About Diane Wright

In 2002, I picked up my art pencil again after 20+ years. During this break, I devoted my time to my family and building a career. Even though I earned my Bachelor of Fine Art degree at the University of Northern Iowa, my career path ventured away from the fine arts. I am currently an IT Manager at a medical auditing firm in Des Moines, IA. My children are in college and it’s now time for me to explore my arts again! I live with my wonderful husband, Les, in the small town of Mitchellville, Iowa.

– Diane Wright

To learn more about Diane and to view her work, please visit her website:

http://www.dianewrightfineart.com/

Drawing Tutorial – How to Draw Skies and Clouds

Start by just looking up.

Ever since a fellow artist challenged me to include a sky in one of my drawings, I have been keeping my mind in the clouds. I am continually amazed at the beauty of just looking up in the sky! Over the past couple of years, I have been learning the importance of toning the sky and adding clouds as part of overall compositional improvement in my landscapes. I think I could spend hours and hours fiddling with each puff of white!

Start looking up to the sky and observe cloud formations. Take photos of clouds and you will be amazed at what you will start to “see”!

What’s the purpose of a sky?

Is it important to put a sky in? There isn’t any clouds in the sky so why should I shade it? I use to think this and if you visit my website, you will see many of my earlier works did not include a toned sky. For a long time I didn’t even “see” tone in the sky. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the impact of adding a toned sky to the overall landscape. Here are some of the things a toned sky will do for your drawing:

1. Broadens the range of tones available in your drawing. The white of the paper can now represent the highlights  only.
2. Creates uniformity to your drawing composition
3. Adds an additional sense of reality to your landscape.
4. Adds atmosphere and sets the ‘mood’ of the scene.

Here is a drawing done to illustrate the importance of a toned sky and why the sky/clouds should be considered in the overall compositional study of any landscape.

In this series of drawings, I have chosen to a very simple scene with a white barn. My only variable in the three drawings is the inclusion of a sky and clouds.

The first image is a drawing without a sky. The drawing is very stark and the sky (the white of the paper) is competing with the white of the barn.

The second image is much better by adding a toned sky. The white barn is now the focal point as the toned sky accentuates and brings the entire scene together much better.

The third image incorporates a toned sky as well as including clouds. The clouds add depth to the scene as the clouds recede into the distance. They also create a visual directional flow for the viewer.  The clouds lead the eye through the drawing and add interest as well.

Cloud Formations and Cloud Types

• Stratus – Wispy light clouds
• Cumulus – white puffy…cottony
• Dramatic – rain clouds – thunderheads
• Back lit clouds – sunsets

TIPS:

• Skies are lighter at the horizon and go darker as you go up the sky
• Clouds use perspective – smaller and tighter the farther in the distance they are
• Unless the sky is the central part of the drawing, light wispy or under-stated clouds work well
• Use clouds to lead the viewer through your landscape
• Clouds have form and are 3 dimensional – they just don’t have any lines are hard edges
• The more dramatic clouds – the darker the base tone should be (this allows more range of
  tones)

Drawing Materials:

This is a very specific list of the materials that I use. Substitutions can certainly be used. Experimentation and adjustments are expected to customize these techniques to your style of drawing.

• .5 mm Mechanical Pencils F and 2H lead
• Chamois
• Tortillion – small
• Blu-Tack
• White plastic eraser
• Small Ruler or T-square
• Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Board
• Make-up brush

4 Steps – Drawing a Sky with Clouds:

STEP 1 – CROSS-HATCHING

I use a loose-hold hand position when creating the cross-hatching. I find the just weight of the pencil on the paper will create pencil strokes that are light and consistent.

I cross-hatch 3 layers of graphite onto my paper using the F lead. The first layer is placed horizontal on the surface, the next two layers are diagonal.

STEP 2 – BLENDING

Using a chamois wrapped around my index finger, I blend the graphite smooth. Chamois with a firm, and even pressure. It may take several passes with the chamois to create a smooth even tone. Be sure to blend over the edges of the drawing area as well as overlapping the buildings, trees and horizon areas. It is much easier to erase than to add a missed section later.

Avoid touching the surface of the paper with your fingers. It is at this point in the blending process that blemishes or finger prints will magically appear. If they appear, it is very difficult to fix (unless they happen to be in a cloud formation) and many times I just have to start over!

