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CHAPTER 1
TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
Graphite pencil artwork requires few supplies, and fortunately they are fairly inexpensive. Choose professional pencils and paper, rather than student-grade materials; they will last longer and ensure a higher-quality presentation.
Pencils
Pencils are labeled based on their lead texture. Hard leads (H) are light in value and great for fine, detailed work, but they are more difficult to erase. Soft leads (B) are darker and wonderful for blending and shading, but they smudge easily. Medium leads, such as HB and F, are somewhere in the middle. Select a range of pencils between HB and 6B for variety. You can purchase wood-encased pencils or mechanical pencils with lead refills.
Wooden Pencil The most common type of pencil is wood-encased graphite. These thin rods — most often round or hexagonal when cut crosswise — are inexpensive, easy to control and sharpen, and readily available to artists.
Flat Carpenter's Pencil Some artists prefer using a flat carpenter's pencil, which has a rectangular body and lead. The thick lead allows you to easily customize its shape to create both thick and thin lines.
Mechanical Pencil Mechanical pencils are plastic or metal barrels that hold individual leads. Some artists prefer the consistent feel of mechanical pencils to that of wooden pencils; the weight and length do not change over time, unlike wooden pencils that wear down with use.
Woodless Graphite Pencil These tools are shaped like wooden pencils but are made up entirely of graphite lead. The large cone of graphite allows artists to use either the broad side for shading large areas or the tip for finer strokes and details.
Graphite Stick Available in a full range of hardnesses, these long, rectangular bars of graphite are great tools for sketching (using the end) and blocking in large areas of tone (using the broad side).
Paper
Paper has a tooth, or texture, that holds graphite. Papers with more tooth have a rougher texture and hold more graphite, which allows you to create darker values. Smoother paper has less tooth and holds less graphite, but it allows you to create much finer detail. Plan ahead when beginning a new piece, and select paper that lends itself to the textures in your drawing subject.
Blending Tools
There are several tools you can use to blend graphite for a smooth look. The most popular blenders are blending stumps, tortillons, and chamois cloths. Never use your finger to blend — it can leave oils on your paper, which will show after applying graphite.
Stumps Stumps are tightly rolled paper with points on both ends. They come in various sizes and are used to blend large and small areas of graphite, depending on the size of the stump. You can also use stumps dipped in graphite shavings for drawing or shading.
Tortillons Tortillons are rolled more loosely than a stump. They are hollow and have one pointed end. Tortillons also come in various sizes and can be used to blend smaller areas of graphite.
Facial Tissue Wrap tissue around your finger or roll it into a point to blend when drawing very smooth surfaces. Make sure you use plain facial tissue, without added moisturizer.
Chamois Chamois are great for blending areas into a soft tone. These cloths can be used for large areas or folded into a point for smaller areas. When the chamois becomes embedded with graphite, simply throw it into the washer or wash by hand. Keep one with graphite on it to create large areas of light shading. To create darker areas of shading, add graphite shavings to the chamois.
Erasers
Erasers serve two purposes: to eliminate unwanted graphite and to "draw" within existing graphite. There are many different types of erasers available.
Kneaded This versatile eraser can be molded into a fine point, a knife-edge, or a larger flat or rounded surface. It removes graphite gently from the paper but not as well as vinyl or plastic erasers.
Block Eraser A plastic block eraser is fairly soft, removes graphite well, and is very easy on your paper. Use it primarily for erasing large areas, but it also works quite well for doing a final cleanup of a finished drawing.
Stick Eraser Also called "pencil erasers," these handy tools hold a cylindrical eraser inside. You can use them to erase areas where a larger eraser will not work. Using a utility razor blade, you can trim the tip at an angle or cut a fine point to create thin white lines in graphite. It's like drawing with your eraser!
COLOR PALETTE
Below are the main colors used for the projects in this book. Keep in mind that the names of the colors may vary among brands; also, sometimes two pencils that have the same name are different hues.
STROKES
Each line you make in a colored pencil drawing is important — and the direction, width, and texture of the line you draw will all contribute to the effects you create. Practice making different strokes, as shown in the examples below. Apply light, medium, and heavy pressure; use the side and then the point of your pencil; and experiment with long, sweeping strokes as well as short, precise ones.
Pressure With light pressure, the color is almost transparent. Medium pressure creates a good foundation for layering, and heavy pressure flattens the paper texture, making the color appear almost solid.
Strokes and Texture You can indicate a number of different textures by creating patterns of dots and dashes on the paper. To create even, dense dots, try twisting the point of your pencil on the paper.
LAYERING AND BLENDING
Because colored pencils are translucent, artists use a transparent layering process to either build up color or create new hues. This layering process creates a much richer hue than you could ever achieve if you were using just one pure color. To deepen a color, layer more of the same over it. If you want to blend your strokes together, you can use a stiff bristle brush.
