Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
Here’s your weekly dose of inspiration to build a creative habit
One drawing at a time Brought to you by sketchbook Skool
Hi, Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
I often use a pen when I draw, although I love drawing with graphite too.
But when using a pencil, it’s tempting to use an eraser to correct mistakes.
And that actually really slows down the drawing process.
You’re drawing, then erasing, then drawing again, erasing again… and it just stops
you from getting in the flow of the wonderful process of drawing!
But you can actually also use your eraser to draw with, did you know that?
Let’s give it a try!
We’ll use a pencil, and an eraser.
I’m using a kneadable eraser, and a piece of paper tissue or kitchen paper.
You can also use a plastic eraser.
Consider cutting a sharp point on it, for detailed erasing.
With your pencil, color an area on your paper, by holding the pencil a little bit flat, so
you use the side of the lead rather than making scratchy lines with the sharp tip.
Add another layer, and another one, and keep adding layers until you have a nice, solid
grey area.
Now use the kitchen paper to gently fade the grey.
Don’t press too hard - then you’ll rub the graphite into the paper, and you don’t
want that - because you want your eraser to lift up parts out of the grey area.
Take your eraser and start drawing with it.
Think in highlights!
Lift all lighter areas of your subject off the paper.
I am drawing an apple, erasing all highlighted bits.
With your eraser, you are drawing the light bits of the subject, and with that, the rest
of the subject sort of ‘appears’ around it as well.
You can also carefully take a bit of grey from the background, to create a sense of
depth.
If you take out too much, you can always add more grey using your pencil in gentle strokes.
And use your pencil to add more grey to the shaded areas, and to add a drop shadow.
You’re drawing in an inversed way, and it’s a great exercise to see values in the subjects
you draw.
You can smoothen transitions using your finger, or the tissue, a q-tip or a blending stick.
If you take your time, and keep adding and erasing, you will see that you can make add
more and more detail, add many shades, and more depth.
A lot more than this quick one I am showing you here.
Try it, have a go.
Pick up an apple, or any subject, and make sure it’s well lit, preferably from one
side.
That way, you will have clear and bright highlights, and shadows you can work with.
Take your time, have a bit of patience, and have fun!
And if you want to learn more, make sure to sign up to receive a brand new Draw Tip Tuesday
video from me in your email!
I’ll see you next week