Drama and Detail In Graphite Pencil

1. Introduction: Highly detailed, realistic looking pictures can take a considerable amount of time to create. If you also combine this with a dark, dramatic background, the results really can be quite striking. I'm Jamie and I've been a professional artist for around 20 years now. My pictures have been widely exhibited in galleries and exhibitions, as well as being published. I also use Youtube to showcase my work. Where do you start when it comes to creating a picture? Well, that's what we're going to cover in this class. From what materials to use? Planning and composition, how to create that dramatic dark background, as well as how to use the indenting technique, create realistic looking textures. This is aimed at intermediate to advanced levels of artists or anybody looking to push themselves further and learn new techniques. But even if you're a complete beginner, don't be put off by this. You might be surprised at what you can learn and what you're able to achieve. If this is something that appeals to you, then why not sign up? And I look forward to seeing you in class. 2. Class Project: For the class project, you're going to learn the techniques that are used when it comes to creating very striking and sometimes emotional pieces of artwork. Now, because of the level of detail, this does require a lot of time and patience. But it's always worth remembering that it's not a race and it's the end result that counts. In this class, you'll first learn how to plan to compose a picture, before then moving on to creating a basic sketch. How to apply a dark background and use shading to give the main subject shape. We can then tackle some of the more technical aspects of the picture, such as how to give an eye that glassy appearance, as well as adding texture to create the effect of feathers by using the indenting technique. There are many different types of textures that we need to replicate. We will dive into this in some depth. You'll also see how to blend subject and background together to create cohesion within the picture. Each lesson forms part of the class project, and as you progress, you'll gain confidence and understanding in the application of the techniques that are being used. Now, it is totally up to you how much of your work that you actually upload to the class project section. But it would be great to be able to see your progress. Remember, I'm always glad to offer any help and advice. I have provided a few various different images of birds of prey that you can work from, of course. Alternatively, you can always work from your own reference. Next time we'll take a look at the different materials as well as the various different tools that we're going to be using during this class. 3. Materials: Let's take a look at the materials that you're going to need. We want to start with the paper. First of all, as this is really the main foundation of any picture, because we're going to be using the indenting technique, I'd recommend a paper that's relatively tough. I suggest using a watercolor paper that's 100% cotton and this wants to be around about 300 grams. As I find that this tends to work the best when using this technique. This also wants to be a hot press paper as this will have a relatively smooth surface. Incidentally, the paper that I've used for this project isn't Cuthbert Saunders Waterford. We now come to the pencils that you're going to need for this. I'm using the card graphod range of graphite pencils, but whatever you're using should be absolutely fine in terms of grades four H, H, 24.9 B. But don't worry if you haven't got these exact same ones, Any similar grades around these will work just as well. The four H is the only one of these which is used sharp. Its main purpose is to indent and manipulate other darker tones. Another option is to use something like an F pencil, as I'm doing here. The H pencil, on the other hand, is used very blunt. The reason for this is because we're purely going to use it to lightly build up our initial sketch. By doing it this way, it won't scratch or damage the surface of the paper. This makes any alterations or changes relatively easy to do. Soft pencils won't tend to hold a point anyway. The 24.9 B are just used blunt for raising. You're going to want to have some form of eatable eraser. Now I'm using a car and dash, but a couple of other good alternatives are A facts K 20 or Favor Castle. Alternatively, you could just simply use blue tack or sticky tack to blend in shade tones. I'd recommend using a blending stump. I find that the best ones of these have a soft valvety feel to them. But of course, another option is to use a Q tip or cotton bud. If you have got a new blending stump and you want to add some graphite to it, you can simply do this by applying two or four B pencil to a piece of scrap paper and then just work this into the end. Alternatively, if you've got some graphite powder, you can just dip it into that. Over time it will become more saturated graphite. Now you are going to need some former tool to indent texture into the paper. I'm just using a cheap steel dart, and this has had the tip rounded off with a small file. But there are plenty of other things that you could use as an indenting tool. Alternatively, you can buy indenting or embossing tools, and these are relatively inexpensive. You're also going to need some masking tape to mask off the border. For the background, I would recommend using a low tach decorating one. For this, we now come to some additional items, but these are not essential. The first of these is graphite powder. This is used to build a base tone for the background, but it can also be used to load new blending stumps with graphite. Also for blending the background baste, you're going to want to use a makeup sponge or make up pad, but you can use cotton wool, but it does tend to leave a lot of fibers behind. Lastly, a graphite block, as this is a much more economical way than just using a pencil to block in the background. Ideally, this wants to be the same make and tone as the pencils that you're using. This is why I'm using a nine B car. But like I said, alternatively you can just use a pencil when creating the background. I have supplied a few various different reference images or alternatively you can use your own if you'd rather. As for me, I'm going to be working on this picture of a Gia Falcon, that's our materials covered. In the first lesson, we'll take a look at planning and composition. 4. Planning & Composition: The most important thing to do before starting any picture is to plan it out thoroughly. This involves deciding on the exact composition and size of the piece that you want to produce. It can be tempting to rush into a picture, but it's well worth taking the time to get this right. Once you've chosen the subject and decided on the reference to be used, you then need to make a decision on the emotion that you want to convey. This image does have everything that is needed when it comes to creating a highly detailed drawing, but it's never going to have that well factor. If it's done exactly the same way that it is. By using a bit of imagination, I think we can create something that's a lot more striking for this subject and pose. I think a much more dramatic appearance will suit this picture much better. To achieve this, I want to convert the picture to what is called a low key image. I think you can see this really does make a huge difference. A low key image will tend to feature a dark background and utilize strong contrast, prominent highlights and strengthen shadow areas. Only real limit with this is your imagination. With the overall look of the subject decided, it's now time to do a little bit of work on the composition. One of the things that can be used to help create a composition is what's called a Rule of Thirds grid. The grid is used to divide the image up into nine equal parts. But how does this work? Well, the theory is that by placing