Graphite Pencil Drawing Tutorial: Female Eye by Faith Te

About Faith

Graphite Pencil, Charcoal Pencil and Pastels Artist

Hello! My name is Faith Te. When I was 16, a great desire to capture nature and the people around me started my passion for drawing. I began to look at drawing not just as a hobby but something which I wanted to do all my life.

I practiced every day and for many hours since. I taught myself to draw by experimenting with different techniques and materials and through helpful tips and advice from other artists.

Initially, charcoal and graphite pencils were the only mediums I used. When I began working in color, I used pastels, and more recently, oils. My main subjects are portraits but I also enjoy doing many other subjects including still life, landscapes and flowers, especially orchids.

I devote many hours and lots of attention to detail into each and every one of my drawings or paintings. My ultimate goal is not only to achieve detail and realism but also to capture the life and character of my subjects.

Thank you for your interest in my artwork. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here on our web site. Please visit again soon!

Please take a moment to visit Faith’s Website and Blog to learn more about her and her products and services.

Her Website: http://www.artisticrealism.com/

Her Blog: http://www.artisticrealism.com/artstudio/

Graphite Pencil Drawing Tutorial: Female Eye by Faith Te

Here is the first tutorial from Art Studio — a female eye. My method in graphite pencil drawing aims to render subjects as realistically as I can. The following is a step-by-step demonstration of how I draw eyes. While I very much hope that it helps you in drawing realistic eyes, do experiment and develop your own way of drawing. I myself sometimes do not follow some of the steps exactly as I like to experiment and try to find better ways of achieving a specific texture or effect. Before I begin, many thanks to Toni-Marie Hudson for the use of her picture. Toni-Marie does animal paintings in mixed media. Visit her web site to view her extremely realistic paintings.

Step 1:

The outline on Canson Grain. Since the outline was very light and will likely be smudged off when I start rendering or shading, I have carefully and lightly retraced the lines with a soft pencil. In this case, a Faber-Castell 0.5 mm 2B mechanical pencil.

Step 2:

Using a soft brush dipped in small amounts of graphite powder, I cover the outline with two or three layers of tone. Any brush can be used as long as it produces a very smooth effect and fills in the tooth of the paper. I try to avoid getting tone on the highlight of the iris. If I do get any graphite there, I tap the area with a clean kneaded eraser.

Step 3:

Using a smaller version of the brush I used in the previous step, I begin forming the shapes of the eye by defining the darker areas.

Step 4:

With a kneaded eraser, I cleaned up the highlights.

Step 5:

I used a Dong-A 0.5 mm 2B mechanical pencil to draw the darkest areas like the pupil, shadow on the upper part of the iris and the crease of the upper eyelid.

Step 6:

Concentrating on the iris for now, I use a hard pencil (5H Staedtler) and fairly hard pressure to draw spokes originating from the pupil. This will keep the paper from absorbing a lot of graphite in the next stage.

Step 7:

Having used a 5H on the previous stage, I can now draw darker shades on the iris using a dark pencil (2B mechanical pencil). The reason why I use 2B is because it spreads more easily. The 5H is also to keep the tones very smooth when darker tones are added.

Step 8:

I further worked on the iris erasing and adding graphite as much as needed to create varied tones. Moving on to the white of the eye, it was also covered with a layer of 5H to create a smooth effect. Then I used a 2B mechanical pencil on the shadow areas to form the eyeball.

Step 9:

Here I began working on the skin. Using a 0.5 mm HB mechanical pencil and a light circular motion, I added tones to the upper eyelid and the surrounding skin — starting first on an area which will receive more graphite (in this case, the skin around the crease) and moving towards lighter areas. I used a shop towel and a brush to smoothen out rough spots.

Step 10:

Continued with the lower part of the skin.

Step 11:

Still continuing with the HB mechanical pencil. I’ve now added shadows to the skin. The 5H Staedtler pencil was also used on the thickness of the lower eyelid. 2B mechanical pencil was used for its darker areas.

Step 12:

To create the wrinkles on the skin, I lightly drew lines with the HB mechanical pencil and then used a kneaded eraser to create fine highlights beside each line. A paper stump and a brush were used to soften and blend the lines. The same method used on the white of the eye was also used on the tear duct. The HB was used for the eyebrow — starting with the root of each hair and lessening pressure towards the tip.