I will add 2 more layers of crosshatching with 2H lead and blend with the chamois again. This creates a nice smooth finish. I trim the edges of the drawing using a t-square ruler and a plastic eraser.

STEP 3 – LIFTING OUT THE CLOUDS

I use a mars plastic eraser with a chisel edge and erase my clouds into the sky. For light wispy clouds I use blu-tak and just drag it across the surface.

STEP 4 – DETAILING

Use a 2H lead pencil to layer in darker areas next to the whitest tops of the clouds. A tortillion is used to blend in and work in the details. By blending, lifting, erasing and layering in more graphite, the clouds emerge on the paper.

I soften the clouds by using the blu-tack. To make more dramatic clouds darken the background sky. This allows white cottony clouds to be more fully formed. Keep in mind that unless your drawing’s emphasis is the clouds, they should not compete with the rest of the landscape. They should be subtle and gently lead the viewer’s eye through the scene. Typically I use light wisps and hints of clouds in most of my landscapes.

I usually spend 5-8 hours just drawing the sky and cloud areas. PATIENCE is key in creating smooth skies.

Once you the basic technique of creating smooth tones and general cloud formations, the sky is the limit to all the possibilities and variations you can create. Every moment… every hour… every day…every season…the sky changes it’s mood and design, providing us with an unlimited resource of inspiration to our landscapes.

Sunsets & Dusk Images

Here is a quick study (less than an hour) on clouds in the early evening just as the sun is thinking about setting. The clouds are backlit by the sun and are darker than the sky. The trees are mostly in shadow and most of the details are subdued. This is a small drawing only 4.5″ x 7″. The sky is a lighter tone than the clouds and is just a reverse of regular clouds.

About the Artist

In 2002, I picked up my art pencil again after 20+ years.  During this break, I devoted my time to my family and building a career.  Even though I earned my Bachelor of Fine Art degree at the University of Northern Iowa, my career path ventured away from the fine arts.

I am currently an IT Manager at a medical auditing firm in Des Moines, IA.  My children are in college and it’s now time for me to explore my arts again!  I live with my wonderful husband, Les, in the small town of Mitchellville, Iowa.

- Diane Wright

To learn more about Diane and to view her work, please visit her website:

http://www.dianewrightfineart.com/

Rock Drawing Tutorial by Diane Wright

While I haven’t had the opportunity to draw many rocks in my landscapes (yet), they can certainly add interest to any landscape. I consider them just one more opportunity to add a different texture to the scene.

There are different kinds of rock formations. From sandstone, shale, limestone, volcanic to boulders. Each one will hold different textures and ‘feel’ to them.

This lesson will be very specific and we are going to study the drawing of a close-up view of rocks. Our goal is two fold. 1) To understand the how to create the shape and depth of rocks, and 2) to learn how to create textured, realistic looking rocks.

Materials Needed:

F and 2B .5 mechanical pencils 4H and 2H clutch pencils Blu-Tack or kneaded eraser Battery operated eraser Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Board Smooth paper

Sketching

Sketching… Never underestimate the power of just sketching. I seldom just sit and watch television, but when I do, I usually have a folder full of photos and I just sketch. Here is a sketch of a group of rocks… .

Find some photos of rocks and sketch them. Don’t let the rest of the landscape intimidate you as you sketch the rocks. Pick out the sections that interest you and just sketch.

Creating Three-dimensionality and form

At first glance they seem to be easy to draw. I find they a bit more challenging than that. They beg to have three-dimensionality and form. Light and shading play an important roll in drawing realistic rocks.

I find the best comparison to make is to use a cube. In order to create this three-dimensional form we have to use light and shadow. The plane with the most direct sunlight is the brightest. The plane with the no sunlight is the darkest. With a strong light, the shadow will be short and dark.

Let’s relate this concept to a grouping of rocks. These rocks are drawn to emphasize their angles and planes. The light source is to the upper right.

This sketch softens the edges of the rocks but the planes are still very visible, creating solid three-dimensional rocks.

I find most tutorials stop at this point when explaining how to draw rocks. Do you see the problem with this? Will these sketches really work in a realistic landscape? What’s missing or rather what is there too much of?? White. There is just not enough tone or detail too.

So let’s keep going… .

Here is the reference photo in both color and grayscale that we will be using for the rest of this tutorial. I like to draw and study from both images. The grayscale helps to match the tones, but color helps in the details.

