About Miranda

My work fits into two very different and unrelated categories: realism and abstract. Each style allows me to challenge different parts of my personality. Drawing realistically indulges the side of me that loves detail and is a perfectionist. It challenges me technically and I am always pushing to create more accurate drawings. The abstract works reflect my interest in colour and form. I am able to work loosely and fluidly, reacting to the painting as I go. It is sometimes a relief to shift from the tight discipline of realistic drawing to this type of work, but it can be equally relieving to go from these open-ended paintings to getting lost in the details of a drawing.

A very important part of drawing realistically is shading: the variation in value from shadows to highlights that describe the shape of something. By improving your shading, you can greatly improve the quality of your drawings. Shading isn’t difficult to learn, but it does take some practice. You can learn how to make your drawings more realistic by understanding light, controlling your pencil, and blending.

To learn more about Miranda, please take a moment to visit her websites below:

Art Lessons & Tips: http://www.learntoart.com/

Portrait Work: http://www.customportraitsonline.com/

Online Gallery: http://www.mirandaaschenbrenner.com

How to Shade a Drawing Using Pointillism

Pointillism is a technique using a series of dots to create an image. It takes time, and loads of patience, but the results can be incredibly impressive!

For pointillism, you’re going to need some special pens. The best are fine tip pens with free-flowing ink. Ball point pens don’t work well because they need to be moving for the ink to flow. My favourites are Staedtler Pigment Liners. You’ll also want a range of sizes as well, from very fine to a wider tip. Something like a 01, a 03, and a 05 would work well.

Throughout the drawing, you’ll use each size of pen. Make sure you blend the dots together when you switch pen size. You don’t want to see the border where you switched pens. Also, don’t rush your mark-making. If you get careless, some of your points might get little tails. You want nice clean dots to create an even pattern across the whole of your drawing.

As with any drawing, you want to start out with a good line drawing. Outline the contours of your subjects, as well as the shapes of the major shadows and highlights. You want to have good guidelines for when it comes to filling in the values.

When using pointillism to shade, you need to think about values just like you do when shading with a pencil. It’s important to have a range of values to give your drawing enough contrast.

Let’s use the sphere as an example for how to shade with pointillism. Once you learn how to shade basic shapes, you can shade just about anything!

Start with your finest pen and make some dots around the highlight. Avoid putting any dots inside the highlight area, but make sure that the points gradually become more and farther apart closer to the highlight. You don’t want your marks to suddenly stop dead. As you move away from the highlight, place your dots closer together.

As the highlight fades to the mid-tones, switch to the middle-sized pen and mark your points closer together. Now you can fill in almost the entire sphere, making your points closer together as you approach the shadow.

For the shadow, use your widest pen and make your marks close together. In the darkest areas, your dots should be so close together that white shows through. You might be tempted to cheat and use the pen to color in the entire shadow.

Try to resist!

It would be faster, but it would be obvious. With pointillism, it’s important to use only dots. The marks create a pattern or a texture that is visible even in the solid black areas. If you have a really large area of black that would take you days to dot, you could try colouring it in solid, then adding a few dots on top to mimic the pattern. I don’t recommend it, but you could try.

When drawing with pointillism, make sure you don’t draw any lines. Even when you’re drawing wrinkles or eyelashes use a series of points to create the line. It will look more natural than a solid line, which would stand out amongst all those dots

When your drawing is done, let the ink dry for ten minutes or so before erasing the pencil lines. You’d hate to smudge all your hard work!

Pointillism in Colour

You can also do pointillism in paints or pastels. This technique involves layering different colored dots on top of each other. When seen from far away, it’s like an optical illusion: dots blend together and create a new color. A simple example of this would be dots of red and yellow, which would appear as orange from far away. This type of illusion was used extensively by the French painter, Seurat.

His example from Wikipedia is A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, by Seurat.

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.

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.

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.

Drawing is a wonderful art form all in itself, but it is also a great training tool for painting. Once you understand and learn how to draw well, you are then free to focus your mind on the challenge of working with color.

One of the best ways to practice drawing is to take a sketch book around and simply start to sketch your surroundings. Find subjects that are appealing to you and start drawing.

Find a good book on beginner drawing and learn the fundamentals: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a really great book.

I hope this drawing lesson has helped. Keep practicing. Once you get a really good grasp on drawing, your paintings will flow much easier.

