawn. I like to use hard pencils when outlining as I start a drawing and when shading very lightly.

Each Hard pencil is designated by the letter H. It is preceded by a number from 0 and up such as 0H, 1H, 2H, etc. The higher the number, the harder the pencil is. This is why a regular number 2 pencil is HB. It is a mix between hard a soft.

Soft pencils are designated by the letter B. It also has varying degrees of softness starting from 0B and up. The higher the number, the softer the pencil is. For examples, a 7B pencil has much softer graphite than a 2B.

Soft pencils are best used for shading. Start with the least soft pencil and work your way up to the softer pencil because the softer the pencil, the darker the line. This is because as you press on a soft pencil, more graphite breaks away than a hard pencil.

The best way to draw is by using different pencils. You can start with an H pencil, outlining your sketch and getting the basics down. Press lightly so that the lines don’t show through. This is just to get down the correct dimensions.

Then move on to the soft pencils to begin shading. Move up with the soft pencils if you need a darker line or smoother shading. Use a blending stump or your finger to blend the shading together and make it look smoother.

Which pencil you use it your choice. Experiment with different types of pencils to figure out what works for you. You might find that you like one pencil for everything. That is fine. The idea is that you try out everything to make sure you are using exactly what you like best.

How Do Pencil Erasers Work?

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:41:00 +0000

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

An eraser, called a rubber in some places, is an item used to remove the marks left by pencils and some types of pens. Modern erasers come in all colors, and may be made of rubber, vinyl, plastic, gum, or similar materials.

A Little Eraser History

Before the eraser was invented, you could use a rolled up piece of white bread (crusts cut off) to remove pencil marks (some artists still use bread to lighten charcoal or pastel marks).

Edward Naime, an English engineer, is credited with the invention of the eraser (1770). The story goes that he picked up a piece of rubber rather than the usual wad of bread and discovered its properties. Naime began selling rubber erasers, the first practical application of the substance, which gets its name from its ability to rub out pencil marks.

Rubber, like bread, was perishable and would go bad over time. Charles Goodyear's invention of the process of vulcanization (1839) led to widespread use of rubber. Erasers became commonplace.

In 1858, Hymen Lipman received a patent for attaching erasers to the ends of pencils, though the patent was later invalidated since it combined two products rather than invented a new one.

How Do Erasers Work?

Erasers pick up graphite particles, thus removing them from the surface of the paper. Basically, the molecules in erasers are 'stickier' than the paper, so when the eraser is rubbed onto the pencil mark, the graphite sticks to the eraser preferentially over the paper. Some erasers damage the top layer of the paper and remove it as well. Erasers attached to pencils absorb the graphite particles and leave a residue which needs to be brushed away. This type of eraser can remove the surface of the paper. Soft vinyl erasers are softer than the erasers attached to pencils, but are otherwise similar.

Art gum erasers are made of soft, coarse rubber and are used to remove large areas of pencil marks without damaging paper. These erasers leave a lot of residue behind.

Kneaded erasers resemble putty. These pliable erasers absorb graphite and charcoal without wearing away. Kneaded erasers may stick to the paper if they are too warm. They eventually pick up enough graphite or charcoal that they leave marks rather than pick them up, and need to be replaced.

Before You Buy Graphite Pencils

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:34:00 +0000

By Helen South

The humble graphite pencil might seem like the simplest of drawing tools, and so it is - but when you hit the art store, the range of graphite pencils available can come as something of a surprise. If you are just starting out, the low-cost, quick solution is to choose select a 6B, 4B, 2B, H and 2H from a reputable artist's range. A serious beginner might want to go for a full set in a tin, or try clutch pencils. Pencils are relatively inexpensive, so experiment to find what suits you best.

What's Inside a Pencil?

Pencils have cores made from powdered graphite (not lead) fired with clay, varying in hardness. The type of graphite used in pencils is relatively soft and malleable, a little like lead, and was mistakenly thought to be a form of lead when first discovered. The misnomer stuck, and many people think that pencils once had lead cores, though they never did. Graphite leaves a small, smooth particle on the paper that has a slight sheen.

History of Cumberland Graphite
Wikipedia Pencil History

Pencil Quality Varies

Pencils can vary widely in quality. Irregularities in substandard or poorly processed graphite can lead to unpredictable tonal range, and even worse, scratches in the paper. Uncentered cores tend to break on sharpening. High quality artist's pencils deliver reliable, even tone at carefully graded hardnesses, and are less prone to breakage.

Wood-Cased Artist's Pencils

The familiar 'graylead' pencil has a graphite/clay core encased in cedar wood. These range in hardness from around 9b (very soft) up to 9H (very hard indeed) depending on the brand. Most artists starting out will find that a selection of 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B is more than adequate to start with. If you are interested in doing extremely fine, realist tonal work, you might want to include all the pencils from 4H to 6B, or even buy a boxed set.

Clutch and Mechanical Pencils

Many artists swear by clutch pencils. Timber-cased pencils change their size, weight and balance as they are sharpened, which can be a problem for artists who draw a great deal. Clutch pencils have a constant weight and size and though initially expensive, the refills are competitive. I prefer the 2mm diameter leads - the .5mm ones break too easily.

Progresso Pencils,Graphite Sticks and Graphite Crayons

Progresso Pencils are thick graphite pencils with no wood casing but a layaer of laquer to facilitate clean handling. Useful for broad, expressive work and shading over incised detail or where a visible paper tooth is desired. Graphite sticks or crayons are chunky, crayon-like pencils suitable for large, vigorous work. They can be messy to handle but are great for tactile, involved mark making in large-scale works and life drawing.

Powdered Graphite

Powdered Graphite is a hands-on drawing medium, applied to the paper with fingers or a rag. It can be used in drawing for soft, loose mark making, or to prepare a toned drawing surface.

Carbon Blends

Carbon pencils are made from lampblack (derived from burning oil), delivering a smooth, dark black line. Variations available include blends of carbon, charcoal and graphite. The particle size varies depending on the source, soot providing a fine even particle, charcoal often being rather coarse. Carbon and Compressed Charcoal pencils can be useful for obtaining a true black which is not really possible with graphite. Test for compatability before applying to your drawing.

Chalk and Pastel Pencils

Black conte pencils are made from a carbon and alumina chalk blend. These have a smoother, creamier consistency than pastel. Hard pastels are also available in a pencil format, and manufacturers are constantly experimenting with media. White pencils are either colored pencils or pastel pencils and are made of various combinations of pigment, chalk, clay, gum and wax. Other media pencils are not always compatible with graphite, and should be tried on a test piece first.

How To Draw A Good Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:33:00 +0000

By Darren WK Chow

Drawing portraits can be exceedingly challenging for many art students. But why are portraits so hard to draw? After all, portraits are essentially the same as all other drawings, and are made up of basic shapes and forms. The key lies being able to execute proportions with exact precision.

