To better help my drawing students, I found a little time between two terms to create time-lapse videos: one learns better with a demonstration! But I have no ambition to become a YouTuber.
And I haven’t bothered to put on a voiceover to explain it all: I’m not installed for sound recording (the result would be even more « amateur »), and it also requires extra time to edit; time I unfortunately don’t have.
So I apply the mantra: “Finished. Not Perfect” and pat myself on the back for getting it done on time. And since it’s done, I might as well share it with others who are not my students!
This first video (less than 7 minutes) proposes three exercises to better draw with very sharp graphite pencils (4H, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B), in successive layers of crosshatching. Do not smudge! Keep the aesthetics of the pencil strokes!
Exercise 1) With each pencil, draw the smoothest possible gradient, using only the pressure of the pencil, from the lightest to the darkest.
Exercise 2) With all the pencils, draw the smoothest possible gradient, using both the pressure and the dark (2B, 4B, 6B) or light (2H, 4H) capacity of each pencil.
Exercise 3) Using a photo reference or a still life, use the simplest shape (a sphere or an egg) with a single light source and a plain background, and observe and draw the lights and shadows as accurately as possible.
This second video is putting into practice the graphite drawing technique, with a human figure; approximatly 9h of work speeded-up into a 20 minutes time-lapse.
« Aquarius »
Graphite on white paper (18 x 24 inches or ~45 x 60 cm)
Warning : this video contains an ARTISTIC NUDE.
A photo reference has been used, a nude female model, back view. The nude model is a common practice in fine-arts, to learn human figure and anatomy.
