9
Putting Your Supplies to Work
Chapter
*****************************************************************
Finally! Time to draw!
In this chapter, you complete a few exercises and projects designed to teach you how to use your supplies. You also discover how to use a few basic drawing techniques.
T I P ! T I P !
Always sharpen your pencils before you begin a drawing project.
► ACTION 9A ◄
Sketching a Self-Portrait
Goal: Document your current drawing skills by drawing yourself.
Supplies needed: Paper, erasers, a 2B pencil, and a mirror.
Set yourself up for drawing where you can clearly see your refl ection in a mirror.
Draw a portrait of yourself as realistically as possible.
When you’re fi nished, sign your name, write the date on the back, put your drawing away in a safe place, and give yourself a big hug!
► ACTION 9B ◄
Creating Values with Squirkles
Goal: Find out the base value of each of your fi ve grades of graphite
ArtSpeak
Squirkling is a simple shading technique in which randomly drawn curved lines (called
“squirkles”) create values.
Squirkling is ideal for simple drawings by beginners (Figure 901), as well as highly realistic works by professional artists (Figure 902).
Figure 902: Advanced drawing of a tiny section of a phone that is completely rendered with squirkles.
Figure 901:
Squirkling is great for drawing wool on a cartoon sheep.
Figure 903: A value scale created with squirkles.
Each grade of pencil has a different base value.
pencils.
Supplies needed: Paper and 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B graphite pencils.
What do you get when you cross squiggles with circles? You get Squirkles!
Squirkling is a simple method of shading that uses randomly drawn curved lines to create values. I chose this name based on the method of mixing squiggles with circles to create shading. Many of my students from the past three decades are very familiar with this word!
In this project, you create fi ve different values with fi ve grades of pencils.
Don’t press too hard or too softly with your pencil. Apply a medium amount of pressure. Allow your pencils to do most of the work.
Value scale is a range of different values that are drawn in order from light to dark or from dark to light (Refer to Figure 903).
73
Chapter 9: Putting Your Supplies to Work
1. Draw a rectangle that is 2 inches high by ten inches long, and divide it into fi ve squares that are each 2 by 2 inches.
Surprise! Math is a very important part of drawing! But don’t grumble yet - I’ll be introducing the various math skills very gently.
3. In the fi rst square, use a 2H pencil to scribble (squirkle) curved
lines that twist and bend in many directions.
Refer to Figures 906 and 907. Your goal is to create a light value.
If you see a very large white space (the white of your paper), draw a curved line through it so it becomes two small spaces. If a section has a lot of lines, don’t add any more.
The white spaces can be many different shapes, but they should be approximately the same size.
Figure 904: I used a ruler to outline a drawing space that is 2 by 10 inches (divided into fi ve squares).
Figure 905: Each square is marked with a grade of pencil from the lightest (on the left) to the darkest.
2. Mark the grade of one of your pencils under each square.
T I P ! T I P !
Take your time!
Work very slowly and closely watch your line as it curves around within this square.
Small squirkles make much smoother values than large ones.
Accuracy is much more important than speed. Speed increases with lots of practice.
4. Use the same method to draw squirkles in each of the other four squares.
Refer to Figures 907 to 915. Use an HB pencil in the second square; a 2B in the third; a 4B in the fourth; and a 6B in the fi fth.
Figures 906 and 907: A 2H makes a very light value.
Figures 910 and 911: The middle value is made with a 2B pencil.
Figures 908 and 909: A slightly darker value is created by an HB Pencil.
If you make a value that looks too light, you can simply add a few extra squirkling lines to make it slightly darker.
Make sure that each new value you draw is slightly darker than the previous one.
Try squinting your eyes a little to see the squirkles as a value.
75
Chapter 9: Putting Your Supplies to Work
Figure 914:
The darkest value is drawn with a 6B.
Figures 912 and 913: A 4B grade of pencil makes a dark value.
You have completed a value scale from light (on the left) to dark (on the right).
Prop up your drawing and stand a few feet away. Can you see fi ve different values from light (on the left) to dark (on the right)?
5. Draw another value scale from dark (on the left) to light (on the right).
Refer to Figure 916. When you’re done, pat yourself on the back ten times.
Figure 915: A value scale of fi ve different values.
Figure 916: A value scale from dark to light.
Figure 918: Three different values of lines made with a 2H grade of pencil.
► ACTION 9C ◄
Playing with Pencils
Goal: Draw three sets of lines with each of your fi ve pencils.
