Pencil drawing

This summer, I took pencil drawing lessons for a few times, for an improvement of my previous skills. Below are works that I drew copied from books, for learning the construction techniques.

However, the best way is always to try to depict the original objects on one's own instead of copying, even without the guidance of a teacher, by observing and translating visual language, one can capture the nature of the objects gradually.

Works and comments:



I really like this set of still life, especially it's classical feeling. There are various kinds of textures in it, so I tried to use different ways of shading to create different feelings. It was important to stress the hard parts and soften the weak parts to generate the correct rhythm of this picture.



I'm quite satisfied with this piece of work overall. I made it in a short time, around 2 and a half hours only. The whole feeling is really clear and silent, peaceful. Maybe because it's the same tone of voice of my own characteristic, so it's easier for me to reach this. The lines were simple, some unique points were perfectly stressed.



For this drawing, I used line as the only element to draw the whole image, so it appeared to be quite gruff and boring. Various elements can make the picture more vivid.



This drawing is the one I experimented with using tortilon to help shading the midtone at the beginning of shading and also can be used to help shading the dark tone and create a soft feeling.



I did this not very accurate in proportion, and I didn't capture the original feeling of the boy, which is pretentious and stubborn.

Summarizing the basic steps when creating portrait pencil drawings:

1.Establishing the basic features

Most artists make the greatest number of changes at the start of a drawing. Therefore it is important to draw lightly at first, as lightly drawn lines are easier to erase.
Begin a portrait with the eyes as they are the main focal point. Take care where to choose to position them on the page as this will affect the overall balance of the portrait.
The size and position of the other features are directly related to the scale and placement of the eyes.

2.Building the outline of the portrait

The next step is discover the size of the head by establishing the distances between the eyes and the top of the head and the eyes and the chin.
The main features are then framed by the outline of the face and hair, while the neck and shoulders form an angular support for the head.
At this stage, the drawing is no more than a set of carefully measured features that establish the final proportions of the portrait.

3.Building detail in line