Layering with Hatch Strokes Here yellow, orange, red, and blue were layered on top of one another with crosshatching (laying one set of hatched lines over another but stroking in a different direction) to demonstrate one way of creating a new color. When crosshatching, work from light to dark to avoid getting a muddy mix.
PROJECT ONE
ROOSTER
From its Tuscan red face and wattle to its feathers of peacock green, indigo blue, and dark purple, this rooster represents a variety of shades on the color wheel. When drawing the feathers, don't draw them individually; instead, show how they are grouped.
Begin by loosely sketching the rooster's body, using a circle for the head and an oval for the tail.
Notice how the top tail feathers extend over the rest of the tail.
Refine and detail the face and head, keeping a guideline along the top of the comb to help line up the edges properly. Also draw a line from the wattle to the chest to line them up accurately; then erase these guidelines.
Draw some rocks around the rooster's feet.
Begin establishing the dark areas with cool gray 90%.
Use Tuscan red on the face, comb, and wattle.
Lightly shade a few areas on the body and head with dark purple. Then use indigo blue to shade some of the feathers. Using cool gray 90%, shade the bottom halves of the three lowest tail feathers and darken some of the back tail feathers.
Use cool gray 90%, cool gray 30%, dark brown, and sienna brown for the body and feathers. Then add Tuscan red and Thio violet to the face and comb.
Leave the paper white for the lightest areas.
Add more Thio violet to the face and wattle, and shade around the pupil with cool gray 90%. For the beak, apply cool gray 90% and burnt yellow. Add more color to the body with burnt ochre, ultramarine, black cherry, and yellow ochre.
Use heavy pressure and white to add shine to some of the tail feathers.
To "ground" the rooster, add spots of color around the feet with burnt ochre, dark brown, and raw sienna. Then add some slate gray to indicate the rooster's shadow.
Add more color to the rooster with burnt ochre, Thio violet, indigo blue cerulean blue, yellow ochre, and Tuscan red. Blend some of the blues in the tail feathers with peacock green and darken some lines on the neck with black cherry. Shade the spurs on the legs with French gray 50%, and using firm pressure and cool gray 90%, draw the feather shapes on the chest.
PROJECT TWO
SHETLAND SHEEPDOG
When blocking in the Sheltie's abundant fur, make sure your lines follow the direction of hair growth and reflect the curves of the dog's body. Use dark colors and firm pressure for the darkest fur, while leaving the lightest areas white.
With an HB pencil, sketch a guide for the dog's head, face, and neck.
Refine the sketch, adding details and erasing unneeded lines as you go.
Add longer, softer lines to indicate the fur.
Establish the darkest areas with cool gray 90%, leaving the highlights white. Next use medium pressure to add a few long strokes of cool gray 30% to the chest and under the chin.
Using medium pressure and sienna brown, create long strokes on the ears and neck and short strokes on the face.
Use henna, dark umber, and sienna brown on the ears and dark umber on the face. Then apply Venetian red to the irises. Use cool gray 90% to refine the nose and pupils, as well as to darken the long fur on the sides of the head and neck.
Apply dark umber to the darkest areas. Then sharpen the edges of some of the facial fur and outline the eyes. Switch to burnt ochre and lightly apply it over the rest of the face.
When shading the face, pull the strokes over the already shaded areas to blend and smooth the edges, but leave some white showing through to indicate lighter areas and highlights.
Apply French gray 30% to areas of the chest and under the neck. Using medium pressure, apply yellow ochre over areas of the face and neck; then use medium pressure to apply jasmine to the lighter areas on the face. Then sharpen and refine any areas of the drawing that need it. To finish, add strokes of sienna brown and yellow ochre to the fur on the dog's lower left side.
PROJECT THREE
GRAY SQUIRREL
Despite the name, most squirrels aren't just gray — their fur tends to be made up of many colors. Each strand of fur in the squirrel's tail changes color from where it attaches to the body to the tip of the tail.
Draw the vertical centerline on the face to help place the facial features.
First use an HB pencil to sketch the basic shapes of the squirrel. Then add the legs and ears, and add curved lines to indicate the tree branch.
Refine the shapes and add details, including the individual toes and claws. Then add some short, quick lines to the tail to show the direction of fur growth. Also add details to the branch.
Add the whiskers with the HB pencil; then switch to a very sharp cool gray 90% and begin establishing the dark areas. Then begin adding color with henna, sienna brown, burnt yellow ochre, and cool gray 30%.
Use long and short strokes to add details to the branch with cool gray 90%. Next use indigo blue to add shadows where the paws touch the branch.
Apply sepia to the head and body. Use longer strokes in the tail, leaving the edges of the tail white. Add cool gray 30% to the underside of the top section of the tail to put it in shadow. Then create the ridged texture of the branch with long strokes of sepia.
Leave some areas white on the toes to help indicate their rounded shape.
