Part 1 | Drawing Realism Fundamentals: Daily Exercises to Improve Your Portraits

1. Introduction: Hi, my name is Shane, a professional portrait artist based in the UK. I run my own Commission based art business where I help clients recreate heartwarming moments by drawing photo realistic portraiture of their loved ones. Whether you're interested in photo realism or hyper realism, knowing how to utilize a full range of values is foundational to achieving both. It's impossible to achieve this by using graphite pencils alone, so we need to incorporate different types of pencils to give us a full spectrum of value. This style of drawing, and I've spent many years honing my craft, dedicating almost every day to researching, learning, and practicing the skills necessary to produce such quality in my drawings. It can be quite a daunting prospect when starting out, even if you have a little more experience and just want to up your game, try to figure out which techniques to use or which materials to buy can be a frustrating process. I wanted to develop a series of classes whereby at completion of that series, students will have nurtured the skills necessary to produce stunning photo realistic portraiture. I'll guide you through 26 small, manageable, fun drawing studies that will take you from novice to advanced in one series. You'll learn a specific learning process that uses graphite, carbon, and charcoal pencils together to showcase a full range of beautifully rich, saturated tones with exceptional results. Separated dis class into a series of eight mini episodes, each focusing on different elements within a portrait. This particular episode will focus on some basic techniques required for realism. We'll be making our very own value scale chart, creating solid tones and super smooth gradations, learning how to fix mistakes and keep layers smooth and so much more. Please feel free to visit my home page where you'll find all eight episodes within the series to be added over the coming months. Students will learn how to observe and recreate details that help achieve realism and authenticity, a skill set that actually translates beyond portrait and pencil drawing as its relevant practice for lots of visual arts. Beginner to advanced students welcomed. I want to assure the very best of luck, so grab those pencils and let's get corrected. 2. Class Orientation: Hey, guys, thank you so much for rolling in the class. It's lovely to see you here. This series as a whole, comprises many small drawing studies. I recommend working through the series from Episode one, as each individual drawing study builds on the last and has been organized in such a way so as to further your skill set as you progress, either by introducing new tools or techniques, increasing time and so improving patients or honing newly learned skills. Completing small studies will not only help keep your attention focused, but will also help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, tired, and frustrated. Some studies will focus mainly on lighter graphite tones, some from the darker tonal range. You'll get a chance to produce super smooth skin tones, different vocal effects, some relatively easy skin and hair detail, and so much more. So this particular episode is the first in a series consisting of eight class episodes. Here, you'll learn about materials and how to use them, and I'll show you how to make your own value scale chart. You'll learn how to create solid single value tones, along with super smooth gradated tones. These are important for things like backgrounds and skin blends. I'll show you how to fix mistakes and keep layers smooth, and you'll get an opportunity to practice pencil We'll then get a chance to use all your newly learned skills to draw hyper realistic water drops. Using a full set of values is key to creating photo realism. But if you place a deep black charcoal directly on top of graphite, the contrast will look too stark. So I'll show you how to lay a different pencil compositions to maintain a consistency in tone and keep all values in harmony with one another. I've uploaded grided printable sheets in resources below this video, along with reference photos, materials list, and schedule. You can mark out the border shapes and use a grid method for outlining or free hand if you prefer. Get the most out of this realism class, I recommend that you one, mentally prepare yourself to slow down before each lesson and take your time with every project. Two, take a photo of each finished study as you progress, place it alongside the reference photo using an app like a layout or on your desktop and make any necessary adjustments. This is such an important part of the process when learning and will give you a greater understanding of any difficulties you may be facing. And three, Try to increase the time spent adjusting and perfecting your work at the end of each study. Our first project will be to make a very own value scale chart. I always advise taking the time to make your own using the medium you're working with. It will be an invaluable piece of kit to have by your side, especially while building familiarity with using a full value range. The basic materials you'll need to get started will be arches paper, Stadler graphite only pencil set, Stadler graphite carbon mixed pencil set, one contiapary charcoal pencil, a few cheap brushes, and some erasers. We'll cover more about materials in the upcoming lesson. Before we move on to the next lesson, I'd like to give you a bit of encouragement. There are four years between these two portraits. My journey was self taught, so it took me a very long time to figure everything out. Completing all the lessons within this class will speed up your learning process immensely. And if you create a daily drawing habit, you'll be killing it in no time at all. So have fun, and I'll see you in the upcoming lesson. 3. Materials: So for this lesson, I want to show you all the different materials that I use to create photo realistic portraiture. I'll also be providing a few tips and demonstrations along the way on how I use certain tools to get the most out of them. We'll be covering things like which papers, best for realism. Why we need different pencil compositions to create a four range of values, blending tools, different types of brushes, different types of erasers, and. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a better understanding of what is needed and why. Okay. Let's get into it. I think the most important consideration when choosing paper for realism is the texture or lack of it. I always look for super smooth paper. This really helps with all those tiny little details like the corners of the eyes, et cetera. Generally, I use two papers when I draw. They're both fairly similar in weight and smoothness and are both fantastic papers to use. The first paper is the Strathmore Bristol Smooth, a 300 series paper. At 100 pound weight is a good weight paper for professional use and has a wonderfully smooth surface. Be careful not to purchase a vellum surface, as they look identical, vellum has a medium texture. Second, and the one that I'll be using for this class is that arches hot press watercolor paper. Hot Press by the way is a term used for smooth surface in the watercolor world. It blends graphite unbelievably easy, which does help with the smoothness of value transitions. It's a little more hard wearing than the Strathmore, therefore, a little more forgiving, and handles brushwork extremely well. Beginner artists will find the workability of this paper a great advantage. One thing to mention, be sure to use low tech tape if making a border around your portrait before drawing begins. Otherwise, it can rip your paper or leave residue, which is the bugger to remove. Okay, so to pencils, I use three types of pencils when I draw with graphite. They all perform slightly differently on paper, and are essential for me to