Today I'm making my own reference image
to take on the Realism drawing challenge using only Crayola colored pencils
to celebrate reaching 50k subscribers on this YouTube channel.
On my unofficial first birthday as a YouTuber, I've got a lot to cover.
It's going to be fun.
Exactly one year ago, I decided it was time to finally get
in front of the camera and bring my art to YouTube.
Since then, it's been an exciting year of challenges, making new friends,
and embracing the world of YouTube in a way we never expected.
But before I get too sidetracked in
nostalgia, let's talk about my challenge for today.
Can the cheap Crayola pencils create a realistic drawing?
In choosing the perfect reference photo
for today's drawing, I decided to create my own.
There are plenty of websites that offer reference photos with full permission
from the photographers to use their photos instead of just taking photos from Google
or Pinterest where you don't actually know if you have permission.
After all, the original photographer is
the one who has created the composition, chosen the lighting,
and put a lot of effort into creating the perfect image for you to draw so they
deserve the same respect for their art as we'd hoped to receive as artists.
But today I've decided I want to create
a truly original piece by taking my own photo.
This way, nobody else will have already
drawn this image, and I'll have full control over
the colors, the lighting, and the composition.
It's just another way.
I love being creative and a good excuse
to play around with these fancy, little colored lights that we bought.
This is the performing arts version of our channel.
It's a bit fun, though.
How cool does it look?
After some adjustments in Photoshop, I've decided I want my letters to look
a little bit more colorful, so I've stitched a few of the images I've
taken together and added some extra colors as well.
With some extra layers in Photoshop,
I want this to be really colorful so that I'll enjoy every minute of drawing this.
I'm not enjoying every minute of drawing this.
One of the things I used to do when I first started drawing was to use
an Eyedropper tool in either Photoshop or in Procreate on my iPad to help me work
out which colors were in my image so it was easier to match the right pencils.
In this case, I quickly realized this wasn't going to be very helpful.
There are a lot of colors in this.
I think I'll just wing it as I go.
It does look kind of pretty, though.
Next it's time to get my outlines ready.
And here comes the part I always find myself stuck on. Is tracing cheating?
For such a long time,
I felt that I wasn't allowed to trace at all, and even today I've traced a small
portion of this and then tried to sketch the rest.
I think it's important to build your
skills in drawing without tracing for sure.
But when it comes to creating a piece that requires insane accuracy,
like a realistic drawing, especially for hyper realism,
it either takes a crazy amount of skill or it's possibly been traced.
Can I say that? I don't think artists show this process enough.
I've seen so many amazing realism artists,
and I've wondered if they draw and sketch or if they trace because it would be
genuinely helpful for me to know for my own learning.
Have they built the skill to draw those proportions, or do they trace those first
guides that they never seem to show on screen?
Learning to draw proportions accurately is
an entirely different skill set to shading and coloring, and both are important.
But for so many years, my lack of skills and proportions held me
back and became a huge discouragement that stopped me drawing altogether.
So now I usually give myself a few dot points that I can work from to help
with proportions, and then I try to sketch the rest.
It's a good halfway point that still allows me to grow my skills,
but I'm interested to hear what you think, because honestly,
I would rather speed through the outline process by tracing so that I can focus
on the shading and coloring, which is what I really enjoy. With the 10
or even sometimes 20 hours I spend on the rest,
it's hardly a shortcut, especially if I've taken the time to take
the original photo instead of finding something online.
Right? But I'm really interested to hear
your thoughts on this in the comments as well.
Now let's get out the pencils,
because I know already that the white Crayola is pretty useless,
I thought I'd try a different technique
to add some white highlights that's creating fine indents in the paper so
that pencil won't go into these areas of the page.
I've never done this before, so we'll see how well this works as we go.
I'm starting with my darker colors because there are a lot of different colors
and shapes in this picture, so it's actually quite a hard subject to draw.
I probably picked the wrong type of picture for a cheap pencil challenge,
but we're committed now, so adding these dark areas first should
help me see the overall shapes and areas of color a little more easily as I go.