Step 1

We are going to draw the large boulder on the left. I start with a 2B pencil and sketch in the darkest areas. The lighter areas are sketched in using an F lead weight. Using short random marks, I concentrate on the indents and shadowed areas. Be sure to draw in all of the darkest areas in this step (I will explain further in the third step)

Step 2

Once you have the preliminary details drawn, use the clutch pencil with a chisel edge to apply a smooth even layer over the surface. The lighter areas I use the 4H, and use 2H in the shadowed areas. Remember the planes and angles for lighting.

Step 3

Now the fun starts! Using a softer lead in the mechanical pencil, start creating the texture! use random short marks to create pits and a rough surface. That’s right; use a softer lead over the harder lead. We all know that using softer lead over harder lead creates a very uneven surface. But it works wonders in creating a random, uneven texture for rocks.

The chisel edge is important as it creates a flat wide mark. To create a chisel edge, use sandpaper; angle your pencil and scrub!

Using these harder leads may be new to some of you, but they create wonderful light values that otherwise would be very difficult to achieve.

Continue building and layering. Use the Blu-Tack to create subtle highlights. Press the Blu-Tack onto an area and lift the graphite off. Use the battery-operated eraser to create small strong highlights.

I mentioned in step 1 to be sure you have all your darkest areas drawn BEFORE you proceed onto step 2. The reason should be obvious. Once the harder lead is laid down, you will not be able to achieve those rich blacks!

Here is my completed rock study…

Diane Wright © Copyright Diane Wright 2007

About the Artist

Sheri Lynn Boyer Doty – Biography 2007

Sheri Doty received a B F A degree in 1972 from the University of Utah with a painting and drawing emphasis. Having experimented with non-representational styles during her student years, Sheri preferred classic realism as thought by professor Alvin Gittins. He and the professors under whom she studied, emphasized strong drawing and painting skills.

Sheri’s paintings have earned her awards in regional, national and international art exhibitions and invitational shows including purchase awards and permanent museum acquisitions. Sanford Corporation, formerly known as Berol USA., used her artwork to showcase its PRISMACOLOR colored pencil product line internationally for over 25 years. Sheri is a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America [C.P.S.A.].

Sheri’s artwork has been published in numerous books including The Encyclopedia of Colored Pencil Techniques by Quarto Publishing, London England; Most of The Best of Colored Pencil series by Rockport Publishers, Creative Colored Pencil Techniques by Rockport Publishers, Creative Colored Pencil Portraits by Rockport Publishers and The Best of Portrait Painting by North Light Books. Sheri’s artwork is also published on book covers, in newspapers, periodicals, and exhibit catalogues.

Sheri is now listed with Portfolios.com and Art_Exchange.com Web sales offering over 45 listings.

People have been known to say, “She possesses a unique ability to paint the breath of life into her subjects – a gifted talent.” Because Sheri expresses not only the likeness of her clients but also their lifestyle, her portraits are in high demand. Sheri has also illustrated book covers, magazines and has prints and greeting cards on the market.

Follow this link to visit Sheri’s website to view more of her work and to learn more about her.

A Theory of Light and Shade © January 2009 Sheri Lynn Boyer Doty

All Illustrations for a theory of light and shade are by Sheri Doty accept for Manet’s painting “The Railway” showing an undefined light source. Before you undertake your practice of the use of light and shade in your art you need to understand the significance that light and dark contrast has in making a painting or drawing visually believable.

Value is the term used to describe light, gray and dark tones.

Johannes Itten wrote “the contrast between light and dark is one of the most expressive and important means of composition.” Value contrast can be encountered in both colorful and non-colorful art renderings.” All neutral tones from white, black and all the gray tones between are called achromatic, meaning having no color. All tones that have some color are call chromatic. When investigating art in all its components, you must consider the relationship of value to other art elements, color, line texture and shape. All these elements must exhibit some value contrast in order to remain visible.

A simple Value Scale shows figure-ground relationships

Figure-Ground is the condition in which backgrounds tone or hue changes the visual impact of the figure resting on it. The same hue or value appears to be a different depending upon the contrast of tone or hue of the background upon which it is placed. Conversely, two different tones or hues appear to be the same when placed on contrasting grounds. Each will have an impact on how believable your art will be perceived by the viewer. Most people have difficulty perceiving “figure-ground” relationships. When the same medium toned figure is placed on varied light and dark backgrounds, it will be perceived to be as a different value. Example: When a medium gray is placed on a near black background, the mid-gray tone appears very light. When the same gray tone is placed on a near white background, it is perceived to be very dark. But when a mid gray tone is placed on a similar value background, the contrast is minimal. Note how the same mid-tone value patch looks different when placed on backgrounds of contrasting values.