achieve a full range of values. They are the Stadler Ms lumograph, blue graphite only pencil range. I use four H to five B from this set. I bought the two H to eight B set with an additional four H add on. Then there's a umgraph black graphite and carbon mixed pencil range. I use a four range of six pencils from this set, HB to eight B. You can't really lay down dark charcoal next to graphites as the contrast will look too stark. So this set of pencils are ideal to bridge that gap. And the contia peri peri three B charcoal pencil. It's quite difficult to find a charcoal pencil that you can use on top of graphite, but the conti works wonderfully well. Something to note about the Stadlers, the black range of graphite carbon mixed pencils behave slightly differently on paper than the graphite only ones. They do not blend and smooth out as easily as the graphite only, so we need to make sure that we use unbelievably light pressure, especially with the darker values from this set. Sometimes it feels like it's just the weight of a pencil alone touching the paper. Also not forgiven asigrap our own pencils and do not lift as well, so we need to bear this in mind with regard to pressure in case of mistakes. Onto pencil sharpeners, I use two types of pencil sharpeners, the JackR brass double whole wedge shape sharpener for the stdlars, and the contia peri wooden sharpener for the conti. The conti charcoal pencil is slightly thicker than others, so this sharpener is ideal. I always have three sets of brushes on hand when drawing. A soft bristle, medium bristle, and a stiff bristle. I prefer getting them in sets as all the different sizes do come in handy for different parts of the portrait. I have a soft makeup brush set by a Bestop. They're just a generic brand bought cheaply from Amazon. I have the master touch reflex filbert brush set. They're a medium stiffness brush, and the drogan short filbert brush set, which is a stiff brush set. I also use the following as I find it really good for blending. I use this brush extensively. It's a generic brand called Ig Show. If you can't find this one, then a similar, soft, short shaded iron makeup brush will do. None of these brushes are expensive, and they don't really need to be brand names. The main thing is that you have varying degrees of stiffness as they all play their part. We have some additional blending equipment here. You can grab a box of soft tissue or lou roll. I normally fold this to a point and use circular motions when blending. If you go back and forth in a straight line, you'll probably end up making darker patches at every change of direction. Cotton pads do a great job. Try to also use in circular motion whenever you can. We have two types of cotton buds here, rounded and pointed. Pointed ones can be good to have laying around for detailing and blending tiny areas. And finally, dirent blending stumps are great to use as they are a little softer than most. Some of the generic stumps can be too hard, and I find that they do not blend quite as well. Whatever you decide to get at the very least, we'll be needing soft tissue, rounded cotton buds, and the durance stumps. Okay, so let's take a look at some erasers and how best to use them. I use several different erasers when drawing. All have a part to play and are needed for different jobs during the process. The needable putty eraser by Faber Castle. You may not realize it yet, but this simple thing will become your best friend. I'm constantly using this to help create those super smooth skin blends. Sometimes you get unintentional dark marks caused by graphite build up, I'll use this eraser to make a point and gently dab the area to lift up the graphite, and then re blend to create a smooth finish. It can even be used to create different effects or textures like a mottled background, for example. Mono zero eraser is a pencil eraser with replaceable two millimeter rubber leads. This tool is so important for creating things like fine strands of hair, the patterns of the ris, and even skin paws. You can use a craft of if or scissors and make a diagonal cut to get a really sharp edge. But for speed, I just run it along the sandpaper block at an angle. The T battery powered eraser is another great tool for detailing. I use the sandpaper block once again to bring the tip to a fine point. This is great for paws of the skin and those tiny highlights around the eyes and the lips, et cetera. It's also the best tool to erase errors, if needed. And finally, we have the curry naw and faber castle pencil erasers. They're fairly similar, albeit the curry naw has a slightly softer rubber. Both are great for detailing and to lightly bring up a layer or two of graphite. It's good to have both on hand, as they behave slightly differently. The curry naw with the softer lead, will erase more graphite, whereby the faber castle perfection eraser is fantastic for perfecting small subtle blends, for example, creating water effects. I have an artist's sandpaper block sitting by my easel. This comes in handy for things like sharpening the monozero eraser, sharpening the Thu battery power erase, cleaning your blending stumps, and you can even make some powder from your pencils to use for detailing with your cotton buds or stumps, et cetera. I always give my finished portraits a couple of coats of Windsor and Newton fixative spray for protection. I find using a male stick a really convenient way of eradicating finger and palm smudges on your work. It just hooked over the top of your easel, if you're using one. I made this very easily using a strip of wood, a couple of screws, and a bracket, which I bent, or you can just use a sheet of paper. And a few extra items that may come in handy, but not absolutely necessary for this class. So I hope you now have a much better understanding of all the different types of materials needed to create realistic portraiture. Out of all the products we've covered, I'd say smooth paper, the correct blending tools, and the three different pencil compositions are the most important for achieving realism. So as you close at this lesson, have a think about your space and all your equipment and try to get everything ready to go for the upcoming lessons. I'll see you there. Yeah. A 4. Making a Value Scale Chart: Hey, guys, welcome back. We have a fantastic lesson for you today. You'll be using your pencils and blending tools to make your very own value scale chart. Although a relatively simple exercise to complete, this chart will become an essential part of your everyday work as a portrait artist and speed up your proficiency in determining value immensely. In time, you'll have a much quicker understanding of what value is needed at any given point. This particular lesson is important for two reasons. Firstly, will be using the same pencils as we used throughout the class, so you'll have your first taste of how they behave on paper. And secondly, you'll have a value chart with an identical value reference to your medium. You can buy a cheap one online, but it'll be much more beneficial to you if you make your own using the medium you're working with. Your eyes can sometimes play tricks on you when trying to ascertain a value, so I find it helpful to have a value scale which represents a true reflection of the medium I'm using. If you pause on the following image for a little while, you'll see exactly what I mean. Okay, so let's get cracking with a first project. I've included the image on screen now in the resources tableau video, so you can easily refer to it when completing the project. In it includes all the information you'll need to complete the charts. For example, all measurements and pencil grades along with the pencil grade layers in sequence. We'll be using pencils four H to five B from the blue graphite only Stadler range and HB to eight B from the black carbon graphite mixed Stadler range. We'll also be needing our conti three B charcoal