In order to learn how to apply basic pencil drawing techniques, you need to be patient and willing to master this type of creativity. And then, regardless of age, it is necessary to study the basic rules of working with material and get the skill of depicting the simplest things. The main principle is the sequence of execution of all stages.
At the very beginning of the process of mastering various pencil drawing techniques, it is necessary to clearly understand what materials will be used in the creative process of creating beauty. It is important to understand that structurally pencils consist of a base and a lead. The base can be wooden for a regular pencil. Or plastic for mechanical.
And slates are, including graphite. Regular pencils familiar to everyone are called "simple". They are subdivided by the softness of the graphite base into hard (marked "H") and soft (designated by the letter "B"). Full markings include an alphanumeric index. The digital part of the code contains information about the degree of this parameter. For example, "5H" indicates that the lead is very hard.
In addition, colored and watercolor pencils are used. The latter can play the role of both an independent material and an excellent addition to watercolors. In addition to pencils, charcoal, sanguine, chalk, etc. can be used as artistic materials for drawing.
What materials do you need to have for drawing with a pencil
Using a simple pencil involves a variety of techniques. Therefore, paper and other related materials for drawing should primarily focus on this factor. So, for example, to make a thin contour image, you need to use a smooth and dense sheet, high or medium hardness leads in pencils and a soft eraser, with which the drawing will be corrected when applying erroneous lines.
When drawing a volumetric image, when using shading, the transmission of light and shade will be carried out, it is necessary to use sharpened pencils. Therefore, they must be prepared not with an ordinary sharpener, but with a penknife, since in this case it is necessary to ensure the length of the protruding surface of the lead of the order of 1-1.5 cm.
And the method of shading graphite involves the use of a small piece of soft cloth, paper or cotton pad. Paper with an uneven surface is ideal as a paper base for drawing an image. In addition, you will need soft pencils and a soft eraser, for which you can even use a bread crumb.
Basic knowledge required for pencil drawing
Drawing an image on paper using a pencil can be done in the following ways:
- from nature, when the real object is located directly in front of the artist;
- from a photograph or a copy of an object using the copying method;
- by representation or memory.
When using any drawing option, you must adhere to the following sequence of work:
- you need to choose the location (vertical or horizontal) and the size of the sheet of paper;
- apply the characteristic proportions of objects in size;
- to depict large shapes of contours;
- draw smaller details of objects;
- Apply chiaroscuro and give the picture volume.
Last but not least, it is necessary to apply the darkest areas of the image, and it is recommended to leave highlights (very light fragments of the picture) white. When using shading or shading of the sheet, you need to remember the position of the hand with which the image is applied. To avoid overwriting the drawing, it is better to put a sheet under your hand. With a sheet of paper fixed on the easel for the image, you need to rely on the drawing not with the entire side of the hand, but only with your finger.
Basic contouring and volumetric techniques
This method of drawing is used both as an independent option and in the preliminary application of the general shapes of objects, which implies further elaboration of light and shade or the use of paints. The simplest and most acceptable technique for drawing with a pencil for novice artists is drawing an image exactly on cells or a grid.
In this case, copying the image you like will be carried out as follows:
- on the source itself or on a transparent film, which is covered in order to avoid damage to the original, a grid in the form of square cells is applied (the finer the grid, the easier it will subsequently be to convey the accuracy of the image);
- on the sheet of paper where the image will be applied, the exact same grid is drawn (when scaling, you should take into account the same number of squares and the degree of magnification of the original object);
- the analysis of the contours of objects and their intersection with the lines of the cells of the grid superimposed on the sample;
- the drawing itself is applied in accordance with the original image.
If the base and sample are thin enough and have good transparency, then the outline of the image is best transferred using glass and a light source located on the back of the drawing.
However, professional painting should exclude the aforementioned methods of drawing the image.
In this case, you need to mark the boundaries of the object inside the sheet along its entire perimeter (top and bottom, right and left). Then you need to look by eye or, having made the appropriate measurements, indicate the main proportions of the characteristic fragments of the composition and draw the details. In the case when the drawing is made in the form of a contour for shading, shading or working with paints, it is recommended to draw it with extremely thin lines. When doing linear work, foreground objects should be selected with a softer pencil or a line of greater width.
It is important to understand that drawing portraits is one of the most difficult ways to apply images, since human faces are among the most difficult to reproduce subjects. In this case, it is important to understand that every detail of the picture has a three-dimensional shape. Therefore, all fragments of the portrait (eyes, nose, lips, etc.) should be reproduced with their own unique shades and light and shade details.
The transfer of the volume to the image is carried out by shading and shading. The first version of the pencil technique involves the imposition of strokes in the form of straight (flat surface) or arcuate (spherical) lines. The effect of dense material is achieved with strokes, the lines of which are located fairly close to each other. For aspiring artists, shading can be a very difficult technique, so they are better off using shading.
This method of imparting volume to the image involves the imposition of tone by rubbing graphite over the sheet within the full or partial shape of the object. Despite the fact that professional artists rarely use shading, this method is especially realistic, since chiaroscuro is obtained with softer transitions.
Applications of watercolor pencils
It is the watercolor pencils that require a special attitude towards themselves, which are used with equal success in their work by both novice artists and experienced specialists. Their field of application is as follows:
- as an independent material for drawing images;
- for painting when the final image implies subsequent blur;
- as an auxiliary material used for a special study of individual details of an artistic painting made with watercolors.
It is important to take into account that when detailing a drawing with watercolor pencils, subsequent ingress of water on it is excluded. Therefore, this type of work is carried out at the final stage of the formation of a pictorial image. And when blurring two closely spaced objects of different colors, you should adhere to the rule when the shapes themselves are blurred first, and only then the border of their adjoining.
As an option for a professional ascent of a beginner in improving the technique of drawing with a pencil, we can recommend the following plan for its development:
- mastering the technique of copying on a grid - the basic law of drawing;
- after a linear educational drawing, you can start mastering shading;
- teaching the technique of drawing from life and the use of shading, as achieving the pinnacle of artistic skill in this case.