When you take a closer look at a portrait, you'll observe that there are thousands of combinations possible for portraits. For example, there are noses with many different shapes and sizes. There are eyes with different shapes and colors. There are lips with different thickness and there are all sorts of little details (like eyebags etc.) that are different. This makes it difficult for the artist to apply a fixed formula when drawing portraits.

The same technique for drawing a fixed object, or for drawing still life, can be used again and again. The basic shapes and forms of a table or a chair is easy to duplicate.

But when you put together a combination of all kinds of different features on a face, it's a whole different set of challenge. The nose is too small, the lips are too thick, the eyes look all funny, etc. You get into all sorts of funny problems that you can don't get whether drawing other stuff. That's why drawing portraits can be such a challenge to many art students.

The way around this is to strengthen the drawing foundation. That means drawing by applying sound drawing principles instead of just following rigid formulas. If the artist can get the proportions right, the likeness of the person will emerge. There's no need for other complicated techniques. The artist just have to focus on getting the proportions right.

The other area of concern is that many art students do not have the maturity to make sound decisions about the portraits they are drawing. Note that drawing is not the same as photographing. The drawing need not be exactly the same as the subject. There is room for the artist to make decisions on how the drawing will eventually turn out.

Therefore, a good portraitist will always bear in mind the background and the essence of the subject that he or she is drawing. For instance, if the artist is drawing a business person, he may want to capture the shrewd look on the face. Or if he's drawing a model, he may want the drawing to look Hollywood style.

These are simple decisions, yet they have such a profound impact on the portraits. So good artists must use their judgment to make such decisions.

How to Draw Lips

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:32:00 +0000

By Darren WK Chow

In order not to spoil a portrait, it's important for art students to practice drawing individual parts of the face so that when the whole drawing comes together, it'll come out right. Most students who fail to draw a portrait successfully find that they do not have a strong drawing foundation yet. In other words, when it comes to drawing lines, drawing shapes, blending, working with contours and shadows, they're still struggling. No wonder the portrait doesn't come out right. You can tell that an art student's foundation is weak when he or she tells you that the faces always come out looking the same.

That's because these students keep drawing the same shapes over and over again without realizing it. They are not drawing what they see, but rather what they think they see. And they keep drawing noses that look alike, lips that look alike and so on. That's why the faces always come out looking alike.

To avoid this problem. art students can try taking the different features of a face apart and focus on drawing just one part: e.g. the lips. Start by building a large collection of lips images. Use them as reference images and work on just drawing lips alone.

The whole point of doing an exercise like this is to allow the student to pay attention to the subtle differences on the lips. To achieve this goal, drawing close-ups of lips will be particularly helpful.

Further separate the lips into the upper lip, and the lower lip. What happens when you have a thicker upper lip? What happens when you have a thicker lower lip? What happens when both lips are thin and so on. How do the lips appear when a person smiles? How about a laugh?

You'll find that lips can indeed take on many shapes and forms. Don't be put off just because there are so many different shapes and forms that the lips can take on. Instead, try matching each shape and form with the behavior of the subject. For example, when a lady is pouting, what is she thinking? This will make your lip drawing exercises more interesting.

How To Draw Noses

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:30:00 +0000

By Darren WK Chow

Knowing that, what I've done is that I've gone ahead an isolated each feature of the face in my home study course to zoom in on how to draw each part really well.

When you sit done to think about it, drawing portraits is all about the sum of all features. When you can draw each feature really well, the only thing that's between you and a really great portrait is the proportions. There's a systematic way to nail proportions every time but for this article, we'll talk more about how to draw a nose.

There're many different types of noses that we may come across. Flat noses, pointed noses, long noses, short noses and so on. First, you have to decide if (for the face that you're drawing) the nose is a prominent feature.

Some people just have prominent noses naturally. For instance, the eyes and mouth can be very tiny, allowing the nose to stand out.

If it is a key feature on the face, then you'll have to pay more attention to the shades and details of the nose to make sure that it stands out. To draw a nose, you have to know two crucial measurements.

Measure the height of the nose (from top to bottom) and with width (from one nostril to the other). That'll help you determine the shape and form of the nose really quickly. However, just having these two measurements are not good enough. The drawing is still just two dimensional.

To make it look real, pay a little attention to the ball of the nose. You can't really use lines to bring out the ball of the nose. So you'll have to rely on your shading skills. Shading is always useful for bringing out three dimensional effects.

Once you get the tones of the shades right, the nose should come out really nicely. Try drawing just noses for practice, then move on to the other features of the face.

How to Draw Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:18:00 +0000

By Karen MacLean

Animal drawing is by far one of the most popular forms of art. Animals have a special place in our hearts and many people love to draw them.

Unique!

Each animal is unique and each animal drawing has to be approached differently. They can be drawn as cartoons or as realistic looking animals. Animals can also be drawn as a simple expressive line or detailed with hairlines and swirls.

Observe then Draw!

One of the best ways of learning to draw animals is to observe them. Observe them in nature, look at photos and look at books. There are numerous styles that animals can be drawn in and you can find your niche by looking at a variety of different materials. By looking at animals in their various forms, you are then able to see them as their basic shapes. One of the best ways to get down to an animal’s basic shapes is to photocopy a picture and then begin drawing out the basic shapes that you see. Notice how the outer lines of the animal’s body bring all of those shapes together to form the animal.

Start Basic!

Animals are best drawn when you start basic and build upon the basic outline with layers. Slowly add in your shading and your details as you build upon your animal drawing.

Now the Details!

To learn what details you need to add to your drawing or to understand the different muscling of animals, you may find that an anatomy book can do wonders for you in your understanding of the animal that is your subject. For example, a racehorse will have ripples of muscle in the shoulders and hindquarters. You may even be able to see a glint of their ribs. The same is true for a cheetah that is running across the African plains. To add to the realism of your animal drawing, add in the animals natural habitat around it and make it look at home in its surroundings.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Line Drawing

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:16:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

In this article I will discuss the importance of a line drawing in producing a pencil portrait drawing. I will also discuss the details of rendering such a drawing. We start with a gridded reference image that has the same dimensions as the drawing we will produce. By the way, a gridded image which has the size of your actual drawing, will usually be too large for most printers to handle in one piece. So, print out the image piece-wise on regular 8.5 by 11 inch paper.

The first step is to draw the same grid on your drawing paper that you drew on your reference image. Use an HB or F pencil with a sharp point and draw very lightly. Remember that this grid eventually will have to be erased.

Once we have drawn the grid we are ready to start putting in the contours of the subject.

The advantages of using a grid are many. Here are a few:

* You can draw the content of one square at a time.

* All proportions and placements are easily discerned.

* Negative spaces become more evident.