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Chiaroscuro

Value describes volume and depth of space In Europe artists of the Renaissance were concerned with showing depth and volume in opposition to the artists of the Middle or “Dark Ages.” Men of the Renaissance considered their time period to be the Age of Reason and rebirth of artistic and mathematical achievements. Renaissance artists manufactured the term “Chiaroscuro” to describe how light and dark can imply depth and volume. The word Chiaroscuro is a combination of two Italian words that mean light and dark. (chiaro (clear, light) + oscuro (obscure, dark) Atmospheric or Ariel perspective was one of the artistic strategies used in the study of Chiaroscuro during the Renaissance. (Atmospheric or Ariel perspective is covered in depth in the section “Objective Color Harmony”.)

Chiaroscuro and the Illusion of creating intuitive space.

One of the most used and useful applications of value is creating the illusion of volume and mass on a two dimensional surface. When a mass is exposed to light, a solid object will receive more light from one side than another when that side is closer to the light source. A spherical surface demonstrates this as an even flow tone from light to dark. A cast shadow is created when the source of light is obstructed by the sphere. An angular surface shows sudden contrast of light and dark.

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Intuitive Space is merely a trick the artist uses to create depth on a two dimensional surface.

“Intuitive space” is merely the illusion space created by using artistic methods to trick the viewer into seeing depth, volume and mass on a two dimensional surface. Intuitive space is sensed or ”felt” on a two dimensional plane. Intuitive methods of space control include overlapping, transparency, and other applications of spatial proportion. In a “Theory of Light and Shade” I will show how to create intuitive space by using “Light Logic”.

Light Logic refers to how light interacts with objects. Light Logic is the term Betty Edwards uses in her book “The NewDrawing on the Right Side of the Brain”

Light Logic and the Rendering of Three Dimensional Objects onto a Two Dimensional Surface.

You will make your art more believable when you keep these basics in mind.

A Light Source and Shadows

A light projected onto an object or figure creates lights, darks, and cast shadows. Your source of light may be the sun, the moon, a light through a window or an artificial light. When several light sources are present the light and dark tones vary and are less predictable. To simplify the study of light and shadow in this first section, I will use only one light source.

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Two Kinds of Shadows There are two kinds of shadows that occur when one light shines on an object, a cast shadow and a form shadow. Cast Shadow When an object blocks a light source it casts a shadow. A cast shadow is not a solid shape but varies in tone and value. The farther a cast shadow is from the object which casts it the lighter and softer and less defined becomes its edges. Form Shadow A form shadow is the less defined dark side on an object not facing the light source. A form shadow has softer less defined edges than a cast shadow. Form shadows are subtle shadows essential for creating the illusion of volume, mass and depth. The changes in form shadows require careful observation – quinting at the subject to see value definition affected by figure-ground making value relationships clearer.

A Light Side and a Dark Side on Round or Circular Surfaces When one light source is present, I was taught the dark side is “always”darker than the light side of the object and the light side is “always” lighter than the dark side. Establishing a definite light side and dark side makes round objects appear round and defines the form of an object accurately. Use this simple trick to make your artwork more true to life, separalight tones avoiding figure-ground confusion.

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THE LIGHT SIDE IN TWO PARTS Highlight The lightest spot or streak is where the light strikes the subject in exactly the middle of the light side between the shadow edge and the edge of the object. A highlight can be shinny and crisp on a glass or metallic surface, or fuzzy and muted on a dull or textured surface. Light middle tones Note, to avoid confusion, “always” keep the values on the light side lighter than the values on the dark side. In reverse, the values on the dark side are darker than the values on the light side. It’s the middle tones on either side that confuse the artist’s eye in value relationships.

The Dark Side in Three Parts

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Form Shadow in Three Parts “Shadow edge” or “core shadow” The edge where the light is blocked from the light source is the darkest value on the dark side. The core or darkest value blends into the middle tones from the shadow edge on round subjects. Dark middle tone The variable values blended form the shadow edge on the dark side. Again, the dark middle tones are darker than any values on the light side. The human eye can trick the brain into believing the lightest values on the dark side are the same as the darkest values on the light side. If the artist is confused about lights and darks, the rendering is less understandable.