key features along these grid lines or its intersections, you will naturally produce a pleasing composition. But bear in mind, this should only ever be used as a guide. For the first version, I want to create a landscape image. The grid is used to position the subject to the right, also cropping the top and the bottom, and positioning the eye along the top line. The first third is used as negative space. This gives the subject the sense that it is looking at something that is out of frame. The grid can also be used when it comes to creating a more traditional portrait composition. The grid is again applied with the eye being positioned along the top line. But with this composition, we take in more of the body and wing. There is still negative space, but this is weighted more towards the top of the image. When using a rule of thirds grid, it's worth remembering that you're not purely restricted to an exact height or width. You can literally make this whatever size you want. If composition is something that you feel you struggle with, then using a system like this is something that can really help. As you gain confidence and experience, you'll just learn to trust your own judgment. With most pictures, it's important to have a clear point of focus. The lower right hand corner of the image is a little bit distracting by adding a dark vignette to this corner. This adds subtlety and also helps to draw more focus up to the head. This also helps to blend the subject with the background, preventing it from looking stuck on. Now, this image has been altered to just show one of the many looks, as well as a couple of the different compositions that can be created. As I said earlier, the only limitation really, is your imagination. The key points to remember, look, imagine, and don't forget to plan thoroughly. In the next lesson, we can take pencil to paper and start to create our initial sketch. 5. Border & Sketch: Because the picture is going to have a black background to it. The first thing I want to do is to add a border. You don't have to do this. If you'd rather you can just feather out the edge and have a more natural appearance. To create the border, I'm going to be using a square. This just came from a local DIY store and was relatively inexpensive, but it is ideal for doing things like this. The one downside is it's a bit awkward to use on the easel. So I'm just going to take this over to the table to do this. To create the border, you want to use two pencils. Now, for the first one, I'd recommend using a pencil that's quite dark but also not too soft. For this, I'm going to use A, two B. We only want to use the tone of this pencil so it doesn't need to be sharp. If it was, there would be a chance that the tip could shear off to finish the border and to give a nice, crisp, clean edge. A hard, sharp pencil like this four H can be used. Apply a bit of pressure and run this through the two B that's already been applied. Because the pencil is sharp, it will indent this creating a permanent dark line. Of course, don't worry. If you've not got a large square like the one I'm using, you can just use a regular ruler and square. This just takes a little bit longer when it comes to marking out the border with the border. Now done, we're all ready to start our drawing. I'm going to be using a blunt H pencil to do this. And the reason why I recommend the pencils blunt is because it doesn't damage the surface of the paper. And any marks that we make are relatively easy to remove. When doing the initial drawing, there is really one key thing to remember, that's the keep it as simple as possible. You don't want to be fixated on details and just concentrate on the basic shapes and positions of key elements. Don't worry if you're not 100% confident we're doing the initial drawing. I'm going to show you a system that you can use to help position the subject as well as gauge proportions you're going to need to do. This is a piece of scrap paper. The first thing to do is to position the subject for this image. I'm going to use the beak as a starting point. The scrap paper is laid across the image and a marked place showing the position of the border. Another is placed to show the position of the beak, as this is the widest part of the subject using the border as a reference, this can then be used to transfer the mark. The same process can then be used to mark the position for the top of the head. Remember, the pencil is blunt and is only used with a light pressure. These two marks give us the overall size of the subject. And now we can use the same system to help to create the rest of the drawing for a more precise position. Simply measure from both the side and the bottom. It's a good idea to erase the marks from the scrap paper after they've been transferred. Otherwise, they can get confusing. This is one way of creating the initial drawing, but it is by no means perfect with a few marks placed. We can now start to sketch in. If you notice, I'm only doing this very lightly and holding the pencil well away from the tip, as this will reduce the amount of pressure that is put through it. Again, because the pencil is blunt, it has minimal effect on the surface of the paper. This may seem strange to use a pencil this way, but it does make it relatively easy to make alterations. At this point, the sketch is only relatively loose. The eye can now be positioned, marking both sides, as well as the top and the bottom. The eye is a real key feature with these four marks. It can now loosely be sketched in before being refined later. There is a lot of detail around this area, but at this point, the best thing to do is to simply ignore it. Remember, you can use as many or as few marks as you like. This purely depends on your level of confidence at this point. The picture does look incredibly basic, but it does provide a good foundation to work on. Once you've got a basic sketch in place, you can then start to refine it for relatively minor changes. Or to clean up around the drawing. I'd recommend using a needable eraser with a point rolled on the end of it. This can simply be used to draw tone back out for more drastic corrections. Drawing the new lines using the original drawing as a guide before then removing it with the eraser. This prevents drawing the lines back where they originally were. Once you're happy with the initial drawing, you can then start to add a little bit more detail for more technical areas. I'd advise holding the pencil nearer the tip, as this will give you more control. But bear in mind by using the pencil this way you will naturally put more pressure through it. This does require a bit more care to avoid indenting the surface. Even when using a blunt pencil where you hold a pencil does make a difference, This is something that you just get used to. It is easy to get carried away with the initial drawing, but there is a point where you have to stop. Remember, the most important thing at this stage is to keep it as simple as possible. The key points to remember, keep the initial drawing as simple as possible and use a blunt pencil lightly to do this. In the next lesson, we can now start to work on the background as well as create some of the shading. 