For the first couple of exercises I used sheets cut from lining paper. It yellows like crazy, and is a bit of a pain to cut to size and make sure it stays flat, but is incredibly cheap to use for practising.

Messy fingers - image 1 - student project

Messy fingers - image 2 - student project

For the next exercise I used coarse paper in a sketchbook, card (a document wallet I was happy to cut up), lining paper again and textured paper described as a mixed media pad.

And of course, by tortillon I mean blending stick, but I'd written it before reaching that part of the video :-) I was surprised by the range of effects it was possible to get just by smudging with different items.

Messy fingers - image 3 - student project

For the dusting of powder I smuggled a pestle and mortar into my art space with a degree of certainty that it wasn't going to be missed. I cut the pocket out of a pair of trousers that had shrunk in the wash but I had been hoarding in case of... Apparently in case of needing coarse woven fabric for charcoal projects! I thought it was a fail to start with then by chance realised it was my technique letting me down. I had been rubbing the little ball against the paper with little effect, but lightly tapping it on the paper was much more effective. You probably said to do this in the video and I just wasn't listening!

Messy fingers - image 4 - student project

Messy fingers - image 5 - student project

Pumpkin:

Fully intended to take progress photos, but got swept up in the process.

Most mysteriously I have found a strange face emerging from my pumpkin - the sort of thing I would love to achieve deliberately and would probably completely fail at :D

Messy fingers - image 6 - student project

I made more effort to remember the progress photos from here on in.

Skull version 1:

Messy fingers - image 7 - student project Messy fingers - image 8 - student project Messy fingers - image 9 - student project

Skull version 2:

Messy fingers - image 10 - student project Messy fingers - image 11 - student project

Then I had to wait until the following weekend, and just threw myself back into it, forgetting many of the steps such as the warm up and the tools like the kneaded eraser.

I did remember to take frequent photos, for which I am very grateful as I put thumbprints or other smudges in the finished images when handling them in order to spray fixative (was trying to get them outside for better ventilation and was having a clumsy day).

I tried the fabric first because it's so different from anything I would normally draw. I immediately got drawn in to the detail and trying to recreate every fold. The overall process was a balancing act between the two parts of my brain saying "focus" and "let go" at each other.

Messy fingers - image 12 - student project Messy fingers - image 13 - student project Messy fingers - image 14 - student project Messy fingers - image 15 - student project

Landscape:

Messy fingers - image 16 - student project

Messy fingers - image 17 - student project

Messy fingers - image 18 - student project

Lost more of the fogginess than I had realised in the final version. I should probably have done another round of smudging and defining. The messy lines on the top left are from heavy-handed application of my powder smudger.

Architecture:

Again, not something I would normally draw - the lines and perspective and detail usually too intimidating - but I thought it was a good chance to focus on the values and see how those blocks could build up into an accurate composition.

My camera was throwing a shadow that I only addressed in the final photo (that's not very careful charcoalling!).

Messy fingers - image 19 - student project Messy fingers - image 20 - student project Messy fingers - image 21 - student project

Anatomy:

This is probably the image I was most likely to have tried if I had just gone with one. I'm glad I warmed up with the others first, I think it's come out better as a result. Also, yet again I'm noticing the effect of taking a photograph, things like the veins look so much more 3D on the photo than on the page!

Messy fingers - image 22 - student project Messy fingers - image 23 - student project Messy fingers - image 24 - student project Messy fingers - image 25 - student project Messy fingers - image 26 - student project Messy fingers - image 27 - student project

Further experimentation

I bought some smoother paper, including a tiny little sample pack (c.A7) of Yupo Heavy, which is very slippery and I couldn't build up the darkest of darks, but it worked well for the misty, smokiness of the hand.

I wish I'd taken progress shots though as I also experimented with a new fixative, because the smell of the old one was awful. I did the spraying outside, but even the smell of the sheet drying was too much for the limited ventilation in my room. The product I tried is SpectraFix, Degas Fixative. Unfortunately it sprays larger droplets and seems quite watery. Little blobs sat on top of the very non-absorbent Yupo and made my picture look like it has been rained on.

I haven't yet sprayed anything on the hand.

I tried a bit more of the subtractive technique on each of them.

Messy fingers - image 28 - student project

I tried a larger piece on some hot pressed paper, Botanical Ultra Smooth, 50% cotton. I also tried the fixative again, using it part way through the drawing, which resulted in a textured effect because the droplets just sit and don't settle into the paper. [So far I've tried spraying down on a horizontal surface, spraying forward so the droplets land on a horizontal or a vertical surface and spraying upwards so they land on the page as they descend and I'm still finding the droplets too large and lumpy! But according to the label it dries to an invisible matte finish so I'll experiment for a while longer.]

I also added in some charcoal pencil for a harder finish.

This was a real challenge as there was so much architectural detail pulling my attention and I reworked the right side of the arch so many times when I think what I should have done was pull the pillar in a bit closer to narrow the entrance.

Messy fingers - image 29 - student project

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