Figure 917: Many different values of lines can be made with only fi ve grades of pencils.
Supplies needed: Paper and 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B graphite pencils.
As you know from Action 9B, each grade of pencil makes a different base value.
However, did you know that each grade on its own can make several values?
In this project I show you how to create light, medium, and dark lines with each of your pencils. To do this, you simply vary the pressure you apply to your pencil.
1. Use a 2H pencil to draw a light, medium, and dark set of three straight lines (nine lines in total).
► Set of three light lines: Apply very little pressure to your pencil.
► Set of three medium lines: Use a medium amount of pressure.
► Set of three dark lines: Press fi rmly with your pencil.
Remember to rotate your paper so you can use your natural hand movement.
Art Quote
What we call creative work ought not to be called work at
all, because it isn’t.
I imagine that Thomas Edison never did a day’s work in his last
fifty years.
Stephen B. Leacock
Playing with Erasers
Goal: Draw lines and shapes with an eraser instead of a pencil.
Supplies needed: Heavy white drawing paper with a medium tooth, a 2B or 4B charcoal stick, 2B or 4B charcoal pencil, vinyl eraser, kneaded eraser, and paper towels.
77
Chapter 9: Putting Your Supplies to Work
Figure 919: Fifteen sets of lines result in a wide range of different values.
2. Use the same technique to draw three different lines with each of your other four pencils (Figure 919).
Congratulations! You now have a better idea of how artists make several different values with only one pencil.
Put one fi nger on the tip of your nose and walk seven steps in a straight line.
► ACTION 9D ◄
Figure 920:
Lines and shapes created with erasers.
WARNING!
This project is very messy!
Stay away from light-colored carpets or fabrics.
Cover your drawing surface with paper or plastic before you begin.
ArtSpeak
Blending is the process of gently rubbing shading with a blending tool (such as a facial tissue or paper towel) to evenly distribute the drawing medium over sections of the surface of drawing paper.
Figure 921: A section of shading before it is blended.
Figure 922: The same shading after it was blended with a facial tissue.
Most artists are familiar with drawing dark values on a light surface. However, as you will soon see, you can also draw light values on a dark surface by using an eraser (or erasers). In this section, you experiment with two different types of erasers as drawing tools.
1. Use the side of a charcoal stick to smoothly fi ll in a section of your paper.
Gently does it! Don’t press hard with the charcoal. The charcoal needs to sit on the top of the paper’s tooth – not fl atten it! In real life, my section is 6 by 3 inches – but larger is even better!
2. Use a piece of paper towel to VERY GENTLY blend the whole surface.
Figure 923: A section of my paper is fi lled in with charcoal and then very gently blended.
Don’t apply too much pressure, or you’ll grind the charcoal into the paper so much that it won’t erase (thereby defeating the whole purpose of this project).
79
Chapter 9: Putting Your Supplies to Work
3. Use your erasers however you wish to experiment with pulling light values from the darkened drawing surface.
For a few ideas refer to Figures 924 and 925.
Figures 924 and 925: A few lines, dots, and shapes are pulled out of the charcoal with the edges of vinyl erasers, and kneaded erasers molded into various shapes.
Info Tidbit
Thomas Edison is best known as an inventor (he helped invent many wonderful items such as the light bulb and motion picture camera).
However, did you know that he could draw well? He often sketched his ideas and drew diagrams of the inventions on which he worked.
4. Use your imagination and the same process to create more drawings.
You can also use your charcoal pencil to draw more details after the white sections are erased (Figure 926).
Figure 926: I used a charcoal pencil to add a few dark lines to my eraser drawing.
When you’re done, go wash the charcoal off your face, and put a big smile on your face!
T I P ! T I P !
Completed charcoal drawings should always be sprayed with a fi xative so they don’t smudge too badly.
Art Quote
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Thomas Edison
► ACTION 9E ◄
Drawing Shapes by Rotating Your Paper
Goal: Draw three different shapes by rotating your paper and using your natural hand movement.
Supplies needed: Paper, a 2B graphite pencil, vinyl eraser, and kneaded eraser.
Figure 927: Three shapes created by using my natural hand movement and rotating my paper.
81
Chapter 9: Putting Your Supplies to Work
You fi nd two illustrations beside each step; one for righties and the other for lefties. To help you remember which drawing is which, the lefty one is on the left and the righty one is on the right.