6. Background & Shading: When creating a picture with a dark or black background, I find it's essential to put this in at a very early stage. This can then be used as a tone or reference as the picture develops. This basically helps to visually create the correct balance of tone between subject and background. The first thing I want to do is to mask off the background. To do this, I'm going to use some low tech masking tape. This is placed along the lines that were indented in the previous lesson. It's important this is a low tact tape and it doesn't want to be rubbed down to firmly. With that done, we can now start to apply some tone to the surrounding area. To do this, I'm going to dip a makeup sponge into some graphite powder and then remove the excess on a piece of scrap paper. Alternatively, you could just use a make up pad or some cotton wool for this. This can then be applied to the background, with tone being brushed down into the grain of the paper. This is a very non aggressive way to build a base tone. Also, at this point, you don't want to go right up to the subject itself. Simply repeat this process until you have a good depth of tone. With this done, it's now time to get the background as dark as possible. For me, that means using a nine pencil to protect the picture as I work over it. I also attach a piece of glassine paper as this will help to prevent smudging. The pencil is blunt and is applied using a tight, circular motion. As you can see, this produces a nice rich dark tone. It's at this point that I recommend removing the tape. Now. This is purely a precautionary measure to prevent it from over adhering to the surface. And when it's needed later, we can always attach some more. Make sure to only leave the tape on the picture for the minimal amount of time possible when removing it. Make sure to do this slowly and carefully to continue blocking in the background. You could simply carry on using the pencil, but I'm going to switch to this nine graphite block because I find this is much easier when it comes to covering larger areas. Before starting, I'm just going to cover the area of the picture where I'm going to be resting my hand to apply the tone using the block, I suggest holding it exactly the same way as you would with a pencil, using the end to apply the tone. This is, again, done in a tight circular motion. You may have to do this a couple of times to achieve the desired level of darkness with the background established. We're now ready to start to add some shading to the main subject to give the pig some shape, we need to add some shading. To do this, I'm going to use a blending stump. This is a very non invasive tool to use if there are any alterations or changes that need to be made. These can be done relatively easily by using a needable eraser if you need to load more graphite into the blending stump or if you're using a new one, then you can do this the same way as we did with the makeup sponge. Again, remember to remove the excess on the scrap paper before use before starting. Study your reference thoroughly and make a decision on where you want to apply tone. Remember, at this stage, this only wants to be done very subtly. After all, we're just looking to add some basic shape to the picture. At this time, you want to make sure to use the blender lightly in areas of detail. Be careful not to blend out the original drawing as we still need these lines to remain visible. The blending stump is an ideal tool to use for this, because it produces a very soft appearance. It can be easily erased. And also, if you do need to add more depth of tone, then you can just simply apply more layers. You can see that just by doing this, the picture has started to take on a much more three dimensional appearance. One thing I would say is that it is very easy to get carried away when doing this. Make sure to keep it to the bare minimum. The key point is to remember, take your time to build the background tone and only apply the minimal amount of shading to the main subject. In the next lesson, we can now start to work on creating a realistic looking eye. 7. Creating A Realistic Looking Eye: Now we've got our background in and built some shape into the subject. It's time to start work on probably what is the most important part of the picture, and that's the eye, as this is going to be our key focal element. With that said, let's get started. The first thing I want to do is to just establish this lower line that goes around the eye, just here. To do this, I'm going to use a two B pencil. I want a fair degree of control over the pencil. I'm going to be holding it fairly close to the tip. The pencil is blunt and this is to create a separation between the eyeball and the surrounding socket. Only the lower part of the eye is done this way. Where we want a more defined separation, a tight, circular motion is used to apply tone to the upper area, as this will eventually be in strong shadow. Also, now we can start to build up some of the darker tones surrounding the eye. Now we have this done, we can start to build some tone and some shape into the eye itself. This wants to be done slowly and carefully as it's such an important part of the picture. The best tool to use for this is going to be the blending stump. Tone is applied to the lower part of the pupil as well as the upper part which is going to be in strong shadow. This provides a foundation to which we can then build darker tones upon. We're also brushing tone into the grain of the paper. This is essential when it comes to creating a glassy appearance. Once you're happy with the shape, you can then start to apply some pencil to build the tone further. I'm going to start by lightly applying a blunt TV pencil to the surface. And then brush this down into the grain of the paper with the blending stump. As each layer is applied, the tone darkens. I would say it's around about this point that I will suggest switching to a darker pencil. This may seem strange and you might think that why not just use the darkest pencil that you've got to start with. But I've found over the years that this produces the richest darkest tone that you can achieve. It also has a very smooth appearance to it. I'm going to be using a four B pencil, but if you haven't got one, a similar grader pencil should be absolutely fine. As with the two B, the pencil is used blunt. And again, you want to work between pencil and blender to just push the darkness that bit further. You'll probably find that you don't need as many layers this time, though, as you're already starting with a fairly dark tone that's given us our basic tone and shape. And now for the interesting bit, starting to add the detail, you always want to take plenty of time when doing this and constantly refer back to your reference. The first pencil that I want to use to start to add some detail is going to be the two B again, I want to hold it quite close to the tip because I want more control. And also as well, it's still going to be used blunt. You can see a large areas being left for the highlights. That's the first part that we're going to work on. The main highlight to the upper left is quite small and has a hard dark edge to it. All I literally have to do with this is to just draw around it. The larger part of the high light is quite subtle. This just needs some tone applied to it to add some of the finer detail. I just want to sharpen the pencil a bit further. Now, if you are going to do this with something like a two B pencil, which is quite soft, I suggest after sharpening it, just use it on a piece of scrap paper first before going into the picture. This way if the tip fractures at all, it's not going to do any damage also as well. It'll just take a little bit of the harshness off of it before starting. I want to use this randomly to produce a slightly crazed appearance, as this will help to create the effect of subtle reflection. This can be enhanced further by using a needable eraser with a point rolled on the end of it to very likely brush and tone away to create more shape. It's always worth constantly referring back to the reference, but remember, you can always use a fair degree of artistic license, particularly in areas like this. Once the pupil is done, it's then time to concentrate on the surrounding lighter area of the eye. Again, the two B pencil is used very carefully and lightly to add very fine detail with the erasor being used to lighten and highlight some areas. Pay close attention to the patterns and straations that there are within this area and take plenty of time to recreate them. Also, as the picture develops, you may find it necessary to add more highlighting and shading depending on the type of look that you want to achieve with the last