Reflected light

If the object being painted is sitting on a white table, the light from the table reflects back onto the object and makes the shadow side lighter. If the object of the painting is resting by something black or dark, the middle values will become a dark reflection. The concept also holds true when the object of the painting is sitting on a colored surface. If the reflected light is reobject.

Cast Shadows When the source of light is blocked by an object it casts a shadow. The length and shape of the cast shadow depends on the placement of the light source. Long shadows are cast from a side light source (as from the sun in late afternoon or early evening), and short cast shadows are cast from over head (as from a noonday sun). The shape a shadow casts depends on the shape of the object casting it and how closource is to the object.

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CAST SHADOWS IN THREE PARTS

The vocabulary used to describe cast shadows in art come from shadow descriptions in astronomy. The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the three distinct names given to the description of shadows cast by heavenly bodies. The umbra is the darkest part of a shadow considered the absence of light. The penumbra is a lighter outer shadow where the object is only partially obscuring the light. The antumbra is more obscure. When it is visible it seems to extend out from the penumbra in a lighter and less distinct way.

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Light Source, Cast Shadows and the Axis

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Cast Shadows The Sphere

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The Cube

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The Cylinder and Cone

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More on Cast Shadows

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Too many complex cast shadows can be confusing. Such objects can be rendered by blurring the edges.

Daylight and Cast Shadows

Cast shadows of irregular shapes and in natural sun light are open for interpretationbecause of the constant changing sunlight: As you work on location, the sun will continue to advance and change what you are drawing. Note the place you would have the sun be positioned, and keep that constant to avoid a confusing spread of shadows. The nature of shadow is affected by weather, sunlight,moonlight, or artificial light.

Multiple Light Sources or an Undefined Light source

Multiple light sources or an undefined light source minimizes the gradation of values and flattens the sense of volume in three dimensional objects. Because of this lighting affect, artists such as Manet painted colors in flat areas neglecting the use of one light source to create shadows. An undefined light source causes a sense of shallow space. Some art critics believe this sense of shallow space to have paved the way for “nonrepresentational” uses of value and color.

Manet’s Painting, “The Railway” shows value contrast in composition, but the sense of shallow space is emphasized by a lack of a single light source.

Objects Have Light, Medium or Dark Values Objects have an allover light, medium or dark quality. To make your representation more believable, you should take into consideration the light or dark value of each object. Before you render details, block in the value characteristics of each object. Using this strategy will save you time and hachieve a more realistic result.

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Value Schemes and Mood You create a sense of mood or interest depending on the combination of values present in a work of art. When value contrast is limited to a small range of tonal variations the result is one of understatement and calm. “High Key” is the term used for a light value scheme. All middle tone values are in a “Medium Key” range. And “Low Key” refers to an allover dark toned value scheme. Sharp value contrast evokes strong emotions in the viewer suggesting drama or conflict. Extreme value contrast in a value scheme refers to a style of chiaroscuro called “Tenebrism”.

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Tenebrism – Violent Chiaroscuro In the 17th century, a group of painters instituted the so called “dark manner” of painting. They were inspired by Michelangelo di Caravaggio. Rembrandt perfected this manner of Chiaroscuro. Tenebrism made value an instrument of strong contrast that lends itself to a dramatic and even theatrical style of using light and dark contrast. The tenebrists were interested in peculiar lighting causing mood or emotional expressionism. The deviation from standard light conditions into unexpected lighting locations creates unusual and special effects. This style is used today byphotographers.

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The analytical study of Chiaroscuro in the art of today

Using chiaroscuro to create excitement and interest in composition is a modern concept. Artists of the Renaissance were concerned with showing depth and volume on a two dimensional surface. The expression of light and contrast in old and new masterpieces reveal the continued importance of Chiaroscuro in art.

Notan

Notan is a Japanese word meaning dark-light. The principle of Notan is the interaction between positive (light) and negative (dark) space. This interaction is confirmed by the ancient Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang. This is represented by mirror images of one black and one white shape revolving around a center point. The positive and negative areas make a whole through a unity of opposites that are equal and inseparable. In Notan, opposites complement and do not conflict.

