Pencil Drawing Fundamentals - the Drawing Phases

In this article we will discuss the different phases you go through when drawing a scene. There usually is a preparatory, line drawing, shading, blending, and detail phase.

* Preparation - There are two possibilities: (1) You work from a photograph or (2) You work from life. When you work from a photograph make sure it has a high enough resolution. Otherwise you set yourself up for failure.

To practice drawing from a photograph, you may want to use the so-called grid-method. To use the grid-method you proceed as follows:

- First, you can scan the photograph into your computer.
 
- Then, you can use a graphics program to adjust the brightness, the contrast, and the size. I usually make the size equal to that of my drawing paper.

- Next, draw a grid onto the image. I often use a grid consisting of 1 by 1 inch squares.

- Finally, you can print the image in grayscale (piece-wise if necessary).

It should be understood that the grid-method is a crutch and should be abandoned as soon as you get more experience with drawing from life. However, in some circumstances you do not have a choice but to draw from a photograph for which the grid-method may be most useful.  

* Line Drawing - You are now ready to start the line drawing. If you use the grid-method then you first draw a grid on your drawing paper identical to the one on your reference image. Now you can draw the content of one square at a time. Here are a few guidelines:

- For now, only draw lines, i.e., do not do any shading yet.

- Draw lightly and loosely. Although concentrating on one square, you should not loose sight of the overall flow of the drawing. At this stage, accuracy is of the essence.
 
- Also draw in the contours of the shadows and other worthy details you notice on your subject.

- Draw the contours of the large forms first and do not pay attention to the details. Make some choices. What is important? What can you leave out?

In this fashion, continue working out one square after another until you have a line drawing of your entire subject.

* Shading - The purpose of shading is to give your subject three-dimensionality. When you are done with shading, your subject should look like it is anchored in space.

Values are degrees of darkness and lightness.  Try to develop a visual memory of at least five values.  To help you with this, I suggest making a five-value scale. Draw five boxes next to each other and make the first one on the left totally black while leaving the last one on the right completely white. Then, fill up the in-between ones with progressively lighter values from left to right. Practice these five values and apply them to your line drawing.

Always keep in mind the location of the light sources. In the beginning it is easier to work with only one light source. Each value you apply should make sense in relation to the location of the light source.

* Blending - Once you have laid down the different values based on a five-value scale, you can start blending the different value areas. To blend, you can use a pencil, a tortillon, a paper tissue, and even your fingers. Here are a few blending guidelines:

- A soft edge occurs in a situation where an object surface gentle curves away from the light source. Such edges change values gradually and you should blend them accordingly.

- Always blend parallel to the edges of the subject area. This adds a lot to the illusion of three-dimensionality.

- Hard edges occur where two surfaces touch or overlap. Never draw actual lines to depict such edges. Rather, create a hard edge by laying down two different values next to each other.

* Detail Phase - Now is the time to add a number of details. Details should be concentrated in the focal area, i.e., the area where you whish the viewer to concentrate. Make sure the details blend into the overall drawing and don’t look like they are pasted on.

The above guidelines should give you a good start in developing your own procedure for starting and finishing a drawing.