Tutorial Online Drawing and Techniques

In this series of Online Drawing videos I will demonstrate how keywords such as shading - hatching – tone & texture can be used to create remarkable detail and contrasts. By layering different grades of graphite in variety of ways the pencil drawing can be pushed into a dimension comparable to black & white photography.

     Sharp point pencil.

  Rounded point pencil.

     Flat point graphite.

There is no better place to start than with that insistent word ‘shading’. If Online Drawing were a book, several chapters would be dedicated to shading. It is the cornerstone of a pencil drawing and can be seen as being an equivalent to the brushstrokes on an oil painting.

With the absence of colour, the pencil artist has only 2 fundamentals to work with. One being tone, and the other being texture. Tone ranging from light to dark, and Texture ranging from rough to smooth. With the source of light being critical to both.

In this online drawing series of videos following grades of graphite where used:

It is generally accepted that a hard graphite such as 4H, will produce a lighter tone. Whereas a soft graphite such as 4B, will produce a darker tone. However, there are always exceptions. A different result will be achieved when a hard is layered over a soft, compared to layering a soft over a hard.

Hatching is a fundamental part of shading. It is a technique that is used in technical drawings, ink studies, sketches and pencil art studies. There are a number of types of hatching that can be used in different ways to create a variety of interesting tones and textures.

The 1st online drawing video is (1:10) Types of Hatching

The return stroke method of hatching or is probably the most widely used technique used when shading. However, there is an inherent drawback that can cause problems when using this method of hatching.

In sketches the consistency of the hatching is not all that critical. However, on more detailed pencil drawing the consistency of the tones and textures is more important. In a previous video you where shown how cross-hatching can soften the grain. Yet there is another factor you should try to avoid, and that is referred to as a ‘whip-edge’ line.

As each stroke does a U turn it creates what is called a whip edge. Depending on you style of writing, positioning, and/or the pressure you apply, it may create a darker spot at the end of the stroke.

In example W/E 1, the whip edge effect is more obvious on the bottom. If these whip edges are in line as in example W/E 2, it can create a line that will be difficult to hide. To avoid this, rather hatch the area sparsely with randomly placed return strokes. As in example W/E 3.

While there are a number of ways of creating textures, in the following videos I will demonstrate how textures can be created with the return stroke method of hatching. Later in the series we will look into other methods that tent to be more relevant to that particular topics.

The 2nd online drawing video is (0:31) Soft Textures

A sound knowledge of what happens when one grade of graphite is layered over another is important. In most of the online drawing videos that follow I will demonstrate an assortment of layering techniques to create gently escalating tones and some unusual textures.

When toning, the layering process will require a more delicate touch but generally, the same rules apply in that the base layer sets the tone. It is a process quite often referred to as blending where an array of tones ranging from light to dark is blended together to create a gentle escalation of tone.

However, that gentle escalation of tone quit often has a texture of is own. It is for that reason that I will first work through a few different methods of creating texture. Thereafter, I will move onto the blending process, which in part will include textures.

Firstly, I will illustrate how the layering process works. Thereafter, I will move on to masking.

The 4th online drawing video is (1:10) Layering

The most significant factor regarding the masking technique is that the base layer is usually very hard, and the layers over are usually selected from the ‘B’ end of the scale. Masking is seemingly a rather unconventional method to achieve a result, but it is a technique that can be used to create a remarkable level detail in both tones and textures.

The 5th online drawing video is (0:48) Masking

At the other end of the scale, the following example of a rough base texture will give you an idea of what textures can be created when the base layer is a soft grade of graphite.

The 6th online drawing video is (1:03) Rough Textures

With the lack of contrast, the pencil drawing will look ‘flat’ and uninteresting. If it were possible to increase that range of contrast it would make a significant difference to the ‘depth’ of the pencil study. To do that, the different phases of light must be understood and applied.

1. True light also referred to as Full Light usually set the tonal range. The Highlight is a reflection of the light source and is less obvious on matt surfaces.

2. Fading light is a gentle escalation of tone.

3. Night-light is usually the darkest point.

4. Reflected light is refracted light from nearby a surfaces.

5. Shadow is the shadow cast up the object.

6. Reflection of an adjoining objects or surface only comes into play if the surface is of a reflective nature. A typical example could be a shop front window where the reflection of the street (most likely in daylight) overwhelms the window dressing beyond.

A major advantage the colour study has over black and white is that the colour artist has a range of contrasting colours to use, whereas, the pencil artist has only B/W and a mix of the two. Consequently, to boost the contrast the pencil artist has to make the most of the delicate differences in light. Furthermore, the artist must setup or choose subject matter that plays to these parameters, with particular attention to the presence of reflected light.

The 7th online drawing video is (3:40) Toning

The eraser, in various forms can be a valuable tool. To see a number of techniques on how to eraser and its worth in some rather unconventional ways go to : Erasing

Shading can be seen as being a cornerstone of the pencil drawing and is as important to the pencil drawing as brush strokes on an oil painting. Shading can be used to create tones ranging from light to dark and textures ranging from rough to smooth, as well as a mix of the two.

Probably the most commonly method of shading is the return stroke method of hatching. To soften the grain cross-hatching is added, and to avoid what is called a ‘whip-edge line’ the hatching should be random and sparse.

Layering is a process of adding an array of grades of graphite on top of each other in different ways to create a variety textures.

Masking is a technique that can be used to create ‘sharp’ highlighted details by layering a soft grade of graphite over a hard base layer.

Rough Textures can be created by layering harder grades of graphite on a soft base layer.

To get a consistent blend of tone, it is important to use allied grades of graphite. The same 2 grades will produce different results when layered differently.

The full range of the phases of light is important to the pencil artist in that it is curial to creating tonal contrast and depth in the study.