Step 13:

I always try to keep from drawing the eyelashes until the skin underneath is finished. Since the upper eyelashes will be darker than the lower eyelashes or the eyebrow, I used a Dong-A 2B mechanical pencil which is much darker than a Faber-Castell of the same grade. Again, following the direction of growth and starting from the root, lessening pressure as I come to the tip. Reflections of the eyelashes were also drawn on the highlight of the iris.

Step 14:

The lower eyelashes were drawn with the Faber-Castell 2B mechanical pencil.

Step 15:

The final eye. Finishing touches were made and some of the highlights on the lower eyelid were dulled a little. I hope you find these steps and images informative and helpful.

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A Series of Drawing & Watercolor Painting Lessons by Mara Mattia

Here is a wonderful series of drawing and watercolor lessons I discovered from a very talented artist by the name of Mara Mattia. I have provided links to these drawing and watercolor lessons below for your convenience. I found these lessons to be very helpful and I am sure you will enjoy them as well.

Lesson #1 awareness (Lines)

Lesson #2 Lines Continued

Lesson #3 Shading and Dots

Lesson #4 Shading, Sun Dot & Grid Drawing

Lesson #5 Blending, Crosshatching & The Grid

Lesson #6 Draw a Face Using the Grid Method

Lesson #7 Continue Drawing of Keira Knightley

Lesson #8 Watercolor Wheel

Sensational Sketches In Six Simple Steps by Sandy Sandy

Light and Dark Values

They Create Dimension, Drama, Texture and Shape

No matter what medium or technique you use to depict your subject, always try to use a full range of values. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. You can simplify value by thinking light, medium and dark. A good drawing should have all three. A tool I use frequently in drawing and painting is a value scale. You could easily make up your own any number of ways. The first one I made out of a page from a Pantone color formula guide mounted on a piece of foam core. The second one, The Don Rankin Value and View Finder, is available through Cheap Joes’ Art Stuff. I like this one because there are holes in the card where the values are and you can hold it right over the area you’re evaluating to get a really good match.

“Value drawings are one of the artist’s best friends.” ~ Harley Brown

Homemade Value Chart

Don Rankin’s Value and View Finder

Sensational Sketches In Six Simple Steps

* STEP 1 ~ Block In Shapes

I recommend using a good quality spiral sketchbook, at least 6″ x 8″ or bigger with a medium weight drawing paper. I like the Strathmore 300 series, 9″ x 12″. You’ll also need a soft drawing pencil (2B - 4B) and a kneaded eraser.

This drawing shows you how to hold the pencil when you first start your drawing. It’s so much easier to first block in shapes this way and keeps you loose without getting caught up in details too early.

* STEP 2 ~ Refine and Add Detail

Ok, now you can tighten up a little and hold the pencil like you would to write. Add some of the main details. Correct and refine your sketch, but don’t get too nit picky!

Keep in mind that this is an exercise. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece!

When out of the studio sketching, I stop with this step and add the wash later. So all you need to take out with you is a pencil, eraser and sketchbook!

“A pencil is quiet, clean, odorless, inexpensive, and lightweight. I can slip it in my pocket and take it with me everywhere - my secret friend.” ~ Sherry Camby

My motto is: “KISS ~ Keep it sensationally simple!”

* STEP 3 ~ Dampen The Paper

I start this next step by generously wetting the surface of my bird with clean water. I go right up to the edge of the figure so the paint will flow to that point and the strokes will blend together.

* STEP 4 ~ Flood The Wash

Here I use a thirsty, *dry brush that’s loaded with watercolor paint. I usually use a combination of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna to make a gray, but any dark color will do. I’m more concerned with value than hue. (See the section on value below.) I start squinting a lot from this point on. This makes it easier to see big shapes and values. I float the pigment into the wet area, giving the figure shape by rendering values and a few details.

*dry brush ~ The brush is damp, yet dryer than the paper. This is done by loading the brush with thick paint and then using a tissue at the ferrule of the brush to squeeze out excess water. The brush then becomes “dry”, but there’s still lots of pigment on the bristles. See “PARTS OF AN ARTIST’S BRUSH” here.

Hue ~ another word for color

Value ~ the lightness or darkness of any color, the three main values being:

Light, medium, dark

* STEP 5 ~ Add Calligraphy

When the area is damp or dry, I add a few more calligraphic strokes. You can soften some hard lines by quickly moistening some strokes with a little clean water and a *dry brush.

* STEP 6 ~ Add Background Value

Sensational Sketches ~ Drawing Lesson

All I’ve done here is add a background wash after the bird is dry. I do the same thing as in step three. I quickly wet the entire surface where I want my wash to be with clean water, again being careful to stay in the lines. Then squinting, I float in my pigment with a *dry brush.