pencil, cotton bud, and a brush. I use the Georgian short Filbert number six brush by Daler Run. So the idea with this project is to use very soft pencil strokes, then blend to a smooth, saturated finish using a blending tools. It's okay to use different directional strokes. The important things to remember are to always apply very light pressure and to get an even cover with each layer before blending. We'll be adding three to four layers of value to each box, blending each layer as we go. This will saturate the paper and create a solid tone. Okay, so I'm just marking out the lines for the chart here. Each rectangular box is 1.9 centimeters across and 3.5 centimeters down with an additional 1 centimeter at the bottom for space to write the pencil grades in. We'll be starting light to dark. As if we go dark to light, we run the risk of darker values seeping into the lighter value during blending. As I mentioned earlier, we want to use really soft pressure here to create an even layer of graphite before smoothing out. It's okay to use different directional strokes as they will all blend together nicely when using the bud. Using different directional strokes will help hit your graphite layer even. You can use slightly more pressure on the second and third layers, but it's still very, very light. We use several layers of light pressure instead of one layer of hard pressure because we're trying to stimulate the effect we get when drawing, this will give us the best value match for a scale. Okay, I'm happy with this layer. It's the same value all over with no uneven dark patches, so I think it's time to blend out. I'm using a tissue here, but you'll notice in a minute that I swapped back to the cotton bud as I didn't want to run the risk of smudging darker value onto the value in the lighter boxes. Don't forget to add several layers in each box whilst we build to our desired value, smoothing out with each layer. This will help you achieve that saturated tone, which is ultimately what we're looking for, a nice, solid, saturated skin tone. Try to make sure that each new box is just ever so slightly darker than the previous box. You'll get a chance at the end to go back across them all to make sure you have all the boxes even gradated. You'll know when it's time to move on to the next box, because after a few layers, you'll start needing to apply heavier pressure, which we don't want to do. So when you can't see it getting any darker, after about three layers, and it's a solid tone, then you can move on to the next box. So remember, under all the Stadler black pencils, we lay down the five B from the Stadler blue range first. This acts as a sort of an undercoat to help keep the tonality between the two pencil sets. Otherwise, I find applying the black range straight to the paper without the five B blue underneath can look too stark compared to the graphite tonly pencils. Also, remember, use the lightest of pressure with a black set and try not to leave any visible lines before smoothing out. You'll see me smoothing out the Stadler blacks soon, using the Da ale Georgian filbert brush. It's a stiff brush, which is good for this pencil set as it gets right in amongst the black leg to blend it altogether. Tissue doesn't really do the trick as they don't blend as well as the graphite only blue pencils. You can use medium to hard pressure for this. During the process, we wouldn't always go from the five B to eight B black pencil in one go. In cases, we'll have a few more grades in between to help with smoothness and transitions. Last two boxes consist of first layer, the five B blue pencil range, second layer, the eight B from the black pencil set, and the last box, an additional layer of conti three B charcoal pencil. So I'm now going back over to make sure that I have even gradations between the lightest and darkest values. You'll notice that there's quite a big jump in value from two b to four B blue. So I want to make that as evenly gradated as the rest. Be careful not to blend light value using the brush that you've just used, and it's still got darker value on it. Wipe it off onto a tissue before blending. So, now at Sh turn. Create a value reference chart to use for this project. Once completed, use it to try and determine what sort of value you think is needed for different areas of the reference photo. For example, the forehead may have several different values. You may need a four H for the lighter side, and F or HB grade in the middle, and the shadier side may need your darkest value, the cont charcoal pencil. As I mentioned previously, the name of the game here is to make the value blocks in your chart as smooth as possible and to have even gradations between white and black. For our next lesson, we'll be learning how to transfer our outline to paper. I'll catch you there. 5. Transferring Outline to Paper: Hey, guys, welcome back. During this lesson, I'm going to show you a couple of easy ways to transfer your reference photo outline to paper. If you would like to free hand your outline, please go right ahead. Free hand practice is beyond the scope of this particular class, but I always encourage daily free hand drawing as it's a fantastic skill to master. You'll be amazed by how much you improve with a daily practice in just I'm not free hand in my outline, for example, working on a larger piece, I'll use a grid method. This is an easy way to keep proportions intact and is a fantastic method to use for extremely large pieces. I recommend downloading the drawing grid app. It's free and really easy to use. Upload your image to the app and configure a squares. You can change the color of your lines so as to make them easy to see in any reference photo. Use the amount of columns you want. I've used ten columns going left to right throughout this class. The shortest side of an A four sheet measures 210 millimeters. So dividing 210 by ten means we get ten square columns each measuring 21 millimeters. You can also change the width of your lines. I always go for the thinnest, which is one pixel. Make sure the squares button is on, so you get 21 millimeters squared boxes and not rectangles. You can even add numbers, if you like, along with diagonal lines, but I never use these. Export the gridded image, safety gallery, and voila. Job done. Measure out the same number of 20 1 millimeter squares on your paper as you have in the App. Use the squares as a guide to outline the boxes for each drawing study, and then you're ready to outline your references. Some of the study boxes in this class do not fit perfectly along the 20 1 millimeter grid lines. So be sure to include any part of the reference photo that sits just outside of any grid lines. Some may only be a few millimeters over. I've included the outline I make for every study within this series in resources, which you can find below this video. It is possible to trace your outline. However, I don't recommend this way, as it's extremely easy to make indentations to your paper. Indentations will leave white lines when covered with graphite, which you do not want. However, if you would like to trace and have access to a printer, this will be the quickest way to transfer an outline. Normal printer paper is best. The thinner, the better. First of all, we want to print out a reference photo. Make sure you set your printer to use the entire A four piece of paper with no border. A good tip to remember is that if you ever feel your image printout is too dark, and maybe you having trouble seeing important lines, then try lifting the brightness a bit on your phone before printing. Grab your five B Stadler blue pencil and completely cover the back side of the printed photo with graphite. Make sure not to leave any gaps. Then securely, attach your printout over your drawing paper. A clamp of some sort is best, like I'm using here, but if you don't have clamps, then low tech tape will do. Just be mindful that some tapes