bit of detail added, I just want to add a bit more of a highlight to the right hand side. Using the two B pencil, I want to add a bit of shadow below the pupil. Now this will have a slightly grainy appearance to it, which is what I want for this area. But if you want something smoother, then just simply go back over this with the blending stump by building the picture up in a relatively non aggressive manner. This makes any minor alterations relatively simple to do once you're happy with how the picture is looking. The next thing that we want to do is to just push those dark tones that bit further. I'm going to start by first using the four B pencil. Before then moving on to the nine. Now, this will only make a very slight difference because of the depth of tone that's already been built up. If you find that you end up with a slightly harder edge to the nine, then you can just simply work over the edge of this with a two. To blend this out, I think you can see that the eye has a nice glassy appearance by using a degree of artistic license, stands out more than the original image for the core skin texture below the eye. I'd recommend starting with a two pencil. Remember, if you need to make any alterations or changes, this can easily be done with a needable eraser. To create the look of this texture, you want to use the pencil randomly. Using short strokes, what you're looking to achieve is a slightly crazy looking pattern. This is done in conjunction with the eraser to add highlights. You can see I'm being quite erratic with the application of the pencil. I think this helps when trying to create a more realistic looking effect. Again, this is a lot of work for what is effectively a very small part of the picture for very fine detail. A hard sharp pencil can be used. Now I'm using a four H for this. Again, any grade around this will work just as well. This pencil doesn't produce a very dark tone, but when it is used through a tone that's already on the paper, it will drag this, producing a very fine dark line. Because the pencil is hard and sharp, it will also indent this into the surface of the paper. If you need to remove any excess surface tone, you can just lightly brush the eraser back over the top. Softer grades of pencil, such as the range, will not hold a point. As opposed to the four H, which will stay sharp for a long period of time and can be used to manipulate these darker tones. At this stage, I suggest leaving the picture overnight. That way you can look at it with a fresh set of eyes and it's much easier to see any alterations or changes that need to be made. Nine B can now be added to the area in front of the eye, and then some subtle highlights can be drawn out using the needable eraser. By having a fine point rolled on the end. This becomes a highly technical tool. The lower edge is a bit smooth, this is just broken up using the two. Some more highlights are added, then some nine to just add that last bit of contrast. The highlight in the lower part of the eye is just made a little bit more prominent. With the edge being finished with the two B pencil to give a slightly coarser texture. Said the I is the main focal point and such a crucial part of the picture, it's well worth taking the time to get it right. The key points to remember, study a reference thoroughly and apply detail slowly and methodically. In the next lesson, we're now start to work on the B. 8. Detailed Beak: The pitch is developing nicely. But before we can start work on the beak itself, we first need to bring the background up to it, so that's where we're going to start to protect the picture from getting smudged. I'm just going to cover it with a piece of glassine paper. This also prevents any of the oils from my hand from being transferred to the paper. You want to start by establishing a darker line for the background around the outside of the beak. I'd recommend using the two B pencil likely to do this. All you want to do at this point is to just create a more defined line to work up to. Just as with the rest of the background. We need to build a base tone because we're working close to the subject. This time we need a bit more control, which is why the blending stump is ideal for this. Again, this is used to brush tone down into the grain of the paper with more layers being applied to darken this further. Remember, you can always load more graphite into the blending stump if you need to. Once you have a good base, it's then time to add nine B pencil to apply this. Use it in a circular motion and you want to carry this fairly close to the beak itself, but not right up to it again, if you need to just apply more layers until you achieve the desired depth of tone. A nine B pencil is not exactly the most technical of tools because it's quite soft. It's at this point that I would recommend switching to something like a two B pencil, which is that bit harder, but it's still fairly dark. This can be used over the edge of the nine B and will carry it up to the beak. Because it's that bit harder, it's a bit more precise and gives a cleaner, sharper edge. It's worth remembering that you can use harder grades of pencils to manipulate other tones which have already been applied. Once you have the beak outlined, you're ready to start to add in some of the shape and tone at a glance. The beak may look quite simple, but if you study the reference closely, you can see there's actually quite a lot of detail. I'm going to start with a two pencil to build some contrast into the lower area. As usual, make sure to take your time and constantly refer back to your reference. The patterns in the reference are really quite nice. But again, this is an area where you could use a fair degree of artistic license. It can be difficult to get things to look right straight away. It's a good idea to not press two hard with a pencil, as you may need to make alterations even if they're only relatively minor. This can easily be done by just drawing the tone back out with the eatable eraser. Just as with the eye, this is a very methodical and time consuming process, but it is well worth taking that time to achieve the end result. The next part that we want to turn our attention to is the area to the right of the beak that incorporates the nostril. We're still not worried too much about detail at this point. We're just simply adding tone to build stronger shadows and enhance the basic shape. Again, remember to work between the pencil and erasor to make adjustments with this picture. The nostril is not perfectly round also as well. There is a ridge just inside of it. This can be very subtly highlighted with the erasor. The shadow below the nostril is strengthened before then moving onto the tip and front part of the beak. This part is quite chipped and scratched. I'm using a more erratic and jagged stroke to do this. Also don't be afraid in some places to go over the edge of the beak when doing this. This helps to tie the picture into the background and prevents the subject from looking stuck on. When working on a picture very closely, it's very easy to become fixated on one spot. I always find it's a good idea to occasionally just step back from the picture and look at the whole area that you've been working on. This way, it's much easier to see if you do need to make any subtle changes for larger areas. Still apply the pencil lightly using a tight, circular motion. If you want to darken the tone further, just simply apply more layers. Again, I'd recommend using something like a blunt two B pencil for this. Now because we're using the pencil lightly, this may produce a slightly grainy appearance. But this isn't really a problem as we can always go back in later and smooth this out. I find when making an alteration like I'm doing here, it's best to draw the new line in using the original as a guide. Then when you're happy with it, just simply erase the original marks. I tend to do this quite a lot as I work, even though some of the alterations are