This is where tracing more of the image is
probably a good idea, because it would make an image like this a lot easier.
I'm keeping my layers very light at this point, which is always a good idea
at the start of a drawing, but even more so with cheaper pencils.
The Crayola pencils are wax based,
but they don't act like what you might expect from a wax based pencil.
They aren't creamy, so they don't blend or move once they're on the paper,
which means you need to layer them to mix the colors.
Lighter pressure will allow you to add
more layers and will make those transitions between colors more smooth.
Keeping a sharp point is also very
important here, and it's the best way to get the full color out of these pencils
without being tempted to add more pressure than you should.
Paper is also important no matter what pencils you are using.
A slight upgrade in paper can make a huge difference. In choosing paper,
look for something with more tooth to allow for more layers.
I didn't want to make this an unfair challenge by working on my best quality
paper, so I've chosen my Nina Bristol Vellum,
which has quickly become one of my favorite papers.
It is a Bristol Vellum,
which is great for colored pencils, but it is far more budget friendly option
than most of the other papers I was tempted to use today.
I've actually done a Crayola challenge before.
Right back when my channel was new. I colored in a page using just twelve
pencils, although I did say that I'd like to try it again one day with better paper.
And in that time my skills and techniques have improved a lot as well because I've
been getting creative every week as a part of this channel.
If I can improve over just one year, so can you.
So don't expect to be able to create
a masterpiece right away, but be encouraged that your skills will
improve with time if you just keep creating.
If I'm being honest, this has been harder than I expected.
I'm wishing I'd trace more guides and I'm
kind of regretting such a complex image with so many fine details.
This image in general would have been much
easier with markers or pens then with pencils, let alone with Crayola.
But the first layer is done, so it should be a more enjoyable process from here.
Before I try to add any more color,
I want to add a layer of solvent. If I'm being honest,
I basically never use solvents normally, not because they aren't good just because
I enjoy burnishing and solvents just aren't part of my process.
But I think this will be a good way to get more color out of these Crayolas.
Hopefully break down the wax a bit
to allow more layers and remove the white gaps from the paper texture.
I've tested a bunch of different solvents in the past.
You can find the full comparison in this
video or on my blog, but today I'm just going to try
the Zest Pencil Blend and the Artist Mineral Spirits.
In my previous tests,
I completely destroyed my blending stump and even tried using it
in my pencil sharpener. Yeah, don't do that.
So I finally bought a proper sanding block to see if I can revive it.
Otherwise I've got a cotton bud and a paintbrush as other methods to try.
I've also seen some other artists create a little tub of solvent with a sponge
to make it easier to apply without wastage and I don't have a sponge,
but I've got some chucks wipes, so I'll see if I can make a makeshift
version for today and maybe I'll make a proper version later.
Both solvents worked, but I've decided to use the Zest pencil blending solution.
Surprisingly,
it doesn't smell as intensely orange as the last time I used this,
possibly because I haven't spilled it all over my desk this time,
so if the orange smell was enough, I've just spilled it again.
Now it really smells like oranges in here.
I'm not happy with the shadow at this point.
The solvent probably wasn't a good idea
for this, but I'll see if I can fix it later.
Otherwise, I'm pretty happy and ready
to start on my next layer of pencils as soon as this dries.
So far in this project, I've been using a few different sharpeners
with these pencils, but the Crayola pencils have a really
rough wooden casing, and they are not easy to sharpen.
I'm actually a bit worried that they'll damage some of my nicest sharpeners,
and even my best sharpeners have been uncomfortable to use.
I decided to try this small,
handheld long point sharpener from Apsara that just arrived in the mail.
I've been waiting on this one
for my sharpener video, and it got lost in the mail for about five
months, and when I ordered, I couldn't order one.
It was cheaper to order a whole box.
So even if my pencil destroys this sharpener, I've got a few spares.
And actually, the sharpener is handling
these pencils pretty well and gives them that really sharp point that makes them
feel like a better quality pencil, making them nicer to use and easier
to layout with the bold color I'm hoping for.
This time I'm using more pressure, when I'm confident about my final colors.