leave residue, so use a low tech tape or try to cover as little of your paper as possible. Then outline as follows. Make sure your pencil is sharp. A four H is good to use, and be very careful not to press too hard and leave an indentation in the paper below. Practice pencil pressure before attempting to trace the studies, so you get a feel for how much pressure to use without leaving indentations. Also, it's a good idea to lift your printout periodically to check you not pressing too hard. Keeping a pencil at an angle will help with this. So to recap, if using the grid method, use a light grade pencil like a four H blue, and with light pressure, mark out the 20 1 millimeter squares on your A four sheet of paper, draw the study boxes, then outline your study. If tracing, remember, to set your printer to use a whole A four paper with no border, thin photocopy paper is best. Using a four H pencil at a low angle will help alleviate indentations. Definitely practice your tracing pressure to make sure you're not pressing too hard. Bonus of using the grid method is that you're not restricted to an A four size printout. So in the future, if you work at new measurements, you can use this method to fit any size paper you choose. For now, have a think about which method you'd like to use to transfer your outline to paper, grid, free hand or trace for when we get to the drawing studies. We have some really exciting lessons coming up beforehand, lessons that are important not to skip if you want to get the best results from the studies in this series. If you take extra time, getting these fundamental practice lessons right, they'll transform your portrait game. I look forward to seeing you there. 6. Pencil Pressure Practice: Single Tones & Transitions: So we have a very important lisson for today, practicing how to create solid value using pencil pressure alone, so without blending tools or erasers. The drawing practices within this lesson will only improve your technical ability, but also your patients. Mastering how to create different values using pencil pressure alone will help you to slow your work down and take time with your. Is such an important skill to acquire that our highly recommended students take as much time as is needed until the required results are accomplished. Our blending tools are used to finalize great pencil work. Mark out the lines from the study sheets that are outloaded in resources as many times as you need until you achieve even tones, wonderfully smooth transitions, and a good feel for all your pencils and how they interact on paper. The longer you spend perfecting this practice, the better your drawings will be throughout this class. Because this practice session is focused solely on pencil pressure, I'm not free handing or gridding the outline. But instead, using a sharp tool to pin all the important points so I can outline with speed in mind. It's a great way to outline if you wanted to try this practice multiple times. However, I definitely would not recommend using this approach for any part of the upcoming drawing studies, as it will ruin your paper. Small scissors, a bradle, pin, or compass would also be good to use. If you don't have any small sharp instruments to hand, please feel free to free hand or use a grid. I've placed gridded sheets in resources. I pinpoint the 20 dots only along the outside edge of the box of nine rectangles and use a ruler to connect the lines across the page. Okay, so I'll be starting with the four H from the blue set of graphite only pencils and work my way through to the five B blue. The idea of this practice is to use unbelievably light pressure whilst creating an even solid tone. To start off, the pressure feels like it's just the way to the pencil alone touching the paper. Keep your pencil at a low angle and sharp. You'll see artists twist their pencil a quarter turn quite regularly. This is so they can prolong the sharpness before they need to sharpen again. Our goal by way of layers is to alleviate any dark lines or spots caused by graphite build up, overlapping pencil strokes, or slight changes of pressure with your pencil strokes. Try to keep your pressure consistent throughout each layer and use strokes going in all different directions. For example, one layer horizontally, one vertically, and one diagonally. Also, small circular motions are good to use if needed. Using this technique throughout multiple layers will eventually create an even tone. After several layers have been applied, we can very gently increase our pressure to match any lighter areas to darker areas. However, be mindful that the change of pressure is unbelievably light. Speed is your enemy here, so try to focus on taking your time and going over and over with layers until you get the result you want. Now for the two H blue, this is the second darkest grade I use. I use nine grades from the blue set from light to dark going four H, two H, H, F, HB, b2b, four B, and five B. The five B blue has a similar value to the HB from the black range of pencils, so it's a great value to swap pencil sets. Because the black set has graphite and carbon mixed leads, it's a perfect set to take you up to the pitch black mat charcoal pencil. Use the same technique used with the four HH blue with all other grades of pencil. The graphite spots and lines will be more apparent when using the darker grades. One other important aspect to consider this practice is to try and aim to make each consecutive box slightly darker than the one before as you use darker grades of pencil. Like in the photo of my practice at the beginning of this lesson, you can perfect this by slightly increasing the pressure for the last few layers in each box until you reach the required tone. Oh. You should begin to notice dark graphite spots appearing when using the darker grades. Keep working around them with small circular motions until the whole. O M Okay, so as we're nearing the end of the single tone boxes, it's time to outline another rectangle page as regard to be practicing transitions. Creating smooth transitions is an unbelievably important skill to master. Outline the rectangles on another sheet of paper and use the same pencils we just used to five B blue, one box for each grad pencil. Lighten the pressure as you go down the page until you fade out to the natural paper underneath. Just like last time, try to make each consecutive box slightly darker than the as you use darker grades of pencils. It's quite difficult to fade to nothing with the darker grades and will require the lightest of touches. See how you get on. Now that we've completed solid tones and smooth transitions, practice creating more transitions, but this time over the solid tones on our first sheet. Using the five B blue box, layer a few grades of pencils from the black set on top. You want to lighten your pressure evenly from top to bottom to create a smooth transition. Try whichever grades you like, but make sure the last one is the eight B black. Then you can try making transitions for the rest of the boxes. Choose two or three darker grades of pencil for each box and do your best. Okay. Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed that lesson. So to recap, the object of this lesson is to use super light pressure to create even tones and transitions, which means we need to focus on eradicating any lines, graphite spots, or uneven value. If you're not 100% happy with your first try, I encourage you to outline another sheet and try again. Trust me, if you take time perfecting this skill now, rather than doing the studies, your drawings will turn out so better. So have fun playing around with different pencil grades while creating even tones and super smooth transitions. I'll catch you in the next lesson. Yeah. 7. Pencil Pressure Practice: Cube - Straight Plane: Yeah. Welcome back people. For this lesson, we'll be needing a new pencil pressure skills to render beautiful soft transitions along flat planes and give form to a cube. Remember, to start with extremely light pressure and apply pencil strokes going in many different directions to create a solid even tone. As mentioned previously, our blending tools are used to enhance great pencil work. I've uploaded a quick reference value, guide sheet in resources, which you can print out for easy reference whilst working. This will show the final grade of pencils that I used for different areas within this study. Although you had the guide, this is a good time to start using your value scale chart to help determine the correct value from reference photo to paper. Let's get into it. Okay, so just like in the last lesson, because this is a practice lesson, I'm using the same technique to mark the important points so I can outline with the speed in mind. I wanted to show you a quick method as you may want to try this practice several times before moving on to the next lesson. I definitely would not recommend using this approach for any part of the upcoming studies as it will ruin your paper. Once you've marked all your points, draw the boxes, and reference outline, place your low tac tape around the edges of the box if you have any and begin shading. Okay, so using the same techniques as in the last lesson, I begin this piece by adding three layers of two HH blue to the background. Remember, to make strokes going in different directions to help saturate the paper and create an even tone. Don't forget to use your value scale to make sure you're on the right track when adding your first tones to the paper. Creating the correct first values will really help you gauge all other values. I also use the two HH blue to begin the lightest part of the shadow on the ground. Using exactly the same technique. You can see that the top side of the cube is slightly darkened in the background, so I'm going to use the H blue. Try to keep your corner lines as straight and as sharp as possible. We have a nice transition to replicate on the front plane of the c. I want to cover the whole side with the lightest value, which is at the bottom, so I can men a darker value on top and vary my pencil pressure to fade into the lighter tone underneath. Starting to build darker value with the H blue, keeping the edges sharp and being mindful to convey all reflections along this plane. I start to define the darker portion of the reflected shadow using the H blue. It's only a subtle change in value, but it still needs to be added. Use a tiny bit more pressure with another pass of HB blue, and you should really start to see the reflected highlights stand out. Make sure your seven B black is super sharp for the edges of this plane. So this is the darkest plane of the cube, so I'm creating an even base layer with the HB blue tone. O Now we have the base layer down. We can begin building the transitions. Keep your pencils sharp, especially with the black set. I use a B blue for the lower transition and both the seven b and eight b black for the top transition. If at any time, your layers are not looking as solid as you'd like, for example, there seems to be either lots of dark graphite spots or lighter grainy spots. Try sharpening your pencil, lifting the angle of your pencil so it's more vertical and delicately use small circular motions to either fill in around the darker spots or add value to the lighter spots to make the layer more even. I'm using the F blue here, just to strengthen, the mid tones on this plane. And using the two B blue to help saturate the transition and strengthen the subtle reflections. I'm using the floor to help gauge the largest part of this plane, which is at the bottom, so using the two blue to add a bit more darker value. Oh And now to add some finishing touches. I'll make a couple of thin lines for the shadow between the floor and cube using a four B black, and then a thin line separating the floor and wall using a B blue. I'll sharpen the cube edges with the B blue, and then some soft tweaking for the reflections on the floor and cube using four H and B blue respectively. It's important to study all the subtle changes in value for the reflections on the floor and try to include them as best you can. Oh. Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed that lesson and feel inspired to get going. To recap, when starting a different sides of your cube. Try to figure out what the lightest value is and create a base layer of that value. Then you can use very pencil pressure to fade out the darker values to your base layer as you add them. Also, pay close attention to all the subtle differences in the reflections on the floor as this will really help your cube to pop. As always, don't forget to use unbelievably light pressure to start. You can gently increase the pressure if you need to after a few layers have been added. So have fun, and I'll catch you in the upcoming lesson. Yeah. 8. Pencil pressure Practice: Sphere - Curved Plane: Yeah. Hey, guys, welcome back. In this lesson, we'll once again be practicing our pencil pressure skills to give form to a sphere. It's slightly more difficult creating transitions on a curved plane, but I'm sure you'll be able to handle it with the help of a terminator line. Once again, remember to start with delicate pressure and apply pencil strokes going in many different directions to help create a solid even tone. This is a good time to start using your value scale chart to help determine the correct value. I find it helps me immensely if I can build an area that includes a little of my darkest value as soon as I can, that being the Seed eight b black or the Quanti three B pencil. Once I have my darkest value and lightest value present, that being a natural paper itself, it's easier and quicker to determine all other intermediate values. Even if a project doesn't incorporate my darkest value, taking extra time with the value scale to make sure I hit the correct value when I start always speeds up the process of determining other values throughout the project. Okay? So let's get cracking. Okay, so I'm going to start the background with this study as a value and transition will be relatively easy to gauge. Because of this, before I apply the finishing layers to the sphere, I'll complete the background first. We're using a B blue for the first layer. Remember, using strokes going in different directions, along with small circular motions, will help create an even solid tone. Now I want to start creating a smooth transition going from right to left, starting with a four B black. I want to lighten my pressure with every grade of pencil I use as I head towards the left side. I switched to the two B black to stop transition using extremely light pressure because 'cause it's a black set of pencils. Now, deepening the value, some more using the seven B black. Again, using the two B black to strengthen the transition. Then I double check the value using my value scale and need to deepen the base background tone a little. So I use the two B blue to add an even cover. Okay, so I'm happy with the background so far as I have most of the value on the page. I may need to touch up the values a little once I have the darkest value in the sphere on the page. Adding the darkest value to the sphere will possibly make the background look a little lighter than it does now, but we'll see how we get on. Need to apply a base layer to the sphere. You can just about see the highlight on the sphere in the reference photo and on the ground underneath. So I know the lightest part of the sphere is just a shade darker than the highlights, so we'll use a light layer of four H blue. I can see the lightest tone in the table is ever so slightly darker than the lightest left side of the sphere. So I'm starting the table with a base layer of two H blue, not forgetting to leave space for the highlighted reflection just underneath the sphere. The small area will be left natural paper. I