really very minimal. But I do feel that these little things do make a huge difference to the finish. Look at the overall picture. Once you're happy with how the beak is looking, you can then start to use the blending stump to smooth the tone and reduce the appearance of grain in some areas. You can do this by just brushing the blender lightly over the surface. You can also dab the blender as well. This is ideal for dealing with any of those smaller areas or like these darker ones that I'm working on at the moment. But this will diminish the strength of the tone slightly. With the shape now fully established, we can start to work on adding more contrast. The four B pencil can be applied to what are going to be the darkest areas. You shouldn't have to press too hard with this, as we've already built up a good depth of tone. This may have a hard edge to it, but remember at this point we're purely just darkening the tone to add more contrast. To blend out the edges of the four, you may think that you need to use the blending stump, but I actually find that the two works much better and produces a smoother transition. But you may find that this varies from one maker pencil to the other. You want to continue this working between the four pencil and then blending out the edges with the two B until you achieve the desired shape and strength of tone that you want. The edges can be softened further by using the blending stump, and this will also create a smoother looking appearance. To create subtle highlighting, a point can be rolled on the end of the needable eraser, and then this can be used to just brush tone away. It can also be used in some areas to just press in for a more pinpoint highlight by using the eraser. This way it becomes a highly technical tool. Minimal changes can be made working between pencil, blender, and razor before moving on to the finer detailed work. For this, I'm going to be using an F pencil, and this time the pencil wants to be sharp. Again, you can use any similar graded pencil around this, even up to say, four H, as this will work just as well. This area of the beak is chipped and scratched. I want to use a crazed pattern to create this texture, also by working slightly over the edge this house to connect the subject with the background, creating a more realistic appearance. Although harder pencils aren't particularly dark, they can be used over darker tones. Then they will pick this tone up and carry it, producing finer darker detail. Which you just can't achieve by sharpening softer darker pencils, as they simply won't hold a point. They can also be used to create a harder edge or a finer texture, like I'm doing here with all the detailed work done. The thing that we want to do now is to just push that contrast that bit further. To do this, you want to use the nine pencil and apply this to the very darkest areas. Again, to create a smoother transition, the edges can just be blended out using the two B. The beak is another strong focal element, and this goes a long way to the overall look of the finished picture. The key points, remember this time, take time when applying the background around the beak and don't be afraid to play around with contrast. In the next lesson, we can start to work on adding some of the texture around the face. 9. Creating Texture: We're ready to start to add some of the detail to the face. This is going to involve indenting texture into the surface of the paper. I suggest practicing this on a piece of scrap paper first before actually attempting it on the picture itself. There are a number of different tools you can use to do this. For example, I'm going to be using a dart. You want to hold this at roughly a 30 to 45 degree angle to the paper and then work in the same direction. The advantage of trying it on a piece of scrap paper first is to see how much pressure you need to apply. Indent a few lines into the paper and then just simply shade over the top with a blunt two B pencil. And you should see the marks appear. If you don't, you just need to apply a little bit more pressure. I'd also suggest working on a firm surface when doing this. The next thing to do is to study the reference and look for the patterns that you can see within the feathers themselves. Then try to replicate this on the piece of scrap paper, indenting it into the surface. But this time when you work over the top of the two B pencil, imagine you're drawing the same pattern over the top and this will create a much more realistic looking effect. Once you're happy with this, we're all ready to start to work on the picture itself using your indenting tool. Start to apply texture to the surface of the paper for the area that I'm working on. This requires quite a short stroke with some crossing over each other to produce the desired effect. It's a good idea to only work in small areas at a time as it can be quite difficult to see what you have done. This also helps to sporadically remove pressure from the hand for the effect to work. You are effectively putting in every strand as the texture needs to be quite dense. This is one of the things that makes this such a time consuming process. Using a short stroke two B pencil can then be applied randomly over the top to reveal the texture. Don't expect to see anything too impressive to start with, as you do need a larger area done before you can really start to appreciate the effect. Also, at this point, the pencil that's been applied is only there to reveal the texture. This will have to be refined as the picture develops. By studying the reference, we can see that the length of the strands changes from shorter to longer. As such, we need to change the length of our strokes to match. Again, you only want to work in small areas at a time, constantly switching between adding texture and applying pencil. It's also worth remembering that this is not the finished result. This is purely to allow us to see the underlying texture that has been created. You can see on the reference that the direction of the strands changes as we move around the bottom of the eye. What I suggest is to work on the area to the right before then filling in the bid in between. This is a simple way to get smooth changes of direction and also reduces the chances of making mistakes. By working this way, you can actually see how much you need to adjust the stroke to smoothly connect the two areas together. As each bit is added, the texture starts to stand out more and more, even though we've still only covered a very small part of the picture. In some areas you can get a dramatic change in direction to deal with this, simply cross the strokes over working in various different directions to connect the two parts together. And this will help to create a seamless transition. Also in the transition area, you're going to want to shorten the length of the stroke. Also, remember to do the same when applying the pencil back over the top. You can also use four B pencil if you want to create a darker depth of tone in these types of transitional areas. When using the indenting tool, you may have to adjust your hand position to maintain that 30 to 45 degree angle. Alternatively, if you're only working on a small picture on a flat surface, you can just simply turn this round to make it easier. You can see that as the amount of texture builds up, it really does become very effective. It just lacks shape and depth. This is what we can now start to work on. Just as with the beacon, the eye, we want to create that three dimensional appearance. To do this, we're going to use a few grades of pencils plus the blending stump and needable eraser. If the indentations look too harsh, and this can be particularly noticeable in areas of strong shadow, just simply use the blending stump to brush tone back down into them. This will diminish the strength of the tone that's already on the paper. You will have to re, establish this using the pencils back over the top. Tone can also be diminished in other