Click here for more drawing and sketching tips from CreativeSpotlite.com

Choosing your drawing supplies

There are a variety of different drawing tools available for todays artists and what you choose to work with is based on your own preference. It comes to down to experimentation. You have to work with a number of different things before you find the tools that fit your style of drawing.

Don’t go out and spend a ton of money on your drawing supplies in the beginning. You can really get started with a beginner pencil set and some newsprint paper. When you become more experienced, you can then venture out and spend money on better supplies.

Graphite pencils – Graphite pencils range in hardness and are labeled from 9H to 9B. The H pencils are the hardest. The higher the number in front of the H the lighter the mark. The B pencils are softest. The higher the number in front of the B the darker the mark. The H pencils are generally used for detailed lines where the B pencils will produce rich dark lines great for bold expressive drawings.

Charcoal Pencils – Charcoal pencils also come in a range of hardness and are labeled either from H to B like graphite, or simply as “soft”, “medium” or “hard”. They have a noticeably different feel to them and produce a rich dark line. Charcoal pencils tend to wear pretty fast because of their softness.

Blending Tortillions – Tightly wound stumps of paper with a point used to blend in your drawings.

Erasers – You may want to have a few different types of erasers on hand to fit every occasion.

Kneaded Eraser – A soft pliable eraser that can be kneaded into any shape to pick up and remove pencil and charcoal. May not be the best for erasing smaller details. The SANFORD Kneaded Rubber Erasers are very popular.

Eraser Pencil – These are wonderful for getting into small areas of your drawings. They can also be sharpened like ordinary pencils.

Fixatives – Fixatives protect your drawings from being smudged or ruined. There are two types of fixatives: permanent and workable . Permanent fixatives are used on a finished drawing to protect, where a workable fixative is used during the drawing process as you are working. Use great care while working with fixatives by only using in a well ventilated area. When spraying the fixative, make sure you do not spray any one section for too long and only spray a light mist standing about 3 feet away from the drawing. You should probably experiment on a few practice drawings first to determine if a fixative is right for you. There appears to be a difference of opinion amongst artists when it comes to fixatives. Some artists love to work with them and swear by them, while others feel they may actually alter the quality of a drawing. Again, you have to experiment yourself to see if fixatives are a good choice for you.

Paper – In the beginning, for the purpose of practice, you may want to consider purchasing some inexpensive newsprint paper . You should be able to get this at any local art store or online. When you are ready to purchase a more expensive grade paper, choose something that will work best with the medium you use. Paper comes in a variety of different textures from smooth to rough, often referred to as its “tooth”. A really smooth paper may not work well for some mediums as the surface lacks texture, and will not grab certain drawing mediums very well. If the paper is too rough, the medium may simply slide across the surface. You have to experiment with different papers to find the one you are most comfortable with. Strathmore Brand makes excellent paper that is very popular amongst artists.

Horse Hair Drafting Brush - You should be able to purchase a horse hair drafting brush at any local art supply store or online store. This is a really helpful tool for brushing away unwanted eraser scraps from your drawing.

Basic Drawing Techniques:

There are two basic ways to approach a drawing: linear and tonal. The linear approach to a drawing focuses on line and outlines of shapes. In tonal drawing, you make use of gradations to indicate the various planes of your subject.

You should try to avoid smudging and blending in the beginning so that you force yourself to use your pencil more to achieve value in your drawings.

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.

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.

Holding the pencil - 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.

Contour Drawing – This very basic technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without any shading to indicate form.

Blind Contour Drawing – 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.

Hatching – This drawing technique uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the same direction, which gives the appearance of value.

Crosshatching – Similar to hatching only you draw multiple layers of hatch lines at different angles that overlap one another.

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.

Upside Down Drawing – 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.

Negative Drawing Technique – This technique teaches you how to properly see the “white” or “negative” space in your picture. This is the area that surrounds your subject or “positive” space. Instead of drawing out the positive part of the drawing with line, you draw in the shapes that surround the positive part of your drawing.

Dry Wash Technique – This technique works quite well if you want to cover large areas of your drawing. It creates a nice soft tone. You begin by adding marks with a pencil or apply some graphite powder to the desired area on your paper. Then using a tissue or soft cloth pick up some of the graphite and gently rub it across the paper, almost as if you were painting.

I hope this article on drawing techniques and supplies has helped.  Enjoy and happy drawing!