add two passes of two H, mixing up my pencil strokes to create an even cover with both layers. I'm also using soft changes in pressure as there is a very subtle transition from dark to light going right to left. I begin the sphere by lightly marking out the terminator line through the middle. This is the line that divides form light and form shadow. The line in our study is quite a bit softer than this sharp line, but marking it out will help you maintain the curved plane when creating your transitions. Then I use the two B blue to start the darker areas of the sphere and the cast shadow on the table. Make sure you study all the subtle value transitions as you darken the cart shadow. Even though I'm using strokes going in different directions to create an even tone, I'm making sure the majority of them are traveling around the curvature of the sphere, also lightening the pressure at the edges of the dark block value where the transition begins to lighten. I would normally use erasor to pick out the highlights at the end, but because this is a pencil ony practice, don't forget to shade around a small highlight on the sphere as we deepen the value. Now that I have the darkest value on the page, the eight B black, I can begin to soften the transitions using a lighter grade pencil, the five B blue. Going from dark to light, I also realize that the background needs to go a bit darker for which I also use a five B blue. I'm now using a lighter HB blue to strengthen the midtones within the transition. Same with the HB black. Okay, so from here and in, I'm mainly strengthening value and perfecting all transitions to make them as smooth as I can. If you want a great finish, you really have to dig in and take the time to perfect them. This is where careful use of pencil pressure really matters. You'll notice how smooth the transitions become just by using a delicate touch. Oh, As I lay down the final cate for the table, I vary my pencil pressure as there's a slight change in tone from the right side to the left, the lift is a little lighter. Now to create the per number, which is a name given to the softness around the edge of the cast shadow. Using very light tiny circular motions to soften the edge a table as it's slightly out of focus in the reference. Sometimes, if I want to saturate the paper a, but not make an area, I'll use a lighter grader pencil with ale more pressure. I've sharpened the blue here, also the seven B black and two B blue in a moment and raised the angle of my pencil so I can use tiny circular motions to apply value to the lighter areas as it's not as smooth as I'd like, J. So now it's your turn. To recap, mark out your terminator line as this will really help you to keep the curved plane when rendering transitions. Study the reference photo and pay close attention to all the subtle changes in value as this will be what makes your drawing look realistic. Differentiate your values using lighter grader pencils, then gradually deepen the tones with darker value as you build. Part of the drawing doesn't look as smooth as you'd hope, you can sharpen your pencil, raise the angle of your pencil, and use tiny circular motions to softly fill the lighter spots with graphite. So good luck, I'll be seeing you in the upcoming lessons where we'll be learning how to blend your awesome pencil skills into silky, smooth, saturated tones. I'll catch you there. Yeah. 9. Keeping Layers Smooth & Fixing Mistakes: Hey, guys, and welcome back. In today's lesson, we'll be covering some techniques that I use to help maintain smooth and even tones. The goal within this lesson is to create some imperfections using pencils, and or graphite powder, and use the techniques shown to bring it back to a smooth, solid, even tone. Okay, so let's get into it. Okay, to start, I'm adding a couple of layers of F grade blue pencil, blending each layer as I go. I use different directional strokes to help create an even cover. To smooth out, I fold a tissue to a point and use circular motions to blender lines together. Using circular motions helps alleviate dark graphite patches. Sometimes, if you smooth out grand backwards and falls in a straight line, it can create dark graphite spots at every change of direction. And same process again for the second layer. And now two more layers, but using the B grade blue pencil. Quite a lot of time is spent creating and trying to keep transitions looking smooth. I'll use a combination of tools including a needable as, perfection eraser, and even a tissue will pick up a layer or two of very dark value. Depending on the size of the area to be lifted, I'll either mold this eraser into a sharp point for smaller areas or round it off to pick up a larger surface area and gently dab the area to lift up any dark patches. Oh. The perfection eraser is another great tool to use. You can either sharpen a point and use a stippling action or create a flatter surface by running the lead along a sandpaper block and very gently, using small circular motions to lift up a very subtle layer. We'll be using this technique while creating the water drops in a moment. Whichever tool I use, I always re smooth after and use a pencil to lightly fill in any lighter patches. I always use a lighter grade pencil than the tone I'm working on when doing this. Just flattening the surface a little, using the sandpaper block. So using these techniques is basically how I keep all tones looking smooth and even throughout the whole drawing process. Even a strong pencil line can most often be removed. For example, you could use a sandpaper block to make a point on the battery eraser and very gently dab the offending line until it's been lifted. If you do make a big mistake, I would highly recommend that you don't throw your artwork in the bin. Instead, use it as a learning curve and try different techniques to rectify your mistake. It's the best way you'll learn. Okay, we've come to the end of the demonstration for this lesson. So now, it's your turn to put everything you've learned into practice. Make a ten by ten centimeter square, build a solid tone using multiple layers. Create a mess using a pencil or graphite powder, and then use the erasers to help bring back to an even solid tone. So have fun putting your new skills to the test, I'll be waiting for you in the next lesson. I'll catch you there. Yeah. 10. Smooth Single Tone Study: Backgrounds & Skin Blends: Hey, guys, I welcome back. So for this study, we're going to be creating a solid single tone block, ten by 10 centimeters. There'll be lots of blending practice in this lesson, which is an important skill to master for things like backgrounds and those beautiful, smooth skin blends. So your task here is to mentally prepare yourself to slow down so you don't rush through any layers. More layers are better than less and blend every single layer as you go. Try to give each layer and even cover before blending, leaving no lighter dark patchy areas. Lift any dark patches or spots gently as you go, using the needle eraser and fill in any lighter patches with another layer pencil. Okay, so let's get into it. So I'm just measuring, marking out and taping the squares here, ready for drawing. If you measure two large squares on your arches paper, you'll be good to go. My ones here are ten centimeter square. I'll be starting with the two blue laying down several layers, smoothing each layer as I go. You'll notice the first layer will always look a bit patchy after smoothing, but this will decrease with subsequent layers. This is why we use multiple layers to help saturate the paper and make the value look solid. Remember to use light pressure, and notice that I'm changing the directions of strokes here. I don't really use circular motions with a graphite only pencils as the stroke lines blend together quite easily. I'm using a cottonwoo ball here to smooth out, but tissue will create the same result. Just fold the tissue to a