parts by using the needable eraser. It has to be said that there is a fair degree of tridonerrohen doing this. When I'm working on a picture, I will constantly go back to areas and make minor alterations. Remember you can use the two B pencil to lightly blend out darker surface tones. Because the pencil is blunt, it won't affect the appearance of the underlying texture. The same process can now be used to add shape to the larger area below the eye. When working over an indented texture, you want to think of the paper as having two layers, an upper surface, the lower indented texture. If you want to apply tone to both of these, then you want to use a relatively soft tool like the blending stump. If you only want to apply tone to the upper layer, then just use a blunt pencil. It's important to only do this lightly though, as you will compress the fibers of the paper if you press too hard and diminish the effect of the texture. But there are times when you may want to do this. The needable eraser with a point rod on the end of it can be used to delicately draw tone away from the surface layer. But if you use it more vigorously, it can deform down into the indentations and remove tone from the lower layer as well. I think that you can see that by constantly switching between the different tools and making what are sometimes very minor alterations, that the picture slowly does start to come to life. The front of the neck is in strong shadow. This is also a part that we can subtly tie into the background before any texture is added. This area needs to be darkened first using 2.4 B pencil. The blender is used to spread the tone as well as creating shape. We also want to make sure to remove any appearance of grain before any texture is added to this part. Again, you want to apply a layers of tone until you achieve the desired level of darkness. With this done, it's time to again study the reference in this area. The strands on the left hand side really are quite coarse and random, but slowly become more uniform as you move to the right. You can see here I'm using a short stroke and also varying the direction, but as I work to the right, the stroke becomes longer and more consistent. This is the same when it comes to applying the pencil, as it is a combination of the indentation and the way that the pencil is applied over the top, that makes the effect work. Now I'm starting with a two B, but remember, any similar grade will work just as well. Then what I'll do is switch to the four to darken some parts further. This is a lot of work. Again, I know I've said this before, but you really do have to take the time to get this right. You can see that as I work to the right, the strands become more uniform and have a noticeable direction to them, but they're still quite tangled at this point. We still need to make sure to cross the strokes over if you want to create a more subtle looking texture. Then first of all, just brush a little bit of tone onto the paper with the blending stump, Add some texture, apply the pencil back over the top, and then adjust the look by lightly using the needable eraser texture will constantly vary over the entire subject. For example, here I'm using a much longer, less tangled stroke. You might also be wondering, why am I adding textures to the very darkest parts? Well, the simple answer is that by adding texture, this prevents them from looking flat. If you find that the texture looks too harsh between the darker and lighter areas, then just use the blending stump over the edge and this will create a smoother looking transition. The texture on the top of the head differs. Again, this is much neater and requires a more curved, less tangled stroke. When applying texture, you want to be careful not to work over the original outline because you will end up indenting this down into the paper. Again, make sure to work in small areas and apply the two B and four B pencil back over the top using the same stroke. For this picture, I want to create a subtle transition between the neck and the dark background. I'm going to apply a little bit more four B pencil first before softening the edge with the blending stump texture can then be added back over the top, indenting the dark tone into the paper. Don't be surprised that as you work on one area, this may affect how the part next to it looks. You may find yourself needing to go in and make slight alterations and adjustments. As you can see, I'm doing here, I find this is particularly noticeable after darker tones are being applied. At this point, we're ready to bring the subject and background together. The first thing that you want to do is to use the blending stump in a tight, circular motion to brush tone down into the grain of the paper. Just as we did when working around the beak. Remember you can always apply more layers if you want to darken the tone further. Once you're happy with how this is looking, you can then switch to using the nine B pencil. Again, you want to use this in a tight circular motion and take this up close to the neck, leaving a very slight gap texture can now be added. For this part, I just want to bring it out very slightly into the background in the finished picture. These only want to appear very subtle. The two areas can now be blended together using the two B pencil. What you want to do is to work across the edge of the background and run this into the texture. The two B will pick up the nine and will spread it and will create a nice smooth transition. I find that this is much better than just trying to use the nine on its own. As you do tend to get a much smoother result for lighter areas. First, remove a small amount of the outline using the eraser. Then apply the texture. Use the blending stump to create a base tone for the background, but this time carry it slightly over the edge of the texture as this will prevent it from looking too harsh. Apply nine pencil and then use the two B to carry this up to the texture. I'm just going to make some very minor adjustments to the tone with the needable eraser, then tidy the edge with the two B pencil. When you get to this point, it's a good idea to stand back and take a good long look at what you've done so far. You can then make a decision if you want to make any alterations or changes. Now for me, I want to add a little bit more nine. That's what I'm going to do now. By adding this to the darkest parts, this just helps to give the texture a little bit more definition. If needed, this can be blended out using the two B pencil. Again, this is incredibly subtle and it's only something that you can truly appreciate when you're stood in front of the picture. That's the key focal area done. It's surprising how many different variations of texture there are within this. The key points to remember study the different patterns that you can see within the reference practice these on a piece of scrap paper. First, always remember to only work in very small areas at a time. In the next lesson, we can now start to concentrate on the softer looking textures. 