Some wrinkling of the drawing paper will occur.

Remember, it’s only a sketch!

About Sandy Sandy

The Singular Artist with a Double Name

Sandy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Moore College of Art and also attended The Art Institute in Philadelphia. At Moore, Sandy studied watercolor independently with nationally known watercolorist, Ranulph Bye, whose legacy is the Brandywine and New Hope Schools. More recently, Sandy has been drawn to the teachings of Edgar A. Whitney, and has studied with many modern day masters who once were Whitney’s students. For over seventeen years, Sandy was the owner and art director of Alpha1 Studio, an advertising, illustration and sign company. Since 1996, she has been painting full time and operates her studio from her NJ Pine Barrens home. Collectors of her original paintings can be found throughout North America.

Sandy’s Website Address: http://www.sandysandy.com

Learn How To Draw - Top 20 Drawing Tips For Beginners

1 - If at all possible, always draw from life and not photographs.

2 - When drawing, less is sometimes better. Do not attempt to draw every line and detail that you see or you will give your viewer too much information to absorb.

3 - Do not try and get all of the information in your drawing completed at one sitting. Drawing is a process. Layout the general idea of your drawing and then slowly add in your details.

4 - Do not be overly judgmental about your drawing before it is completed. This may cause you to become discouraged and give up.

5 - Do not take on subjects that are too complicated at first. This will certainly cause you to become discouraged if the drawing isn’t as good as you expected it to be. Start with simple subjects that you know you can complete and then progress to more complicated ones.

6 - Forget everything you already know about a particular subject before you start drawing it. Draw what you see in front of you and not what you know already about that subject.

7 - Make sure you have excellent lighting. Nothing is more frustrating to an artist than poor lighting. If you can’t see you can’t draw. If you do not have a well lit room with natural sunlight to work in, then check your local art supply store or search online for full spectrum lighting products that mimic natural sunlight.

8 - Get yourself a pad of newsprint paper. Its very cheap and great for practice and doing preliminary sketches.

9 - Keep your pencils sharp. There are drawing techniques that require a blunt pencil point , but for the most part, you should keep your pencil points sharpened.

10 - Vary the weight of your lines. You should keep a conscious effort to use a variety of different lines in your drawing by pressing harder or by lifting your pencil. This may seem like an obvious thing, but when an artist becomes deeply focused in a drawing, they can sometimes forget to use this simple technique.

11- Keep a sketchbook with you wherever you go. Whenever you have a free moment, practice your drawing. It doesn’t matter if the subject is a light post, an insect or a garbage pail. The more often you draw, the more observant you will become.

12 - Do not over use smudging and blending techniques to achieve values in your drawings.

13 - Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat portfolio of everything you draw. This is an excellent way to see your progress over time.

14 - Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure you are constantly focusing on the subject and only glancing at your drawing. By doing so, you won’t constantly judge your drawing, or think something is wrong or out of place. Focus on the subject and draw what you see.

15 - How to hold your drawing instrument - Hold your pencil in a way that is most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. Others hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and index finger, with the rest of the pencil resting under the palm of your hand. Whichever method you use for holding your pencil, make certain that you do not hold the pencil too tightly.

16 - Practice the contour drawing technique - This very basic technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without any shading to indicate form.

17 - Practice the hatching technique - This drawing technique uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the same direction, which gives the appearance of value.

18 - Practice tonal or value drawing - In this approach to drawing we are indicating the various changes of light and shade in our picture without the use of strong edges and lines.

19 - Practice the blind contour drawing technique - Similar to contour drawing, only you do not look at the paper. The point of this exercise is to force you to better observe what it is you are drawing. You should have no concern over the outcome of your drawing so it is important not to peek.

20 - Practice the upside down drawing technique - Drawing upside down is a wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are making it somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This forces you to draw what you see as opposed to relying on your memory to draw something.

Speed Pencil Drawing of Lion

I found a really cool post today on Onlypencil.com.

If you have never visited this site before, then I highly recommend you do so today. This site has lots of awesome drawing tips and tutorials and lots of beautiful artwork.

Anyway, back to the post.

Its a speed drawing of a lion. The drawing is very small, only 2.5″ x 3.5″. Its quite amazing how the artist was able to fit so much detail into such a small space.

This is definitely worth checking out.

Click here to view the speed drawing.

Enjoy!