* Rendering the correct perspective is greatly simplified.

Here are some guidelines on drawing the outlines (line drawing) of the subject in the photograph:

* For now, only draw lines, i.e., do not do any shading yet.

* Draw lightly and loosely. Use maybe a 2B or 3B sharp pencil. Sharpen your pencils frequently.

* Although you should concentrate on one square, you should not loose sight of the overall structure of the drawing. For example, make sure that the subject matter smoothly transitions from one square to the next. Stand back once and awhile and inspect your progressing drawing from an overall perspective. While concentrating on a particular square, also use your peripheral vision to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

* At this stage, accuracy is of the essence. All drawing at this point is judging lengths and angles within a single square. Use short soft lines which, if needed, you can easily erase.

* Put a sheet of bond paper under your drawing hand so you avoid smudging of the already finished portion of your drawing or of the grid.

* Also draw in the contours of the shadows and other worthy details you notice on your subject. At this stage your task is to produce a detailed map of your subject. We are actually in the process of readying the drawing for the next phase, i.e., shading.

* Try to see in terms of shapes or masses and draw the contours of these shapes and masses. Drawing is doing two things simultaneously (actually, more than two). On the one hand, you need to concentrate on that one current line you are drawing (its length and angle) but simultaneously you should always be aware that this line is part of a shape.

* Make use of the concept of negative space. Also, once and awhile, turn your reference image as well as your drawing upside down or sideways. This often gives you a better perspective on lengths and angles.

* In fact, at this stage, try not to be aware that you are drawing a definite subject. Look at each shape as just a blob without meaning but with definite dimensions and a definite orientation. This will help you with seeing and reducing the involuntary introduction of preconceived notions about noses and such.

* Look at your reference image frequently and carefully.

* Make some choices. What is important? What can you leave out? Drawing is often an exercise in elimination of unnecessary detail.

In this fashion, continue working out one square after another until you have a line drawing of your entire subject. By now, you should already see a fairly good likeness of your subject. Review in detail the entire drawing and make corrections wherever necessary. This is also the time to erase most of the grid. When you are satisfied, you can lightly spray the drawing with workable fixative, just enough so it does not smudge but you can still erase things if you have to.

Introducing The Mighty Pencil: A Most Convenient Drawing Instrument!

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:13:00 +0000

By Jeff Rosales

Sketching in pencil is very popular amongst artists. Why? There are several reasons.

First, this seems to be partly because of the materials' low cost and the fact that they are easy to carry from place to place.

Next, most of us know how to handle a pencil. We use it from a very early age and learn to write with it... and sometimes... even to draw with it. We are familiar with it.

But the most significant feature that pencils have to offer to the budding artist is the fact that it is suitable for many types of drawing.

You can draw rough outline sketches, or you can do a complete rendering of a subject.

You can draw fine lines (when the tip is sharp), or you can use it almost like a brush when the tip is blunt (or sharpened like a chisel).

You can draw light strokes and bold strokes. You can grade your shading from very light to very dark.

It gives you great freedom to correct or erase at any time during your work in progress.

It allows rapid manipulation when you need to work quickly (Like when you do a portrait on the go). And you can use it to sketch studies for painting with other media.

And that's only about black pencils. The range of possibilities is larger when you consider using colour pencils. Nowadays there is a wide variety of color pencils, ranging from watercolor pencils, to metalic colors.

And if combine that with the vast range of paper textures available in art supplies shop, your mind will be blown away with the type of things you can do with this excellent drawing tool.

I apologize for getting so excited about pencils! They're just so... versatile and convenient drawing tools, and I believe they deserve an honourable place in an artist's box.

Pencils are great drawing training tools. Think about it: if you draw with a fine line, you're practically training to draw with pen and ink; and if you draw with broad line shading, you're getting skills you can use with charcoal, crayons or brushes. And if you force yourself to observe whatever you are about to draw, you will develop a sense of shapes, proportions and lighting, as well as the power to visualize.

Many art students try to learn to paint with water colours, oils, acrylics and other media, but pass learning how to draw with pencil. They do this to their detriment. I reckon they miss out on a wide range of drawing and painting skills.

So, next time you have a free moment, try sketching with a pencil. Sketch pictures, objects, people, or whatever you see through the window.

Tips and Techniques For Colored Pencil Artists

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:07:00 +0000

By Ralph Serpe

Colored pencils have become a very popular medium for budding new artists. Beginner artists using this medium find it much easier to express their creativity; mainly because of the control and convenience colored pencils offer. Other mediums like oil paint for instance, appear to present much bigger challenges for new artists. Working with colored pencil is a great way to get your creative juices flowing.

Let's begin our exploration of the colored pencil medium by explaining some of the popular techniques many artists use.

Hatching: Hatching is basically the drawing of closely spaced parallel lines. You can vary the length, angle and spacing of the lines to produce different effects.

Cross-Hatching: First lay down strokes in a horizontal direction, and then overlap in a vertical direction, followed by a diagonal stroke.

Scumbling: Using a sharp pencil move in a circular motion with light pressure, and begin to overlap the circles as you move along. This technique requires a lot of time and patience but the final result is quite rewarding.

Burnishing: When you place many layers of color over another using a lot of pressure until the "tooth" of the paper is no longer able to hold pigment, resulting in a smooth surface. Do not apply too much pressure as you can break your pencil point or damage your paper. This technique works best when using a paper with a good amount of texture or "tooth".

Shading: Use the side of your pencil and use back and forth sweeping motions to cover the desired area. Vary the amount of pressure to create different effects.

Colored Pencil Tips

The type of paper that you choose for your colored pencil art depends on your style of drawing. Every artist is different so it really is best to experiment. Paper comes in a variety of textures, otherwise known as its "tooth". There are rough surfaces with a lot of texture as well as smooth surfaces with very little texture. Rougher textures are better for applying multiple layers; where as smooth surfaces are excellent for blending. You should purchase a few different types of papers to determine the type of surface you are most comfortable working with. Some good choices to consider for your colored pencil drawings are Rising Stonehenge, Canson Mi Tientes, and Strathmore.

When choosing your pencils, it's best not to go for cheap pencils, because you may be disappointed with the results. Cheaper pencils do not have as much pigment and therefore will not produce the brilliance in color you are after. Many artists find the Prismacolor Colored Pencils to be a great choice. Prismacolor pencils have a soft lead that goes on smooth. When built up in layers they produce an almost paint like appearance.

Wax bloom, a build up of wax on the surface of your paper, is something you will more than likely become aware of as you work with the colored pencil medium. The wax in your colored pencil can rise to the surface and form a white hazy buildup that can dull your finished piece. There are two approaches for dealing with wax bloom. One approach is to try and prevent it from happening in the first place. Spraying a workable fixative over the surface after you have finished your drawing may help. There is some concern however that fixatives may alter the colors in a drawing, so it's best to try this on a practice drawing first. The other method is to actually wait a week or so after you complete the drawing. If you see the wax buildup, grab some soft tissue or cotton balls, and rub the surface to remove the wax. Don't apply too much pressure as you can smear your drawing.