I could add a few more layers of color or
solvent, but I don't want this to become a 30 hours project. Already
I'm taking breaks every 30 to 40 minutes
instead of every few hours like I usually would, because even though this is going
well, these pencils just aren't as enjoyable to use as my artist grade
pencils, and it's not a relaxing experience overall for me.
That doesn't mean they aren't any good, but if you're wanting to level up your art
and create pieces like this, do yourself a favor and invest in quality
supplies as soon as you can afford it, even if you start with a smaller set
at first.
For me, my enjoyment and patience multiplied so much when I first bought
a better set of pencils, and as a result, my skills improved too.
Because I spent more time drawing.
These colors are really starting to pop
now, although my indents for highlights were lost when I used the solvents,
so I'll bring them back at the end with one of my other favorite tools.
Have I even mentioned yet why I'm actually drawing 50K?
Guess what? We reached 50,000 subscribers this week!
What perfect timing to reach such
an exciting milestone in the week of this channel's unofficial first birthday.
I say it's unofficial because technically
I've had this YouTube account since 2016, but at that time it was just a place
to host my videos for my website and my blog.
It wasn't until one year ago on the 3
September in 2020 that Shane and I decided to make YouTube our focus.
And with that start a proper YouTube show.
We had just 4000 subscribers at that time.
And exactly one year later we are celebrating reaching 50,000 subscribers,
which is mind blowing and exciting and just... Wow.
Thank you to you.
Thank you for watching, for commenting,
for laughing with me, for sharing in my fails,
and for supporting me in this exciting new journey.
And this is just the beginning.
I still believe that we can reach 100,000
subscribers by the end of December, like we set out to do back when we had
just 15,000 subscribers earlier in the year.
And just like I promised a few weeks ago, I've chosen one lucky person to receive
a set of 60 Faber Castell Polychromos pencils this week as a little bonus
celebration for helping me get halfway to 100K.
So when you finish watching this video,
you can check that out over on my community tab.
Don't go yet.
There's still plenty of time to get your name in for the 100K giveaway that I'll be
drawing when we reach that 100,000 subscribers.
And you don't even have to subscribe
to enter because, I don't want you to subscribe unless you want to subscribe.
But if you do subscribe,
we're just getting started with the fun on this channel.
I'm ready with more art,
bigger challenges, live streams, and huge collabs with other amazing
artists on YouTube all coming and I'd love you to be a part of it.
And for everyone who has taken a chance on me from the start, thank you.
You're a part of what I hope is going to be an amazing story one day,
and I truly value your support and your comments.
Okay, we're in the final stages now.
I'm happy with how it's turning out, but it's taken a while and the Crayola
definitely aren't as enjoyable to use as my nicer pencils.
So the 10 hours I've spent so far have been, well, long.
I have done this over a few days,
not all at once, but rather than feeling motivated to draw more,
I feel like I don't want to draw for at least a week after this.
The pencils are almost finished and then it's time for some finishing touches.
Let's bring out a white pen.
Okay, I know it's not Crayola,
but I love adding white highlights and this picture has so many highlights
that it will really boost the final image and finish this off.
I often use a gel pen for this, but even my nicest gel pen isn't liking
the Crayola today so I'm using a paint pen instead and I'm having fun again.
This part is fun but more than anything,
I'm excited that this picture is almost done.
This has been more than 12 hours
of drawing over the past week and I just want to see the final result now.
And finally here it is.
So many colors,
I'm really happy with how this turned out.
Speaking of colors,
what color is the subscribe button under the video for you right now?
Mine is grey.
Is yours red or grey?
But seriously, thank you to all my subscribers
for helping me to reach this goal and let me know if you'd like to see more
challenges like this or more drawings like this in the future.
I feel like the only appropriate way to end a video about the past year
of YouTube is with a selection of the best moments of the year.
So much editing work.
I'm sorry, Shane.
Actually, I might regret leaving this in Shane's hands anyway because he'll
probably choose the most embarrassing moment.
But here he goes. He's 50K in 50 seconds.
Enjoy.
I've turned my wall into a giant coloring book
but this is for the sake of experimenting.