Fill in the squirrel and branch using cool gray 30% and cool gray 90%. Now use a very sharp cool gray 90% along all of the edges to sharpen the drawing. Using firm pressure, deepen some of the darkest areas with black for more contrast.
Use indigo blue and cerulean blue to add some color to the mostly brown and gray composition.
DRAWING THE TAIL
When drawing this tail, leave some areas completely white for extra contrast; also add a dark background around the tail so the light fur is easier to see. Because the tail fur is thin, allow the background color to show through in a few places along the edges of the tail. Carefully blend along the edges so they are not too sharp against the background — this also helps keep the fur from looking too thick.
PROJECT FOUR
HORSE
Take note of the many textures in this horse's profile: the shine on the mane and body; the prickly whiskers; and the smooth leather and metallic rings on the bridle.
Using medium pressure, apply yellow ochre to the metal areas of the bridle, leaving small areas white for highlights. Then lightly apply dark umber to the bridle.
Using a basic sketch as a guide, develop the facial features, ears, bridle, and mane.
Using cool gray 90%, fill in shadowed areas and create the mouth and whiskers. For lighter areas, use cool gray 50%. Then add indigo blue to some of the shadows. Color the iris with sienna brown and apply henna to the corner of the eye.
Use burnt ochre to lightly fill in the neck and outline the edges of the ears and the blaze that extends from the forehead to the top of the nose.
Add more color to the bridle with burnt sienna. Using cool gray 90%, outline the eyelashes and shade around the eyes. Next add dark umber to the shadows on the head and neck. Develop the hair using cool gray 90%.
Apply ultramarine for the dark areas of the mane, leaving areas white for shine.
Apply ultramarine for the dark areas of the mane, leaving areas white for shine.
Darken the nose and muzzle with another layer of cool gray 90%.
Deepen the color of the coat with circular strokes of sienna brown and add a glow of color to the shadow under the neck with Venetian red. Add darker strokes to the mane and forelock.
PROJECT FIVE
LORY
Using multiple shades of red for this lory, learn to create highlights and depth with subtle blending and shading techniques. Very sharp pencils will allow for the crisp detail around the eye and in the definition of the feathers.
Sketch the basic shapes of the lory.
When placing the eye, keep in mind that the forehead is very large.
Refine the shape of the bird and draw the large feathers. Also refine the shape of the branch and add a few lines to the talons.
The eye features several rings. The pupil has a circle around it, then a teardrop surrounded by another teardrop shape.
Add black to the eye area, on the toenails, and within the feathers. Begin adding color with a very sharp Tuscan red and black cherry.
Apply burnt ochre and warm gray 50% to the branch. Add cool gray 50% around the pupil and the inside of the beak for shadows. Continue adding color with canary yellow, Tuscan red, and ultramarine.
Indicate smaller feathers with Tuscan red. It is not necessary to render every feather.
Apply cool gray 50% on the eye and foot, true blue on the foot, and crimson red, true blue, and black on the feathers. Use warm gray 50% over the branch with medium strokes and add a light layer of cadmium orange hue to the beak.
Leave a few areas on the back and wings white to indicate the lustrous feather texture.
Apply poppy red to the remainder of the bird. Pull poppy red over the edges of the existing reds to blend the colors more evenly; then use cadmium orange hue over the reds and add a little more black to the long wing feathers.
Add a very light layer of ultramarine to the lower part of the branch, indicating a shadow and giving the branch more depth.
Now make the shapes of the feathers crisp using crimson red and a few strokes of Tuscan red. Blend the highlights of the feathers on the back with white, apply a little ultramarine to the blue feathers and blend with white using firm strokes, and apply a few short strokes of white to the side of the head to refine the round form. Finally, enhance the detail around the eye using a very sharp black.
PROJECT SIX
LEOPARD
Pay close attention to perspective when drawing this leopard's facial features, as the head is turned at a three-quarter angle. Draw curved guidelines in the earlier steps to remind you of the leopard's body position. To look natural, the spots must follow the form of the body
The head is turned at a three-quarter angle, so shift the vertical centerline to the right and curve it to follow the form of the face. Note that the guidelines for the eyes, nose, and mouth are also curved.
Sketch the basic shape of the head with an HB pencil. Next draw the body, adding a small hump for the shoulders.
Refine the features, making the eye on the right smaller to show that it is farther away. Draw the whiskers and some curved lines on the body to help line up the spots in the next step. Also add some long blades of grass.
Now draw the leopard's spots, using the curved lines as guides and erasing them as you go. A pattern like this can be confusing, so it's helpful to find areas where the spots line up. Then detail some of the blades of grass and draw a few more.
You may want to try covering up some of the leopard so you can concentrate on small areas at a time.
With cool gray 90%, lightly shade around the leopard's right eye, along the bridge of the nose, and along the creases on the legs.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Drawing Animals in Colored Pencil"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc..
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