Keep a large soft brush handy for brushing away unwanted scraps from your drawings. Artists use a number of things for this purpose, from horsehair drafting brushes, to 2" household paint brushes.

Experiment with various types of erasers to see what type you are most comfortable with. Artists use a variety of tools for removing pigment or fixing mistakes. Kneaded erasers, plastic erasers, electric erasers, and even tape may work well for you.

For softening hard edges or blending, purchase some blending stumps or a colorless blender at your local art store.

Try and avoid electric sharpeners as they tend to eat away too much of the pencil. Many artists keep a piece of sandpaper handy and use that to sharpen the pencil point.

Never be afraid to try different things with your colored pencil art. Try various papers, pencils, etc.

Look for some local colored pencil workshops in your area. You will be amazed at the amount of great information and tips you will discover from your teacher and classmates.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - Preparing the Photograph

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:02:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

Once you have acquired an acceptably clear subject photograph from your customer, the question remains what do you do with it? Well, you prepare that photograph to be used as a reference for your pencil portrait drawing effort. The preparation procedure I will describe works well for me and I have been using it for years. Of course, as you get better at pencil portrait drawing you may want to adapt the procedure to better suit your own working habits. So, here we go:

* First, I scan the photograph into my computer at a fairly high resolution. You can always reduce the resolution if you feel that this will better suit your purpose.

* Then, I bring the scanned image into a graphics computer program such as Photoshop and adjust the brightness and the contrast so it brings out the best in the subject. This is also the time to transform your color photograph (if that is what the customer gave you) into a black and white (grayscale) image.

* Next, I adjust the size of the image. For that, I focus on the size of the head, i.e., the vertical distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin. The best distance to work with is between 9.5 and 10.5 inches which is about life-size.

* Keeping the size of the head fixed, I now crop or expand the image to a size corresponding to my drawing paper. For example, if I am going to draw on a 14 by 17 sheet of paper, my image will be about 10 by 13 inches. This leaves about 2 inches of empty space all around the edges of my drawing paper.

At this stage I also pay attention to the composition, i.e., the layout of the final image, the relationship between the subject and its environment, and how much of the subject, other than the head, I will represent. Make sure you do not change the already established size of the head when you manipulate the overall size of the image.

* Next, if you wish, you can draw a grid onto the image. I often use a grid consisting of 1 by 1 inch squares. So for a 10 by 13 inch image you will have 130 squares to work with. Photoshop has the option to easily draw such grid lines over an existing image.

Don't worry, using a grid is an age old tradition and does not constitute "cheating". Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Edgar Degas, to name only a few, all made use of grids. However, you should also keep on practicing without grids and draw directly from the real world where the sizes and proportions usually differ from the corresponding ones on your drawing paper. Later, when you get much better, you may want to increase the size of the squares and eventually dispense with them altogether. But, for now, you can rely on grids. They are, after all, just the ideal tool to use when drawing from photographs.

* Finally, it is time to print out the manipulated image in black and white (grayscale). You are now ready to start drawing your pencil portrait. Note, that after you scanned in the original photograph you do not need it anymore. Put it away carefully so you can give it back to your customer in its pristine condition. Do not loose or misplace the original photograph. Above all, do not burn it!

With this, you are now ready to create your first pencil portrait masterpiece.

How to Make Your Pencil Drawings More Effective

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:03:00 +0000

By A. Kostiner

Most children feel that they can draw wonderful pencil drawings and most adults think they don’t know how to draw at all. Or an adult will say, “I used to draw great when I was a kid, but I could not make good pencil drawings when I got older.”

We all used lead pencils, colored pencils, chalk, and crayon when we were small children, but somehow most of us left them behind around the time we received our first pen.

Did you ever consider that perhaps you think you can’t draw simply because you haven’t used a pencil in years and are out of practice? Or maybe you’ve lost that child’s ability to draw what you actually see rather than what you expect to see?

It’s true that naturally artistically talented individuals will excel in pencil art as well as in watercolor, pastels, acrylic, or oil, but it is also true that anyone can become competent enough to produce an accurate pencil portrait.

Most of us had some training as children in the art of drawing. Unless you showed exceptional artistic talent as a child and pursued an education in art, your instruction in drawing probably ended by secondary school. What if your literature training had stopped at children’s rhymes, history at the Industrial Revolution, or geography lessons were suspended just when the New World was discovered?

The good news is it’s never too late to restart your drawing education. All it takes is five simple assumptions:

You can draw. You can make a dot, a square, a circle, a triangle, a straight line, a curved line. Everything in nature consists of geometric forms and lines, in infinite combinations and formations. You were born with the ability to mimic these forms, so it’s just a matter of practice to be able to reproduce and control them.

You are drawing for yourself alone. Drawing is an educational process, like reading, writing, or studying history. It’s a tool of discovery that every thinking person should strive for competency in. You are ready to open your mind. See things like a child sees them for the first time. Admit to yourself that you’ve forgotten how to look and open your mind to seeing what’s really there and not what your brain has conditioned you to see.

You will suspend criticism and judgment of yourself. Be ready to loosen up, make messes, experiment with drawing materials and get your hands dirty. Forget the terms “artistic”, “good”, “bad”, “talent”.

You are ready to take instruction. The art of drawing is ancient and there are elementary techniques and principles which are easy to learn. Be open to training and be ready for lots of practice. Learn from books, drawing classes, or take private lessons.

Mastering the skills to produce competent pencil sketches and pencil portraits will give you a fresh appreciation of the pencil art of the masters. Visit a museum or gallery, or study the pencil drawings of famous artists in art books. Frame a few reproductions and surround yourself and your family with these inspirations.

How To Create A Great Color Pencil Drawing

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:00:00 +0000

By Darren WK Chow

A great looking color pencil drawing isn't all that hard to create, if you know the two tips that I'm about to share with you. Before I go into that, I want to just say that if you haven't been doing your sketches, now is the time to start picking up that sketch pad again. Here's why.

The first thing that you need to know is that sketching is important to your color pencil drawings. I know if you're looking for color pencil tutorials, you're probably just looking for some tips on how to create beautiful looking colorful pictures. Unfortunately, color drawings are not just about applying a bunch of great looking color on to a surface.

Sure, the colors may look great but if you're not very good at putting a drawing together, there's a limit to how far you can go. Sketching is a skill thing. It needs a little time to develop but it gets easier with practice. Your skills are what you depend on to help you overcome any problems that you may come across when you're drawing.