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“An understanding of Notan traditionally has been and will be a requirement for mastery of any field of art. It enables the artist to compose a work in which all the parts relate to create a unity of visual organization, impression, or pattern. Notan enables the artist to achieve a Gestalt – or more simply to create a design.”Notan The Dark-Light Principles of Design by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield

Lao-Tse wrote a poem that to me
simply states the Essence of Notan:

Thirty spokes meet in the hub,
but the empty space between them is the essence of the wheel.

Pots are formed from clay,
but the empty space within it is the essence of the pot.

Walls with windows and doors form the house,
but the empty space within it is the essences of the house.

The Principle:
Matter represents the usefulness
Non-matter the essence of things.

Poem taken from Johannes Itten’s book Design and Form, Revised Edition
Basic Course at the Bauhaus and Later, John Westly & Sons, INC, page 13

Value as Pattern Controlled shallow space is illustrated by the early cubists such as Picasso and Braques. Their paintings are taken from realistic subject matter and abstracted into unified flat tonal planes. The planes are shaded individually with the semi-illusion of space with no light source. Later, each plane takes on characteristic value combined with other planes with the same style of value pattern. This produces a carefully conceived two dimensional pattern of light and dark values. The shallow space develops a three dimensional effect through the characteristics of the advancing and receding values.

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Decorative Effects of Light and Dark Contrast

Artists using the decorative effects of light and dark contrast ignore the use of the conventional tools of light logic all together. When light effects appear, it is often based on the total design of the artwork.

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Compositional Functions of Value

Today most artists use value as a vital tool in pictorial composition. Value contrast is an intrinsic factor in pictorial organization, in showing dominance in design, creating two dimensional patterns, establishing mood and producing spatial unity. The effectiveness of a work of art or design is in large measure based on the use of value.

Resource Material: Ideas for this section came from my own experience, education and observations; “Basic Perspective for Artists” by Keith West; “Perspective Without Pain” by Phil Metzger, North Light Books 1988; The Basics of Drawing by Parramon Ediciones Editorial Team’ Barron’s Educational Series 1994; The Practice and Science of Drawing, by Harold Speed, Dover, first published in 1917 by Seeley, in London, reprinted by Dover,1972; Art Fundamentals Theory and Practice – Second Edition WM.C. Brown Company, Publishers/Dubuque, Iowa 1968 by Ocvirk, Bone, Ssinson and Wigg; Design Basics Fifth Edition, by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak, Wadsworth-Thompson Learning

About Paula:

I was born and raised in Sacramento, CA, USA, where it gets very very very HOT in the Summer. WAY too hot. I played the piano, took tap dancing lessons, did my homework, and spent a lot of time sitting directly in front of the air conditioner.

I always liked to ‘color’, and in the third grade I won a coloring contest sponsored by a local coffee shop. My prize was a banana split, a bank radio and  FIVE whole dollars.

WOW!

You could make money just for coloring? The seed was planted.

After that I grew up, went away to school to study architecture at Cal Poly, then went away to school AGAIN to study illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

I’ve made my living drawing and coloring in one way or another ever since, and it covers a pretty wide spectrum! I’ve painted flames on the sides of vans, drawn bus maps, drawn plans for hospitals and parking garages, designed retail displays, drawn pictures for movies, and done some advertising and editorial illustration.

Now I do childrens’ books, licensing, and sell my own work in a more “fine art” kind of way.

I live with my kitties who all help me color and take naps and knit.

And I still love the air conditioner.

Paula’s Website: http://www.paulapertile.com/

Step-by-Step Colored Pencil Demo

“Cotswald Cheese with Cherry Tomato”

This is a lovely wedge of Cotswald cheese (which has bits of herbs in it) with a little cherry tomato on top.

I will show you step-by-step how it was created. I used Faber-Castell Polychromo colored pencils on Strathmore 500 Series cold pressed illustration board.

The pencil colors used are Yellow Ochre, Canary Yellow, Grey Green, Cadmium Orange, Orange Yellow, Chrome Green, Sea Green, Geranium Lake, Scarlet Red, Dark Red, Light Flesh, Deep Red, True Green, Light Green, Light Ultramarine.

The finished piece is 5 x 7 inches.

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This was my reference photo. Its not very good because its a little blurry. So I drew the piece from life, which is what I prefer doing anyway. But I like to have a photo for back-up in case something happens to the “model”.

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Step 1

I sketched in the composition with Yellow Ochre. In real life it was much lighter than this. I darkened it up in Photoshop to show it here. I also purposely made the cheese a bit shorter, and also deleted the wood panelling and green tabletop. (If I was serious about using the photo for reference, I’d have set it up with something white in the background to begin with.)