point and start blending in circular motions. If you use straight lines, you may get a dark patch at every change of direction. Repeating the same process for layer number two with a two H pencil. I don't know whether you can see the patches at the top and bottom to the right hand side here, but these are what I try to eradicate as I'm working, either filling the lighter areas with another coat or use the nedable eraser to gently dab the darker patches up. Sometimes I'll mold the eraser into a point or sometimes I'll round it off to lift up a wider surface area. And now for the third layer, you can already notice how much more solid the tone looks. One more layer, and we can move on to the HB blue pencil. Now using a rounded, nedable eraser just to bring everything together and finish it off. If you notice some lighter patchy spots after several layers, you can just give those lighter patches one more light layer and blend. And now, the exact same procedure with the HB and five B blue, but I only used two layers for each of these pencils. This is because we have a good tonal base already. So now it's your turn. T recap, use as many layers as it takes with each grade of pencil until you achieve a solid, even tone. No light of dark patches. And remember, to use your needable b eraser gently to lift any dark spots or patches that appear after blending. Right then, grab your pencils, have fun, and I'll be waiting for you in the upcoming lesson. Yeah. 11. Smooth Gradated Tone Study: Backgrounds & Skin Blends: Hey, guys, on welcome back. So for this lesson, we're going to be creating a gradated tone block, ten by 10 centimeters. There'll be plenty of blending practice in this lesson, which is an important skill to master for things like backgrounds and beautiful, smooth skin blends. So your task here is to give each layer and even cover before blending, leaving no light of dark patchy areas, and gently merge a new dark layer into the lighter layer below. Lift any dark patches or spots gently as you go using the Neder eraser, like in the last lesson, and pay extra attention to pencil pressure throughout. Keeping your pressure unbelievably light, especially with the black range of pencils as they do not blend as well as blue graphite only pencils. Because of this, we want to be mindful of not leaving any visible lines before blending. We can achieve this by using a combination of small, straight strokes going in all different directions and small circular strokes. This will help create an even cover. Sometimes, with the black range of pencils, it feels like it's just to wait at a pencil alone touching a paper. Okay, so now let's complete the gradated square. I'll start with a four H blue pencil here, and just like in the first square, lay down two to three passes, smoothing out each pass and making them as even as possible. Okay, now for a couple of passes of HB blue. For this layer, we want to lighten the pressure around three quarters of the way down the square. This will lighten the tone, so it blends nicely with the four H tone below. And now a couple coats of four B blue, lightening the pressure at around halfway down this time so as to blend nicely into the HB layer below. I should point out that if I was working on a larger piece of paper like an A three size, I would use more pencil grades between the four H and four B to help keep the transition from light to dark looking smooth. Over a larger surface area. Now we're ready to add the black range of pencils. Starting with a two B black. We need to be more careful with these pencils. Remember, pressure is always super light. Literally, just a weighted a pencil. I use smaller lines going in all different directions, even circular motions with the black pencils in order to alleviate a noticeable strokes because strokes from the black set will stay noticeable after blending. One or two passes with the two B, or until you happy with the evenness. Don't forget to pick up any tiny spots with the needable eraser, no matter how small. Take note of where I'm lightening the pressure to blend into the layer below. Using a stiff brush to blend the black range works wonderfully well. If you use a tissue, you may find that it lifts a layer instead of smoothing it out, especially true with the darker grades in this pencil set or the charcoal pencil. This is the Georgian short filbert brush by Dalla Raley, number six size. Using quite heavy pressure, I use the brush in a downward motion here going towards the lighter value, as this will help blend the darker value to the lighter one. I use this technique extensively when making smooth skin transitions. Light pressure here, just to finish off by pushing the graphite around to make it as smooth as possible. If at any time, I think it could be a little bit smoother, I'll lightly go over with a tissue or cotton ball. Exactly the same again for the six B black and the eight B black. Notice how ex light pencil pressure is. It's literally just to weight of a pencil. So remember, with the black range of pencils, I use quite a lot of brushwork to make the transitions as smooth as possible and to blend them into the graphite only values. I use tissue for graphite, but the brushes work wonderfully well with the Black set. This is a really good technique for achieving great skin blends. Once I'm happy with my values, I'll begin to use quite heavy pressure with the brush to push a darker value in the direction of the lighter value to make a really smooth blend. Now for the conti three B charcoal pencil. I wanted to leave a heavy line with this pencil to show you how we can soften it with a brush just by pushing the charcoal down the page. As you can see, we softened the transition quite a bit, but it's not perfect, so I'm going to grab a lighter value that eight to be black, to soften the blend more and make the transition perfect. Keeping the pressure light, even more so as you work our way down the page to fade into the lighter toned layer below. Hey, guys, and now it's your turn. To recap, remember to lighten the pressure as you work your way down the page until you fade the new layer into the lighter toned layer below. And use your brush to make the transition as smooth as possible. If any dark patches or spots appear, you know how to remove them. Right, then, grab your pencils, have fun, and I'll see you in the next class. Yeah. 12. Water Drop Study: Introducing Perfection Eraser: Yeah. Hi, guys and welcome back. We have a fun little drawing for you to complete in today's lesson. We're going to be drawing some relatively easy realistic water drops. You'll get a chance to see just how good the perfection eraser can be during the drawing process. The trick with using this eraser is to use the lightest of pressure. The lighter your pressure, the less graphite it'll pick up. This can be useful for when you have to lift very subtle tones. I'll be showing you how to draw the first three drops. Then, I'd like for you to free hand the last one and use your new skills to render a false realistic water drop. I place the photo and resources for you to copy from. Then I'd love for you to upload the drawer into your projects folder. Okay, so we want to create a base for the water drops. I'm making two passes here with a five B blue pencil, and just like before, we want to smooth out each layer. You can try using any of your brushes, if you like to get a feel for them, but Atisha will work perfectly well. Making an outline for the drops using the HB blue, the light sources coming from top right. Then create some shadows using the B blue pencil. Light source for this drawing is coming from the top right, so it's casting a shadow on the drops on the bottom left side and then strengthening the cast shadow with a five B blue pencil. Now using a flattened perfection eraser to very gently lift up graphite in circular motions to show the reflected light areas in the drop. Although the pressure