So if you want to jump the gun and jump straight into color pencil drawing, you can go right ahead but don't say that I didn't warn you. If you don't believe my point, you can go out there right now and buy a box of color pencils and a sketch pad and start drawing. You'll learn the hard way, but you'll still learn.

You'll learn that your drawing didn't turn out the way you wanted it to because you didn't know how many layers of color to apply. You didn't know when you should apply the highlights. You didn't know why some objects look so fake. You didn't know why some details are lost in the process of drawing. You'll most likely run into a wide variety of problems without knowing how to solve them.

The second thing you need to know about color pencil drawing is that you need to understand the tools that you're using. Color pencils are very different from normal graphite or lead pencils and they behave very differently. If you understand color pencils, the next time you walk into an art supplies store, you'll be able to consciously pick out the right color pencils for your artwork. You'll also be able to pick up the right drawing paper (yes, drawing paper makes a difference as well).

These are the two basic elements that you need to pay attention to when learning color pencil drawing. Once you've armed yourself with the solutions to the problems above, you're ready to start creating your first beautiful color pencil drawing.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Mouth

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:58:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

The mouth, like the nose, must be seen as a shape and not as a contour. Drawing the mouth involves all the elements of shading: cast shadow, halftone, shadow edge, reflected light, and full light.

Here are some items to pay attention to when drawing a mouth:

* Pit A corner of the mouth is called a pit. It is the darkest area of the mouth and is made the darkest dark, i.e., the darkest value on your five-value scale. This is important. It gives the mouth a sassy look.

* Halftone The shadows below the mouth are fairly light. They are best done in halftone. This is because the area under the lip is still at a fairly steep angle in relation to the light source.

* Highlight There usually is a highlight or full light on the lower lip and should not be overlooked. The location of this highlight is of particular importance.

* Reflected Light A less obvious but nevertheless important element is the reflected light that is usually found on the upper lip just above the line that separates the two lips. Make sure to pay attention to this reflected light.

* Darks and Lights The upper lip is always darker than the lower lip. This is because the upper lip is angled away from the light source while the lower lip is angled towards the light source. That's also why the highlight can usually be found on the lower lip. It is also the reason why you see reflected light on the bottom of the upper lip.

* Lip Line An accurate rendition of the line separating the two lips when the mouth is closed is of the utmost importance to achieve a good likeness. As always, let the values determine the line. Do not draw actual outlines because that leads to an artificial flat look.

* Teeth Each tooth must be drawn accurately. This is important because it really changes the look of your subject if a tooth does not have the correct shape. Just think of how your looks change when you have a missing tooth.

Draw teeth by drawing the gum line (this is an example of using the idea of negative space drawing). Also, teeth are seldom white. In fact, because of the cast shadows as well as the natural color of the teeth, the values are often much darker than you would expect. Check your photograph carefully for values.

The vertical lines that separate the teeth are very subtle and soft. Make sure you smooth these lines out and reduce some of them to just a hint. And do not forget to render the shadows that fall on the teeth.

* Open Mouth When the mouth is open, you will of course see teeth and also the inside of the lips. It is very important to note the changing values on the insides of the lips. Rendering these changes in values allows you to give the illusion of the roundedness to the lips which otherwise would show as flat or planar.

Finally, note that the mouth is critical to the likeness of your subject, particularly if it involves a hint of a smile. Be accurate with the mouth line, the width of the mouth, the shape of the teeth, and the outline of the lips. When your drawing is finished and you feel like something is not quite right, the mouth is one of the places to check for inaccuracies.

Introduction to Pencil Drawing Supplies and Techniques

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:57:00 +0000

By Ralph Serpe

Drawing is a wonderful art form in itself, but it is also an excellent exercise for other forms of art, like painting for instance. Learning how to draw will truly open your mind to your surroundings enabling you to really see what is before you.

Choosing your drawing supplies

There are a variety of different drawing tools available for todays artists and what you choose to work with is based on your own preference. It comes to down to experimentation. You have to work with a number of different things before you find the tools that fit your style of drawing.

Don't go out and spend a ton of money on your drawing supplies in the beginning. You can really get started with a beginner pencil set and some newsprint paper. When you become more experienced, you can then venture out and spend money on better supplies.

Graphite pencils - Graphite pencils range in hardness and are labeled from 9H to 9B. The H pencils are the hardest. The higher the number in front of the H the lighter the mark. The B pencils are softest. The higher the number in front of the B the darker the mark. The H pencils are generally used for detailed lines where the B pencils will produce rich dark lines great for bold expressive drawings.

Charcoal Pencils - Charcoal pencils also come in a range of hardness and are labeled either from H to B like graphite, or simply as "soft", "medium" or "hard". They have a noticeably different feel to them and produce a rich dark line. Charcoal pencils tend to wear pretty fast because of their softness.

Blending Tortillions - Tightly wound stumps of paper with a point used to blend in your drawings.

Erasers - You may want to have a few different types of erasers on hand to fit every occasion.

Kneaded Eraser - A soft pliable eraser that can be kneaded into any shape to pick up and remove pencil and charcoal. May not be the best for erasing smaller details. The SANFORD Kneaded Rubber Erasers are very popular.

Eraser Pencil - These are wonderful for getting into small areas of your drawings. They can also be sharpened like ordinary pencils.

Fixatives - Fixatives protect your drawings from being smudged or ruined. There are two types of fixatives: permanent and workable. Permanent fixatives are used on a finished drawing to protect, where a workable fixative is used during the drawing process as you are working. Use great care while working with fixatives by only using in a well ventilated area. When spraying the fixative, make sure you do not spray any one section for too long and only spray a light mist standing about 3 feet away from the drawing. You should probably experiment on a few practice drawings first to determine if a fixative is right for you. There appears to be a difference of opinion amongst artists when it comes to fixatives. Some artists love to work with them and swear by them, while others feel they may actually alter the quality of a drawing. Again, you have to experiment yourself to see if fixatives are a good choice for you.

Paper - In the beginning, for the purpose of practice, you may want to consider purchasing some inexpensive newsprint paper. You should be able to get this at any local art store or online. When you are ready to purchase a more expensive grade paper, choose something that will work best with the medium you use. Paper comes in a variety of different textures from smooth to rough, often referred to as its "tooth". A really smooth paper may not work well for some mediums as the surface lacks texture, and will not grab certain drawing mediums very well. If the paper is too rough, the medium may simply slide across the surface. You have to experiment with different papers to find the one you are most comfortable with. Strathmore Brand makes excellent paper that is very popular amongst artists.

Horse Hair Drafting Brush - You should be able to purchase a horse hair drafting brush at any local art supply store or online store. This is a really helpful tool for brushing away unwanted eraser scraps from your drawing.

Basic Drawing Techniques:

There are two basic ways to approach a drawing: linear and tonal. The linear approach to a drawing focuses on line and outlines of shapes. In tonal drawing, you make use of gradations to indicate the various planes of your subject.

