Thread: Tell me "how" you draw.

When I draw I like to start with just a faint outline of the whole thing. I then made my lines a little darker, but still faint for details. I then spend the last hours of my life just making everything symetrical as possible.

It seems it's hard for me to make an line on one side with my right hand but I can't do the other side. It would be great if I was ambidextrous, then I probably get the other side with little problems.

Typically when drawing I get a piece of paper, and a pencil.

I apply pointy end of pencil to papaer and go from there.

It depends on what I am drawing. I draw differently if I am drawing from from live subject matter, source material like photographs, or just doodling.

Which kind of drawing do you mean?

Lets take a classic charcoal drawing from a live subject like a still life. First, I will look at the subject, imagine a frame around it the same dimensions as my paper. I will use this to decide on a composition and layout for the page. I will then sketch out a few marks with charcoal to give me reference points I can work from. I will maybe draw in a few major lines, or a prominent shape. I try to make sure I have some lines that run into the edges of the paper. I then sketch in all the major lines and shapes, working the whole page at once, and not getting too focused on any one spot. If the composition looks alright, I will proceed with drawing .

I will look at the subject, and let my eyes unfocus, so it looks blurry. This helps me figure out the major tones, so I can lay down some charcoal on the page. I work the whole page in black and white high contrast first. I then work in to the mid values. Again, I work the whole page, jumping around to all areas to keep everything balanced.

I always develop the drawing in the same order. First, I try to get the forms represented. Then, I will go over the forms and darken/ lighten according to how the light falls. Once the shapes and shadows are represented as smooth and plastic looking, I will come in and add texture to the materials. I will end by adding minor shadows and hilights.

I lay down the dark areas by scribbling with a soft willow charcoal, leaving the dust and crumbs piled up. I can then smear the crumbs around with my finger to make them darker, or push them out the edges to get gradations in value. If it is too dark, I use a kneaded eraser to lift out some charcoal. I use fat and thin blending sticks to work the details. I cut an eraser into small pieces to give me sharp edges on my hilights. If I need a broad even tone over a large area, I use a loaded chamois to paint it on. This keeps it from streaking or scratching the paper.

I rarely use a charcoal pencil, but sometimes I need it to get fine detail on something, or to really push an area to super dark.

Spray it. Photograph it. Frame it. Sell it!