10. Variations of Texture & Markings: In this lesson, we want to work on our softer looking textures. But before we can do this, we need to add some more shading. It's back to the blending stump. As usual, study the reference before applying tone to the picture. And make sure to do this in the direction of any texture. You want to avoid just shading over an area, even when you're going to add detail back over the top. This creates a more random looking appearance and gives you a much more realistic looking base to build on. Continue this as you work down over the body. Remember, if you want to darken this further, you can simply apply more layers. The blending stump I'm using is quite saturated, a graphite. But if you're using a newer one, then you may just need to add a bit more to this. As we did in the previous lesson with some areas such as the wing, we're looking to create a nice depth of tone and remove the appearance of grain. This way, as the picture develops, we'll be able to blend this seamlessly into the background. Remember, this is a very non aggressive tool to use to build up the shape of a picture. If you do need to make any alterations or changes, you can simply do this with the needable eraser. With more shape now established, we can go back to adding texture. It's a good idea to now work more generally over the rest of the head. As some of these areas can tend to get a little bit more repetitive, remember to concentrate on the texture that you want to create, length direction, as well as if the texture is tangled or needs to be more uniform. I'm going to start by working on the area surrounding the top of the eye. Some of this is still a little bit tangled, but as they work away from this, the stroke will progressively get smoother and more uniform. Two B and four B Pencil can then be applied as usual if an area looks too harsh, remember, you can always use the blending stump to just soften its appearance equally. You can always adjust the tone lightly with a needable eraser. Textures will vary over the entire picture by working in different areas at a time. Find that this helps to prevent repetition. With most subjects, you will have markings that you'll have to put in, for example, on this picture. A lot of these are around the head, just around this area. To do this, I'm going to use a piece of scrap paper and a two B pencil to help to position the markings. I first want to lightly sketch in a couple of guidelines. The scrap paper can be lined up on the reference, and then the points that we want to transfer can be marked also as well. For example, here I'm using the top of the eye and the top of the head as reference points. These can then be lined up on the same place on the drawing and then the marks transferred. Once a few points have been transferred, some guidelines can be lightly sketched in bear in mind that some of these will have to be removed later. These can also be tidied up, if necessary, by just using the needable eraser. You don't want to do too much at a time with this, as it can get quite confusing, just concentrate on small areas at a time with these guidelines. Now, in some of the individual markings can now be applied. The first one I want to look at is this one. As you can see, it's in line with this area here. It's quite a simple one to start with, Using the line as a guide. I just sketch this in using the two B pencil. This is the next part to put in. This is at the very start of the guide line, then this one just here being roughly towards the back. This again, is quite a simple way to mark out what is quite a random pattern. But alternatively, you could just free hand these in. This is just a way to help gauge the position of the markings. Remember, this will vary from one individual to another. Once you're happy with the positioning of the markings, it's then time to add some detail. To do this, I'm going to use a four H pencil, but this time it's sharp. The reason for this is that I not only want to manipulate the tone that's been applied, but I also want to indent this into the surface. For any of the finer darker markings, just simply use the four H and draw through the tone that's already been applied to the surface. Because the four H is a graphite pencil, it will pick the tone up and carry it, as well as indenting it into the surface. The needable eraser can be lightly brushed over the surface to reveal the finer, darker lines that have been indented. The simple fact is, soft pencils won't hold a point. Whereas harder ones will. But because you can manipulate the tone with the harder pencils, this is a great way to create finer detail. The data, on the other hand, will slide over graphite. This can be used to indent texture into areas where you don't want to manipulate the tone. Then to create a very subtle texture, you can, again, just lightly brush the tube over the top. Remember you can always adjust to the look of this with the needable eraser. As you work around the head, you can now start to gradually bring the background up to it. This is the same process as we did in the previous lesson. Remember to only work in small areas at a time. First, remove a small part of the outline before applying some texture to the edge. Apply some base tone with the blending stump. Apply nine pencil and then use the two B to carry this up to the subject. Then slowly continue this working round the head. You can also see that this part of the head starts to subtly blend with the background. As I've said before, this helps to tie the subject and background together. It's then back to adding texture, making sure to be conscious of density, length, and direction of stroke that's required. Now, this does get very repetitive, it's a good idea to only work on small areas at a time moving around the picture, and eventually everything will just connect up. You can also combine this with bringing the background up to the subject, as well as slowly adding more of the markings. Also, remember to carry the background into the subject in some areas as this helps to create more cohesion between subject and background. When you get a picture to this stage, you once again want to stand back from it and take a good long look. Making any decision on changes or alterations that need to be made. Now for me, for this picture, I personally feel that this area here lacks a little bit of contrast. That's what I'm going to do now. This involves working over a much larger area, darkening some parts whilst lightning others. This will make the picture look more dramatic and you'll probably find that you have to do this to other areas as well as the picture develops. Moving down into the body, more shape and tone can be applied and refined using the blending stump for darker parts or areas are stronger shadow 2.4 B pencil can be lightly applied to the surface and then blended out to create a smoother gradient. It doesn't matter if you're trying to replicate the look of say, fur or feathers, But as you work over a picture, these textures will tend to vary from one area to the other. This is really apparent on the picture of the falcon as the texture on the head is really quite coarse. But as you move down through the body, this becomes much smoother and more subtle. There are some quite dramatic direction changes as the texture appears to become smoother. Then also the stroke needs to match becoming more uniform. And even you can still have texture and detail in areas of subtlety. The trick is to just make it less visible for darker areas. Use the pencils to apply tone and then use the blending stump to brush this down into the texture, as well as smoothing the tone out. You then just have to repeat this until you achieve the desired level of darkness and subtlety. Less tone is applied to lighter areas, with the eraser being used to soften and lighten the appearance. Now this is a lot of work. I would suggest having a lot of breaks when doing this to avoid any complacency. It's also worth remembering that all of this work goes a long way in helping give the picture that three D quality that we've been aiming for. That's a large part of the picture done. The key points, remember this time. Use guidelines to help to position markings. And make sure to pay close attention to the different variations of texture. In the next lesson, we can now start to work on the wings, finish off the background, and tie the whole picture together. 