You should try to avoid smudging and blending in the beginning so that you force yourself to use your pencil more to achieve value in your drawings.

Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure you are constantly focusing on the subject and only glancing at your drawing. By doing so, you won't constantly judge your drawing, or think something is wrong or out of place. Focus on the subject and draw what you see.

Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat portfolio of everything you draw. This is an excellent way to see your progress over time.

Holding the pencil - Hold your pencil in a way that is most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. Others hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and index finger, with the rest of the pencil resting under the palm of your hand. Whichever method you use for holding your pencil, make certain that you do not hold the pencil too tightly.

Contour Drawing - This very basic technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without any shading to indicate form.

Blind Contour Drawing - Similar to contour drawing, only you do not look at the paper. The point of this exercise is to force you to better observe what it is you are drawing. You should have no concern over the outcome of your drawing so it is important not to peek.

Hatching - This drawing technique uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the same direction, which gives the appearance of value.

Crosshatching - Similar to hatching only you draw multiple layers of hatch lines at different angles that overlap one another.

Tonal or Value Drawing - In this approach to drawing we are indicating the various changes of light and shade in our picture without the use of strong edges and lines.

Upside Down Drawing - Drawing upside down is a wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are making it somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This forces you to draw what you see as opposed to relying on your memory to draw something.

Negative Drawing Technique - This technique teaches you how to properly see the "white" or "negative" space in your picture. This is the area that surrounds your subject or "positive" space. Instead of drawing out the positive part of the drawing with line, you draw in the shapes that surround the positive part of your drawing.

Dry Wash Technique - This technique works quite well if you want to cover large areas of your drawing. It creates a nice soft tone. You begin by adding marks with a pencil or apply some graphite powder to the desired area on your paper. Then using a tissue or soft cloth pick up some of the graphite and gently rub it across the paper, almost as if you were painting.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Nose

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:56:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

The nose is crucial in relation to the overall scale of all other facial features of your pencil portrait subject. An incorrectly drawn nose will very much affect the likeness of your subject. The nose is also a study in shading and blending.

Here are some issues you should keep in mind when drawing a nose:

* Shape
When drawing a nose, you should be thinking of spheres and cylinders. The shading and blending is very much related to that of a sphere and a cylinder. Be sure you first determine the location of the light source in your photograph. This is crucial to make everything look real and natural.

* Planes
A nose has many planes and protrusions which all have a certain angle with respect to each other. It is important to judge these angles correctly to obtain a good likeness. Also, squint your eyes to determine the type of shadow you are dealing with (hard edge, halftone, soft edge, highlight, or reflected light).

* Darkest Area
Invariably, the darkest area will be found inside each nostril. These areas are always cast shadows and therefore very dark. Remember that cast shadows become lighter as they approach the light source. Also, the edges of cast shadows are the sharpest near the object that throws the cast shadow. The edges get softer as they approach the light source.

* Reflected Light
Showing reflected light is very important to model three-dimensionality. It is usually found around the edges of the nostrils. In general, any surface that has a lip or a rim will show reflected light. Reflected light is also found where you have a shadow edge. A shadow edge is an area that is receding from the light source and usually turns into a cast shadow. In between this shadow edge and the cast shadow you will find a thin layer of reflected light.

* Blending
As always, blending should proceed from the darker areas towards the lighter areas and should be done parallel to the edges of the areas and always follow the natural flow of the subject. This will promote the illusion of depth and form and therefore realism.

* Size
Although everybody's nose is different, you should memorize the average size and placement of the nose, so you can always refer to this while you are drawing an actual nose.

The nose is measured from the bridge between the eyes to the bottom of the nostrils. This distance, on average, is equal to the distance from the bottom of the chin up to the bottom of the nostrils.

The bottom of the nostrils is, again on average, at the same height of the bottom of the earlobes. The space between the eyes is one eye-width and also gives you the distance between the outside edges of the nostrils. Of course, all these measurements are with reference to a frontal view.

* Flow
Remember that the nose is part of the face. In other words, the edges should be flowing into the face and not separate the nose from the rest of the face. So the edges should blend into the surrounding cheek areas.

In conclusion, it should be said that the nose is very important to the likeness of your subject. Pay close attention to the deviations from the standard measurements and location because these are important elements in what makes a good likeness. The above guidelines together with practice will make you an expert nose drawer.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Ears

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:54:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

Drawing ears is not easy. There are many different parts to an ear. However, here is where working with a grid can help you enormously. If you work with a small grid, the problem is reduced to that of a puzzle with plenty of hints as to how the pieces fit together.

Here are some guidelines that should make the drawing of ears a cinch:

* Be Forewarned The ear has many nuanced parts to it. So be prepared to spend some time one drawing the ears of your subject. If you know this, you will not get frustrated. There are many curved surfaces and therefore there will also be many changes in values. There will be cast shadows, reflected light, highlights, halftones, and anything in between. Be patient and spend the time.

Fortunately, on many occasions, you will find that your photograph only shows a small part of the ear and with women the ears often do not show up at all.

* Shapes Look for interlocking shapes and take note of how they fit into the overall structure of the ear. Never deal with a local shape by itself. Always relate it to the neighborhood so it fits well in the total picture.

* Shine The ear is made of skin that is oilier than, say, cheek skin. Therefore it will be quite shiny. So, expect quite a few highlights and don't forget to put them in because they are exactly what will make the ears look natural. Also, because of the many creases and crevices, there will be many small dark cast shadows present.

* Edges There are many edges to the ear and they need to be studied very carefully. There are soft edges and hard edges. There is also quite a bit of reflected light. The ear is off-set from the skull, so it will often cast a shadow and therefore the edge of the ear will show some reflected light. It is important to include this reflected light because that is what gives the ear a rounded three-dimensional look.

* Placement There are a few pieces of information you must memorize in relation to the "average" ear. First, the ear does not sit straight up and down along the side of the skull. The ear is angled backwards.

The top of the ear lines up with the base of the eyebrow and the bottom of the ear lines up with the bottom of the nostrils.

The length of the ear is equal to the distance between the bottom of the nostrils and the bottom of the chin.

In a side view, the ear sits halfway between the back of the head and the front of the facial plane.

* Individuality We just discussed the "average" ear. Of course, each individual will slightly deviate from this average in one or more ways. It is important to notice these deviations. This is what makes the individual likeness.

However, when you have memorized the "average" measurements and locations and have them at the ready, it becomes easier to spot the unique features of each individual.

Some people have wrinkles on their ears. Others have lobes that merge into the jaw line while still others have long dangling lobes. So, look out for these peculiarities because they are present in every pencil portrait subject.

