Firstly we have a random guy I copied from a magazine. I have just finished the basic feature outlining, you can still see the basic construction lines. I have done this with a '2H' pencil and then moved on to using an 'HB' to lightly bring out the hair and shadow on the left side of his face. I have started more seriously on the left eye and the nostrils but left the right eye in just '2H' so that you can see the difference between the two techniques. Although the difference is subtle it is very important when bringing out details like giving depth to fur, eyes, foliage etc without pressing too hard and potentially making a mistake on a critical piece of the picture.Monday, 18 July 2011
Ch 2: Beginning steps - Basic drawing techniques
This is a quick follow up to Ch 1 and focuses on using regular lead pencils in your drawing to better effect. Last time I discussed the various different types of pencils and their uses. This time I am going to try and show you how I apply this knowledge to my drawings by showing you a couple of examples. Please note each of these drawings can be enlarged by clicking on them and the fact they are all people is just coincidence, I can draw other stuff!! To begin with for each of these drawings (they are in various stages of being finished but they still show the techniques well enough) I started with an outline of basic shapes and features, using blocky and simplified shapes. Then I proceeded to expand on these and work towards the final piece. These images show the pics at, generally, about the halfway stage. I have added the basic details and am starting to differentiate them from each other more distinctly:
Firstly we have a random guy I copied from a magazine. I have just finished the basic feature outlining, you can still see the basic construction lines. I have done this with a '2H' pencil and then moved on to using an 'HB' to lightly bring out the hair and shadow on the left side of his face. I have started more seriously on the left eye and the nostrils but left the right eye in just '2H' so that you can see the difference between the two techniques. Although the difference is subtle it is very important when bringing out details like giving depth to fur, eyes, foliage etc without pressing too hard and potentially making a mistake on a critical piece of the picture.
Firstly we have a random guy I copied from a magazine. I have just finished the basic feature outlining, you can still see the basic construction lines. I have done this with a '2H' pencil and then moved on to using an 'HB' to lightly bring out the hair and shadow on the left side of his face. I have started more seriously on the left eye and the nostrils but left the right eye in just '2H' so that you can see the difference between the two techniques. Although the difference is subtle it is very important when bringing out details like giving depth to fur, eyes, foliage etc without pressing too hard and potentially making a mistake on a critical piece of the picture.
Next up is Rihanna. Looking back this is not particularly well proportioned but it illustrates the technique well enough. This picture is more developed - I have already started adding quite a high level of detail to the hair. '2H' has again been used for the majority of the shading, particularly on the skin, whereas the 'HB' has been reserved just for details such as the eyes. This is important because 'HB' shading on the face can be quite dark (although Rihanna does have quite dark skin). This makes it very difficult to get the eyes to stand out in comparison to the skin without compromising the picture's reality and making her eyes almost black and leaving no room for varying shades of grey etc. I have also tried to be more subtle with my mix of '2H' and 'HB', the transitions between the two should generally be as smooth as possible to prevent, isolated dark lines. This can make the picture look 'cartoony', a common complaint of beginners. This is usually due to over enthusiastic focus on the main features, especially the eyes, and can be prevented by using light pencils, (the 'H's') to gently test out the areas that need shading and slowly build up the shading, giving a much more realistic effect! This can be more time consuming but the end result is far more satisfying. The highlighting in this picture is done principally on the facial features and parts of the hair - to give depth.
This is my final example and represents one of my best uses of this technique. This is Emma Watson. This particular sketch took me quite a long time and although I haven't got round to doing the hair, the face is almost complete. After having blocked out the picture I started gently sketching in the features and then the shadows, taking care to keep all the different shades of grey in the correct relation to each other. The right eye is particularly shaded, with the left still needing a little work. I was tempted to use a 'B' on the eye but managed to stick with the 'HB'. The '2H' was gradually used to build up gentle shading around the face, as I started to make the colours darker I gradually built up the intensity of pencil marks until I could move onto an 'HB' with the most gradual transition my patience would allow me. The thing that I am most proud of in this drawing is the relatively low shading intensity around the face which somehow makes the drawing seem so much more realistic. It is the most important thing I learnt from doing this sketch and something I have tried to remember for the future!
What's Next??
For the next part of this series I will be looking at different shading methods and techniques. These initial articles are designed to help introduce people to key skills and concepts that will eventually build up to full tutorials on sketching specific subjects and techniques that I use to sketch a variety of things. For now, I would suggest experimenting with different grades of pencils in your drawings using some of the tips above. As always feel free to comment, request and ask any questions you like :)
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