11. Subtlety, Contrast & Finishing Touches: In this lesson, we want to work on the wings as well as really bring that background tone into the lower part of the picture. The first thing that we need to do to start with is to add in our darkest tones. We've already applied some base tone with a blending stump in a previous lesson. Now we can start to darken this further using the two B pencil. This is again used blunt. I also want to use this to strengthen the outline around the wing and then use blending stump and nine pencil for the background. The two pencil can then be used to blend this into the edge of the wing to prevent the contrast from looking too harsh. Once you're happy with how the wing is looking, you can then soften and smooth out the appearance of the two B with the blending stump. Remember you don't have to press hard when doing this. Just lightly brush it over the surface. And this will not only smooth out the tone, but also create a slightly blurry appearance. Areas like this don't want to detract from our main focal area. This is why it suggests mainly concentrating on adding in these darker tones first. Now, we will still need to add texture, but this time it needs to be incredibly subtle. We'll do that a little bit later. Four B can be used to strengthen the tone further. At this point you still don't really want to worry about adding too much detail. The blending stump is used this time to just soften the edges of the four B, as you don't actually want to diminish the main part of the tone itself. Once you've got this much done, you can then work between the 4.2 B pencils, blender and eraser until you achieve the look that you want. It's also a good idea to constantly refer back to the reference and make tiny corrections at a time. At this point, I'd advise working on the other wing as well before adding any detail. This is exactly the same process as we did with the other wing. Again, starting with the two B pencil. Still apply the pencil with direction and purpose even in very dark areas as this still helps to create subtle shape. This may seem strange, but little things like this do make a difference. Use the blender to soften and smooth the tone. Apply four to darken and then just soften some of the edges with the blender. Clean up the edge of the background and then refine the wing with the pencils blender and eraser with a good base. Now established, we're ready to add some of that subtle detail. For areas like this, you want to use a short, smooth, uniform stroke. You also want to use less pressure so as to create a minimal indentation into the surface. I suggest trying this on a piece of scrap paper first before adding texture to these areas. If you're working on the same picture that I am, I suggest occasionally looking at the unprocessed image. The reason for this is that you can see so much more detail in the very darkest areas, particularly the direction that the texture takes. This is very apparent on the right hand side of the falcon, which in this composition is in very strong shadow. As with the other side, less pressure is required to create a more subtle looking texture. Now you may be wondering why even bother to put texture in the very darkest areas at all, as it's going to be very difficult to see. The answer is exactly that it is difficult to see, but it can still be seen when somebody is very close to the picture as we work across the wing. We also want to make the texture more sporadic, as well as reduce the amount of pressure that we're using. This will help to create a more smoother, gradual transition between subject and background to get the best results. When doing this, I find it's a good idea to work randomly over a large area. This creates a patchy texture which will diminish towards the edge of the picture, allowing background and subject to fully merge together. More texture is added to the lower part of the other wing and this will eventually continue right up to the border two. B pencil is likely applied to the very lightest parts of the wings, soften with the blending stump. Then it can be highlighted with the needable eraser. This will reveal that very subtle texture. The pitcher is nearly finished. The next thing we need to do is to bring the picture up to the border. But before we can do that, we first need to mask it off. Remember to use a low tack masking tape when doing this. It wants to be attached for the minimal amount of time possible. Make sure to take time when lining this up and only press down lightly along the edge of the border, as this will make it much easier to remove a little bit later. Use the 2.4 B pencils to build a depth of tone. Again, this wants to be done in layers, smoothing each one with the blending stump. Also, make sure to be careful when working over the edge of the tape as you don't want to accidentally lift it before adding any nine B, this lower area just needs a little bit more texture. Again, be careful working up to the edge of the tape. Remember this texture only wants to be very subtle. Nine can now be applied over the top to just darken this a little bit further. Remember, if you do find any harsh edges, you can always use the two B as a blender to just smooth these out. Once the border is established, you may find that you want to make some minor tonal adjustments as I'm doing here. Once that's done, it's time to remove the tape. Simply fold it over against itself and then just lightly pull, making sure to do this very slowly and carefully so as not to damage the surface. With the tape removed, we've got a nice clean, sharp border. It's now time to deal with this last area just here. Because this is an area in strong shadow, we first need to apply a very dark base tone. This is done using the blending stump. If you do need to darken it any further, you can just lightly apply a layer of two B pencil and then use the blender back over the top to even out the tone. The markings can be positioned free hand quite easily or alternatively, you can use a piece of scrap paper and a two B pencil as we did in a previous lesson 2.4 B pencil can then be used to block in the darker markings, with the blending stop being used to soften the edges and create a slightly blurry appearance. Subtle texture added using a light pressure nine B for the darkest tone. Then again, the edges can be blended out with the two B. To finish, the overall look of the area can be adjusted and refined using the pencils, blender and eraser to achieve the desired appearance. When you're happy with the result, the last thing to do is to sign your work. Stand back and admire it. With all that work done, the picture is now finished. The key points, remember this time, use subtlety in less prominent areas so as not to detract from the main focal area. Still use the pencils with direction and purpose, even in areas of strong shadow. Of course, the most important thing is to just simply take your time when doing any of this. In the next lesson, I'll give you a couple of bonus tips as well as my final thoughts. 12. Bonus Tips and Conclusion: I do have a couple of extra bonus tips when it comes to working on pictures like these. The first of these may seem strange, but it's to work from a colored reference image. The reason for this is because personally I feel I can see more detail in a color compared to a black and white image. Also, two colors are very noticeably different. Yet when converted to black and white, they can appear to be very similar in tone. The next is when you get to the point where you think that the picture is finished. I then suggest putting it out of sight for a couple of days, and don't even be tempted to look at it. You can then look at it with a completely fresh set of eyes and then make any alterations or changes that you need to. Generally speaking, these are usually pretty minimal, if at all. Working on pictures like this can be a very long methodical process. But if maximum detail is what you want, then it's well worth it. Don't forget, you can always upload your work to the projects gallery at any time, and that would be really nice to see. Remember, I'm always glad to offer any advice. In conclusion, I really do hope that you found the class useful and informative. And I've learned a lot about what goes into creating a picture like this. And of course, the more you practice, the more natural these techniques will become. Thank you for watching, and I very much look forward to seeing you in another class.