This should do it for the ear guidelines. The main thing with ears is to be patient. The ear is quite challenging and when completely visible takes quite a bit of time and effort to render adequately.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Photograph

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:53:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

The first challenge you will face with any portrait commission is acquiring a suitable subject photograph from your customer. This subject could be a person, a pet, or a building. Now is the time and place in the pencil portrait commission process to be assertive. You should always insist on certain minimum requirements regarding the quality of the photograph. Otherwise, you are certain to fail in your pencil portrait drawing effort.

Naturally, the better the quality of the photograph the better chance you have of producing an excellent portrait. Although most customers understand this, you would be astounded to see how many awful pictures I have received. There are many reasons for this. For example, some customers only have a picture taken with a throw-away camera or have only an old fuzzy wedding picture of their parents. This will not do, unless there is a clear understanding with your customer prior to starting the drawing.

From experience, I can tell you that if the photograph is bad, i.e., insufficiently resolved, you are doomed to failure and you will not be able to produce a good likeness. Consequently, you will have an unhappy customer who often questions your skills instead of the quality of their picture. To avoid such situations, here are a few guidelines.

* If your customer has a digital photograph, insist on .jpg format and a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).

* When the picture is still to be taken, insist on the use of a 5 mega-pixel digital camera or higher and make sure your customer sends you the unaltered version (no cropping or resizing) of the photo.

* If the customer only has a paper photo (often an old one) ask them, if possible, to scan it into their computer and email it to you first. This will give you the opportunity to judge the quality of the photo before they snail mail you the original. Here again, you must insist on an acceptably high resolution.

Here are a few more suggestions you may want to convey to your customer:

* For paper photographs, insist on a minimum head size of 2.5 to 3.5 inches, measured from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin. Smaller sizes are much harder to work with.

* Tell your customer to avoid posed subjects with unnaturally large smiles. In fact, casual unsmiling poses often make for more convincing portraits.

* If the picture is still to be taken, advise your customer not to use the flash. The flash tends to do away with the natural shadows which are very important in a pencil portrait drawing. Also, lighting coming from the side from one light source is a nice bonus.

* If possible, have your customer send you several photos of the subject, including some close-ups. This will give you a much better idea of the unique qualities and personality of the subject. It also will reveal many of the small details that are often crucial in achieving a good likeness of the subject.

* For group portraits, insist not only on a group photo but also on separate photos of each of the subjects. This will allow you to produce a more pleasing montage or collage of the group.

* If all else fails and if possible, take the subject photographs yourself.

Of course, in practice, we often may have to settle with less. And you actually can often do with less. However, what you cannot do without is acceptably high resolution. From experience, I can tell you that there is no way around this. A fuzzy photograph will not do unless your customer wants a fuzzy image on purpose and is only interested in the artistic qualities of the rendering and not in a good likeness.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:51:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

Drawing hands takes much practice. Hands are typically quite complex with many smooth transitions between darks and lights. Shapes overlap and need to be studied very carefully to yield acceptable realism. There are also lots of edges, crevices, and creases.

It is imperative that you do not ignore the many angles that are present in the hands. Hands are much more angular than our ingrained memorized image would suggest. Therefore, it is very easy to make the mistake of portraying the hands too chubby and rounded which leads to an unnaturally rounded.

Here are a few pointers that will give you the basic memory pack for drawing hands. When I say "memory pack", I mean a set of memorized issues about drawing hands that should be in the foreground of your thinking whenever you draw hands. This is a facility you should develop with each feature of a portrait such as eyes, ears, etc.

* Simplify Generally, any kind of photographic subject will have so much detail that it becomes necessary to simplify, i.e., leaving out much detail. Of course, you must develop a facility to leave out the right details and keep the important ones. This is where your artistic sensibilities play a major role. Making the right choices makes all the difference.

It is a good exercise to look at pictures in magazines and practice the simplification process. Ask yourself the question: What can I eliminate in this picture while still retaining the essence of the subject? In fact, as you get more experienced you may ask yourself the question: What should I add to obtain an even more convincing rendition of the essence of the person I am portraying?

The same is true with drawing hands. The hands have usually so much detail in them that you must discard the unimportant details. At first, keep your eye on the major shapes, the so-called large masses. You do not want to miss those.

Remember, at this stage, try not to think too much of how a hand is supposed to look like, just draw the shapes as they are.

* Males and Females There are many differences between male hands and female hands. On average, male hands are larger and squarer. For example, the fingers are less tapered and thicker than those of the female. The female hand is slender and the finger tips are much more tapered compared to the male fingers. The fact that females (generally!) do not have hairy hands adds to the lightness in color.

* Values First, avoid outlining the hands at all cost. Let the edges be formed by applying the correct contrast in values. Study the hand very carefully. Note where one finger overlaps another and be sure to include all the cast shadows.

Also, it is very important to render the reflected light on each finger because that is what will give the finger its roundness and three-dimensional look.

* Angles and Planes Hands are surprisingly angular, not as much rounded as we sometimes think they are. The joints and knuckles have various planes to them which need to be carefully rendered.

* Blending Keep the blending of the hands very smooth. Blend the darks into the surface they belong to. This way there is no confusion as to which surface the dark line belongs to. Again, do not forget the reflected light between the fingers. This will create the illusion of roundness of the fingers.

The hands can be used to enhance the visual impact of your pencil portrait drawing. For example, the addition of hands to a baby picture makes the whole thing much more endearing. Therefore, adding hands to a portrait is always something to consider. With this, I think you can have a good start at drawing hands. And remember, practice, practice, and practice some more. Drawing is a hands-on art, so to speak.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - Facial Hair

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:49:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

A mustache or a beard usually has lots of fullness. Therefore, it must be built up in layers. As with all feature in a pencil portrait, you need to look at facial hair in terms of shapes and not just in terms of outlines. The values are also of critical importance especially in relation to the values of the neighboring skin.

Here are a few clues that will help you become an expert in drawing decent mustache, beards, sideburns, and other varieties of facial hair:

* Values Squint your eyes and take careful note of the overall value of the facial hair as compared to the surrounding skin. Is it lighter or darker or something in between? You should keep this overall average value in mind throughout the drawing process.

Also, check the extent of the mustache or beard. Is the entire upper lip covered by the mustache or is there a line of skin visible between the mustache and the mouth? In other words, get a good idea of the extent of the shapes involved. A drawing grid can be of great help with this.

* Growth It is imperative that you render the growth lines of the facial hair correctly. Take a minute and look for the overall directions of the hair growth. Get a feel for the flow of the hair. Where are the breaks in the flow? How does a local direction of hair growth fit into the overall pattern?

While you concentrate on drawing a local shape, always be aware of the overall shape you are drawing. All this is critically important to obtain a good likeness.

* Layering It is best to draw facial hair in layers, just like it grows in reality. This keeps your mustache or beard from looking flat or thin.

