If you decide to master the basic techniques of drawing with a pencil, it does not matter whether you are an adult or a child, you need to start by depicting simple things and learning the basic rules of working with material. The main thing is to be consistent, complete all the steps in turn. And also be patient and willing to learn.
Types of pencils
To master the various techniques of drawing with a pencil, you need to figure out which material options are used. Any pencil consists of a base (wooden or plastic for a mechanical one) and a stylus, which can be graphite, but not only that.
Conventional pencils, which are called simple, come in different softnesses: hard is marked with the English letter H, soft B. The number next to the letter indicates the degree of this indicator, for example, 5B is a very soft lead.
Colored pencils are often used . It is interesting to work with watercolor pencils as a complement to the same colors or as an independent material.
For ease of use, other art materials are produced in the form of pencils: coal, chalk, sanguine, etc.
What will be required, except for pencils
You can use different techniques for drawing with a simple pencil. According to the chosen option, paper and other related materials are purchased. If you perform a thin outline drawing, the sheet should be dense and smooth, and the pencils should be hard or medium. Errors are fixed with a soft eraser.
If you will draw volumetric images with the transfer of chiaroscuro by applying hatching, pencils must be sharpened sharply, and preferably not with a sharpener, but with a knife, so that the free part of the stylus protrudes 1-1.5 cm from the base.
To work with the method of blending graphite, you will need a piece of soft paper, cloth or a cotton pad. For this option, paper with an uneven surface, for example, even watercolor and soft pencils, is suitable. Excess graphite can easily be removed with a special soft eraser, similar to plasticine, or bread crumb. As you can see, it is important to determine in advance what method you will do the work in order to properly prepare the materials.
The basics of pencil drawing
You can perform a picture in several ways:
- from memory or by presentation;
- from nature (in front of you is a real object);
- from a photograph or sample (copy method).
In any of these methods, the overall sequence of work will be as follows:
- Choose the size of the sheet and its location (vertical or horizontal).
- Put the basic dimensional ratios of objects.
- Draw the contours of large shapes.
- Draw small details.
- Transfer the volume of objects and chiaroscuro. It is better to leave the lightest areas (highlights) white, and the darkest ones to be performed last.
If your chosen pencil drawing techniques involve hatching or shading the entire sheet, work carefully so as not to overwrite the completed parts of the image with your hand. Place a sheet of paper under your hand or attach the drawing to an easel and try to lean on the drawing not with the entire side of your hand, but with your finger.
How to draw an outline image
This option is used as an independent method or as a preliminary deposition of the shapes of objects for the subsequent study of chiaroscuro or painting with paints.
The simplest pencil-drawing technique for beginners is to create an image from a sample on a grid or cells.
The work goes like this:
- Take the photograph or picture you like and draw on it or on film so as not to spoil the source, a grid consisting of square cells. The smaller they are, the more accurate and easier it will be to transfer the image.
- On the prepared sheet of paper, draw the same grid with the same number of cells. If the image is transferred on the same scale, then the size of the squares is taken the same. To enlarge the sample, simply scale the cell size.
- Analyze the contours of objects as they intersect the cells of the grid superimposed on the sample and draw similarly on your blank sheet.
It’s even easier to translate the image contour through glass, on the back of which there is a light source, but in this case your sheet and the base of the sample should be quite thin and translucent.
If you intend to paint professionally, do not use the above options, but work like this:
- Mark the boundaries of the whole composition inside the sheet (left, right, top and bottom).
- Indicate the main proportional proportions of objects by eye or by making appropriate measurements, for example, with a pencil.
- Draw the details.
If the image is executed as a contour for working with paints, shading or hatching, make it only thin lines. If the work is linear, it is usually worth highlighting the foreground objects with a softer pencil or a wide line.
How to add volume
Many begin with the image of faces when they decide to master the techniques of drawing with a pencil. Portrait, in fact, is one of the most difficult subjects. If you decide to dwell on it, pay attention that each detail is a three-dimensional shape, and not flat, which looks like in a photograph or picture. Nose, eyes, lips - all have their own shade and black and white detailing. The same applies to any other objects.
There are two ways to transfer volume:
In the first case, strokes are superimposed in shape (vertically on a straight surface, arched on a complex spherical shape). To convey the effect of dense material, strokes need to be applied close to each other so that the face does not turn out “grass” or “hair”. For beginners, neat hatching is difficult, so it’s better to use the second method. Shading involves applying a tone, followed by rubbing graphite on a sheet within the shape of a particular object or part thereof. Black and white transitions turn out soft, and the image is more realistic, although professionals usually do not use this method.
Watercolor Painting Techniques
This type of pencil is very interesting for both novice artists and those who already have experience in this field. Watercolor pencils are used in different ways:
- As an independent material for drawing.
- To study the details of a picturesque picture made with watercolors.
- For drawing and then blurring part of the image.
It is worth remembering that the detailing should be carried out at the end of the work so that the water does not fall on the drawn elements. And if you are going to blur two adjacent objects of different colors, you should first blur both forms, and only after that - the border of the contact of the forms.
As you can see, pencil drawing techniques are as varied as the material itself. If you are a beginner, do the first work by copying patterns on a grid. When you try yourself in a linear drawing, proceed to shading. Hatching and drawing from nature is the most difficult task.