In this commentary we will discuss the blocking-in of big masses of tone. Tone is generally thought of as shadow. Beginners generally first draw an outline of the shadow and then fill in the shadows little by little. They usually begin with an eye and then grow out the shadows. Inevitably, the result is a [...]
A pencil portrait sketch from life starts with the “striking” of the arabesque. Striking the arabesque means drawing the outer contour of the skull with the accurate proportions, form, and theappropriate symmetry. Once you have drawn a reasonably appropriate arabesque it is time to place the main landmarks of the skull. That means that we [...]
In this commentary we suppose that you draw directly from life or from a suitable photograph. In other words, we suppose that you do not use the so-called grid technique. This technique relies on a grid drawn both on the photograph of your model as well as your sketching paper. If this is so, the [...]
Guidelines for Pencil Portrait Drawing – The Six Elements of Portrait Drawing Drawing in general entails four distinct elements: line, value, texture, and shape. In the special case of pencil portrait sketch we can refine the list of elements to six: shape, proportion, anatomy, texture, value, and planes. Drawing in general entails four distinct elements: [...]
A pencil portrait drawing from life starts with the “striking” of the arabesque. Striking the arabesque means drawing the outer circumference of the head with the correct proportions, shape, and the appropriate symmetry. Once you have drawn a reasonably accurate arabesque it is time to place the main landmarks of the head. That means that [...]
How to Draw with Pencil Fundamentals – Drawing Cones Any scene can initially be seen as a composition of a series of forms that are all related to four basic geometric solids: the brick, the sphere, the cylinder, and the cone. In this article we concentrate on the cone, i.e., we will detail its properties [...]
10 Pencil Drawing Tips to Improve Your Compositions Composition refers to an ordered relationship among the parts or elements of your drawing. Note that the position of shapes is not the only element of composition. Other elements include: value, intensity, and color. 1. Basic Unit – When composing a drawing it is always helpful to [...]
Measuring Lengths and Angles in Pencil Drawings This is another stage of a typical pencil drawing, because you have come to the stage when you need to settle the units on the paper properly and take care of the angles. Let’s get down to the typical units. Basic Length Unit – A basic length unit [...]
How to draw with pencil fundamentals – the line in pencil drawing. Speaking of the lines, we should have several important issues mentioned in this publication. As the line is part of the basic skills which you should master seriously – let’s get into the details of this issue. The following characteristics are most often [...]
Pencil Drawing Fundamentals – The Compositional Role of Object Placement and Viewpoint Selection In this article we will learn about some of the considerations to be made when it comes to creating a composition or selecting a particular viewpoint. First, let us introduce a few definitions: Eye Level – The eye level is the height [...]