If necessary, you can put down one layer and use workable fixative before laying down the next layer.

Also, be aware of the underlying facial structure, otherwise the hair may look like it is pasted on. In other words, be aware of the peaks and valleys underneath the facial hair and note the how these structures are mirrored in the facial hair.

* Kneaded Eraser The kneaded eraser is ideal to render the lighter values in facial hair. Shape the kneaded eraser into a point and lightly "draw" lighter lines into the darker valued areas of the facial hair. Very realistic renditions can be obtained with this technique.

* Close-up Have a good look at a close-up of a mustache or some other facial hair. Notice how the hairs are ordered. Particularly, notice that some of the hairs are interwoven with others. It is important to reflect this in your drawing.

Note that generic-looking facial hair will make your drawing look artificial. Each individual has his or her own unique hair growth patterns. It becomes necessary to study these patterns, i.e., shape, fullness or thinness, values, growth patterns, underlying structure, etc. As always, practice makes perfect. Also remember, drawing hair must be done with a light, flowing touch, maybe using an F or HB pencil.

Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:47:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

As with all features of the human face, it is important that we do not draw the preconceived ideas we have about eyes. The eyes are the windows to a person's soul and reflect much of the emotionality and personality of that person. Therefore, they must be drawn exactly how they are.

There is much to be said about the different parts of the eye, but here are a few guidelines that will get you started in the right direction:

* Complexity Like the ears, eyes are rather complex forms and therefore we need to be patient and spend the necessary time to draw them as realistic as we can. Here are the important parts of the eye:

- The surrounding bone structure
- The eyebrows
- The eyelids
- The eyelashes
- The eyeball
- The iris
- The pupil

* Eye Structure The eyeball sits deep inside the eye socket. The eye socket has a protruding rim at the top on which the eyebrow is situated. You can trace your finger all around the eye socket and get a good idea of its shape. It is within this rather rectangular shape that we will draw the eye.

* Eyeball The eyeball has a rather large spherical shape. In front there is a protruding egg shaped bulge where the lens is located. The eyelids are stretched over the eyeball.

For drawing purposes we are interested in that part of the eyeball that we usually refer to as "the whites" of our eyes. Now, those whites are in general not white at all but have shadows on them which, at times, can be quite dark. Remember also that the whites are part of a spherical surface. So when shading the whites, we should think of the elements of shading that are applicable to a sphere.

* Eyelids The eyelids are stretched over the eyeball. Therefore, the curvature of the eyeball gives the eyelids their shape. This is something to understand and memorize.

It is important to capture the exact shape of the eyelid lines and to recognize that they follow the curvature of the eyeball. Also, when the upper eyelid is retracted, it leaves a clearly visible crease which must also be rendered accurately.

Finally, notice the peculiar little shape in the inside corner of the eye where the upper and lower eyelids join. Be sure to draw this corner as observed in your particular subject.

* Eyelashes The eyelashes sprout from the eyelids. They grow in clumps and should be rendered that way. Spend some time observing how eyelids grow and are directed. Notice that very often the lashes on the upper eyelid are much larger than those on the lower lid. Eyelashes belonging to a particular clump are frequently entangled. The eyelashes are usually drawn at the very end.

* The Iris The iris is the circle of color in the middle of the eye. It is crucial for a good likeness that the value of the color is rendering correctly. A dark brown or a pale blue, for example, will appear very smooth and even. Green and deep blue irises, on the other hand, will have the most design and contrast in it.

* The Pupil The pupil is situated exactly in the middle of the iris. As is the case with the iris, the pupil is an exact circle (if a frontal view) and is always black.

Very often there is a circular highlight situated just where the iris and pupil meet. This highlight adds quite a bit of life to the portrait. Look for it and add it to your drawing.

* Eyebrows The eyebrows play a very important part in the appearance of a person. They also have a lot to do with the expression on the person's face. They follow the shape of the upper rim of the bone structure in which the eye is placed.

* Placement The distance between the two eyes is on average exactly equal to one eye-width. Drawing a vertical line from the inside corner of the eye down to the nose should touch the outside of the nostril. Of course, these are average values and there are individual differences.

It is important to get a good impression of the shape, angle, width, and exact location of the eyebrows. Carefully observe the direction of the hairs and how they are intertwined.

Much can still be said about drawing eyes. For example, we could talk about the differences between the eyes of men, women, and children. Or, we could talk about capturing expressions of anger, laughter, or sadness, and much more. But the above guidelines will give you a good start. Later, you may want to undertake a more thorough study of the eye and how to draw it.

Tip on Pencil Portrait Drawing - Multiple Subjects

noreply@blogger.com (Idham) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:46:00 +0000

By Remi Engels

When it comes to multiple subjects in one pencil portrait drawing, there are two possibilities:

(1) all subjects appear in one photograph;

(2) the subjects appear in different photographs.

We will be concerned with the second possibility.

It will not take long before you will get a request to make one portrait out of several photographs. This often happen when grandma wants to have a portrait made of all her grandchildren. This can be done but you need to be aware of a number of issues.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when combining photographs:

* Lighting Check the light source in each of the photographs. Your portrait drawing needs a unified light source. Hopefully the light source is the same in all the photographs.

However, this is unlikely and, therefore, you will have to adapt the lighting in some of the pictures when you draw your composite portrait. This is a difficult but necessary challenge.

All shadows and tones have to be consistent otherwise your composite portrait will have a strange look to it. This, now, is a matter of experience and knowing how a subject looks like when lighted in a certain manner. There are no shortcuts here.

You may try to find a photograph or image of some other subject where the light source is located in a suitable location and deduce from that how the shadows and values are distributed.

* Gaze Try to make all your subjects gaze in the same general direction. You can do this by adjusting the location of the irises. You do not want each subject staring in a different direction because this will make them look disjointed.

* Composition When you have different photographs you have the opportunity to create your own composition. The standard overall compositional shapes are: the circle; the rectangle; the triangle, and the square. Choose one of these and arrange the subjects within it. Start with the largest subject and arrange the others around it in a pleasing manner.

* Size Another problem you will encounter is that the subject in the different photographs will be portrayed in different relative sizes. One subject will be small, the other will be large.

Therefore, you will need to go through the process of reducing all subjects to the same scale. To this end, start with the largest of the subjects and measure the distance from the mouth to the eyes. Then try to reproduce this measurement in all the other subjects.

If the subjects are of different ages, say a child and an adult, adjustments must be made in the measurements according to the known average differences of such subjects.

For example, a child's head has different average measurements than that of an adult. If you have a photograph of the two together then you can study the differences and draw accordingly.

Much more can be said about merging different photographs into one pencil portrait drawing. The above suggestions represent a strong start.

Again, it must be said that your success will depend primarily on experience. So do not be discouraged if things do not work out the first few times around. Practice makes perfect.