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Step 2

Here I wanted to establish some color on the whole piece, just to get started. Using a light pressure, I did an over all wash of Canary Yellow on the cheese, then started to indicate some of the shadowy bits with Grey Green. I did some light Cadmium Orange on the tomato, leaving the highlights. I also did a pale pale pale wash of Sky Blue for the cast shadow (which barely shows up here.)

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Step 3

Here I did Orange Yellow and Cadmium Orange over the whole cheese. I also used an eraser to indicate the highlight on the top edge.

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Step 4

Now its starting to get fun. I did the green bits with Chrome Green, Sea Green and Grey Green.
I used a heavier pressure for the greens, since they’re darker bits. I’m also not slavishly copying every little green bit exactly like it is in the photo. Some pieces are the same, but I’ve also done some editing and rearranging.

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Step 5

Here I went farther with the cheese. I did more Cadmium Orange over the whole thing, and also added a shadow for the tomato on the top of the cheese. I worked on the edge highlight too.

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Step 6

Now I’m starting to work on the tomato. I did Geranium Lake over the whole thing, with a little bit of Cadmium Orange.

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Step 7

I developed the tomato further here, with Scartlet Red, Dark Red, Cadmium Orange and a little Light Flesh in the highlights.

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Step 8

Yes, I know this looks weird. I needed to go darker, so added Scarlet Red, Deep Red, Dark Red, and more Geranium Lake. I also filled in the highlights because they didn’t look right anymore.

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Step 9

I fixed it. I put the highlights back in with a Helix battery powered eraser. I also added some more darks for shadows. And I lightly outlined the cheese and tomato with True Green.

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Step 10

Now I’m starting the background. I did an even layer of True Green over the whole thing.

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Step 11

Almost finished. I added more True Green, plus Light Green all over the background.
Then I used Chrome Green and Light Ultramarine for the shadow. I did more tweaking in the tomato’s cast shadow as well.

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Step 12

The finished piece. I added more Cadmium Orange over the cheese, and more True Green in the shadow.

By Remi Engels

Symbolic preconceptions are part of a subconscious visual language that uses symbols to represent known objects. This language of symbols evolved as a mechanism to help us survive as a species. These symbols help us, for example, to instantly recognize food sources or dangerous predators.

When we observe an unknown object our subconscious mind immediately tries to form a new symbol to represent and store the object in memory. Often beginning artists will more accurately draw unknown objects than familiar ones because they are not yet married to the new symbols.

However, when they attempt to draw the same object a second time, it is likely that a more symbolic picture will emerge because ready to use symbols have already been stored in the brain.

Consider, for example, the word “head”. Immediately an image comes to mind which is symbolic for the head. Unfortunately, this symbol is only a schematic representation of a head and is invariably a gross simplification of a real head. Nevertheless, there is a strong subconscious pull to draw the symbol instead of what we actually see.

It is this conflict that artists must learn to overcome. This is particularly a problem for pencil portrait artists. When drawing a portrait the artist must resolve numerous layers of symbols to achieve a realistic effect.

We now will describe a very good exercise to learn to overcome the problem of symbol drawing.

We will be drawing from an upside-down photograph. This way our symbolic preconception of the head is disrupted. We will be forced to draw without our symbols. The result will be a purer drawing experience unfettered by a tainted perception.

As you draw the lines and block in the tones you will feel quite awkward in your drawing. This is a good thing. Do not be overly concerned of how your drawing looks. This is an exercise in seeing.

When practicing line and tone this way, beginning artists often get better results than from the right-side up way. Trust yourself and throughout the exercise only look at your photograph in the upside-down position even though it may feel quite uncomfortable.

You will learn to see and draw tone as shapes and will be able to break down hard edges into short, straight lines instead of the usual symbols your brain will assign to the nose, the ears, etc.

Thinking of and naming perceived objects will lead you down the garden path of almond shaped eyes, two holes for nostrils, a bunch of lines for hair, cauliflower ears and something that looks like the letter M sitting on a bowl for a mouth instead of what is actually there.

Artists will never be free of symbolic preconceptions. The symbols actually adapt and become more sophisticated. It is by constantly analyzing and abstracting form that we are able to draw realistically.

Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and expert teacher. Check out his Pencil Portrait Course and his Portrait Print Package Special

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