is always unbelievably light when using this eraser, I reduce it even more at the edge of the highlight to try and make a smooth transition into the five B tone. Have a practice with this technique and see how light you can go with pressure to try and lift the lightest of tones. Now using a B blue pencil to deepen the mid tone values. Using a soft make up brush will smooth out the transition perfectly. Now using the two B from the black range of pencils to deepen a cast shadow even more. The makeup brush has left a tone here, which is slightly darker than I had expected, so I'm gently lightening it using the techniques previously explained. The perfection eraser is better at creating smooth blends because it has a harder lid. The softer lids that come with the Tu battery eraser and the currynaw pencil eraser. We'll pick up more graphite and therefore create a brighter highlight. I'm not actually turning the Thu eraser on here, just using the softer lid to make the highlights just a little bit brighter. Keeping your edges nice and sharp will help the drops pop off the page. O. I'm now turning on the battery eraser to make a few bright highlights in the drops. I should point out that, although you can see I'm using a drin eraser here, I replaced the lead holder with the Tu eraser holder. As a dirn only holds five millimeter lids, whereas the Tu holds a five millimeter and two millimeter lis. The diran is also slightly more powerful than the T. Having said that, Durant now do a rechargeable battery eraser with two different sized lids. Now to spend a few minutes using the same techniques just learned to tidy everything up and finish the drawing off. And lastly, just adding a few reflective highlights that are coming through the drops onto the cast shadow. So when using the perfection eraser, see how light you can keep the pressure and try to lift the lightest of tones until you hit the right tone. Remember, that sharp edges will make your drops pop and a soft make up brush will finish the transition blends off perfectly. If you accidentally go over any lines with graphite, gently dab the eraser to remove. When you finish the three drops, see if you can free handle last drop and use the techniques covered to get it looking as realistic as you can. So as we proceed along the class, I'll be adding the time it took me to complete each study at the end of every lesson, as some students may find this helpful for their progression. Probably take you longer to complete as you're learning new techniques. So please try not to focus on time, rather, focus on making each layer as best you can. Have fun, and I'll see you in the upcoming class. Yeah. 13. Understanding Value & Contrast: Hi there. I welcome back. During this lesson, I'd like to talk a little bit about the importance of value and contrast and how clever manipulation of both can have subtle, but striking effects on your portrait. Okay, so what exactly is value in relation to art? Well, value is an element of art associated with a relationship between light and dark. Essentially, how light or dark something is on a scale of white to black. Good drawing or mendering skills will use differences in value to help create an illusion of depth. Artists are able to create the illusion of light using different tonal values. Clever gradations of tone also referred to as value are used to create light and dark areas to give a three dimensional illusion of form to the subject matter being drawn. The bigger the range of values, the deeper and more realistic the drawing will look. As you can see here. So amongst other techniques, value can be carefully manipulated and used to create a focal point within a drawing, which leads us to contrast. The more tonal variance in an image, the lower the contrast, whereby higher contrast images have fewer tonal values in between strong values like black and white. That's why reference photos with dramatic lighting can look unbelievably good as drawings as the lightest areas sit side by side the darkest areas. Contrast is achieved when opposing visual elements are arranged in juxtaposition to create meaning and intensify the characteristics of the work. There are quite a few techniques of contrast that can be applied to art to make something stand out. For example, you have dark and light elements, warm and cool colors, colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel. Textures, hard and soft shapes, for example, focus and unfocused areas and detail. Even opposing subject matter can create emotion, as you can see here in this banks e me. Like value, contrast can add depth and dimension to a work of art and enhance certain areas to direct the viewer's eye. So one can use high contrast in values to emphasize parts of the drawing that you'll want to draw the eye two and low contrast in values to add dimension, foreground, and background. It doesn't matter the type of art you're creating. As long as they are dark values in harmony with light values, your portrait will most likely look aesthetically pleasing. Okay, so now you know how important a role value and contrast can play in art. And we've seen how both of these elements can be used and manipulated within a piece of art to make certain areas stand out or to direct the audience's eye. Armed with your new knowledge, try finding some art that inspires you and see whether your eyes are drawn to a particular place within that piece and see if you can figure out why that is. Yeah. 14. Conclusion: Hey, guys, you maybe it. I just wanted to give you a huge pattern of back for making it to the end of the first episode. Congratulations. Learning something new is always most difficult at the beginning. I hope you're looking forward to taking your new knowledge into the upcoming episodes and building on what you've learned so far. There are lots of things to take on board within this episode, but I think the most important aspects were learning how to keep airs smooth, how to create solid tones, and also learning how to create super smooth transition. I hope you enjoy drawing hyper realistic water drops at the end and experience just how good the perfection eraser can be. If there is one thing that I would like for you to take away from this episode, it would be that it takes multiple layers to create solid tones. This, of course, takes time. It's why learning patience in regard to realism is just as important a skill as the technique and equipment. Please feel free to try any study as many times as you like until you're happy with results. So before I wrap everything up, want to remind you that you can upload all completed studies to your class project page. Each student gets one project page per class episode, but on that page, they're able to upload all the projects from the episode along with text. There's even space for a thumbnail photo at the very top of the page where you can add a drawing from the class that you're most proud of. The thumbnail picture is what will appear on the main class page for everyone else to see. Students can press on a thumbnail picture, which will open your projects page for them to see all the wonderful drawings that you made throughout the class. If you'd like to leave a review, you can hit the Reviews tab and then press Lev a Review. Reviews are warmly welcomed and I always love to hear your thoughts on the class. If you have any questions regarding the class, you can hit the Discussions tab where you'll find a discussion that I started regarding contact me. You can hit Reply or one of these tabs and post your question, and I'll reply as soon as I can. I've also started another conversation thread on my main profile page. Just find my page, scroll down to the bottom, press your questions and discussions, thumbnail and leave your message. With that being said, I cannot wait to see you. In the next episode, we have some fantastic studies coming up. So take careful now, and I'll see you a bit later.