I was getting pretty frustrated with a composition I was working on and saw this video, it was exactly what I needed to see. I pushed the darks and everything looks way better. Thanks for the good reminders!
I struggle with this a lot, its inspiring to see your practicing process before you attempt the real artwork- Ive long forgotten about experimenting before dealing with the proper artwork
It’s a great process to be able to use, at least at times, not necessarily always. Good to remind ourselves we’re always learning. All the best with your drawing 😀
Just cutting down several sheets of typing or printer paper into relatively similar sizes to stack up and staple together CAN give you a fine practice pad... just big enough (I usually go with about the size of an Index Card) to scratch out a few good details or spread a texturing or shading technique to see where the lines or hatching/cross-hatching get me... AND whether you warm up to a new representation of a rose blossom or switch out techniques for windows and panes, or just tease out a few ideas about catching reflections and refractions of glass or water... scratch out what you need, yank the "page" off the pad, and set aside for further visual study, or crumple and pitch at the waste bin... whatever suits while you make your progress... Sometimes, no matter how much experience and progress I grow through, some additional "farting around" becomes mandatory if I'm ever going to kick this project out the friggin' door... or get on to the next one. ;o)
It might seem like extra work, but have you considered Butcher Paper??? Get the UNWAXED... wherever there's a choice, because the wax... well... it can eventually lead to headache... BUT a LOT of butcher paper is completely unwaxed, anyway. It holds up to meat and produce being wrapped and frozen with it, AND holds the Sharpie Labels scrawled across it pretty well... Eventually, there's just so much moisture you can't really help a little bleeding, but I've never gotten my butcher paper "work" that wet with ink, and I play in dip pens and brushes with acrylic, frequently thinning for "wash effects" by adding ordinary water... SO it gets wet enough... Butcher Paper (at least the last "cheap-o" roll I bought) has a relatively solid and consistent "tooth" if you dabble in graphite (pencil) or wax (crayons and pastels)... I'm sure there's better out there, but it can be measured down and cut as precisely as you care... AND they DO put out rolls at different widths, depending on what you want to start with, and how much measuring, calculating, and trimming you care to do per "sheet" exactly... AND depending on what type(s) of printer you might have available to you. ;o)
I have become bolder with value over the last few years through deliberately experimenting. Why not plan to get better than my best one. I hope you do. 😀 All the best Ristray. 😀
I'm the weird one who likes the first one best, because it looks like the friendliest street that I wouldn't be afraid to walk down, lol. It could be that my monitor is too dark as the others kind of look dark and scary on my screen. But I do understand and appreciate the tutorial. I am new to art and struggle with tone and values (and the art vocabulary in general, lol). You are so talented thank you for this.
Value is really just lightness and darkness. That’s the key thing to remember. But it’s different to colour. Desaturating an usher shows you values without the distraction of colour. Tone is a more general word. Preference for all things art is a personal thing. But the more we understand, the more choice we get to make. Have fun with it all. 😀
Your advice is clever. Thank you. I like the 3rd image best for how accurate it looks compared to the actual photo, but the 2nd photo has value in that allows us to see more detail in the shadowed area where the people are. The 2nd image would be great for an illustration in a novel. The 1st is good for other reasons.
I have to express my gratitude for sharing your skills and experience. However I am exclusively on a digital tablet! But that makes no difference in learning from you and most of all, I am having so much fun 🤩 using what you teach since your style is exactly what I like. Thank you so much. Peter, France.
This technique is very interesting to me. When I'm working in a digital studio, we often do hue and value adjustments on mutable layers, which cumulatively make the final image. If one of them is suspicious, like a burn or dodge layer, we can turn it off to compare, or make adjustments. If I try having several tone layers on a spectrum between extremes, I can mute them and pick and choose what works best for the final tone layer and get the most oomph out of my drawing. This is a great presentation, as always!
I really loved the video. This is exactly what I was looking for, and it’s something that I was struggling with. Thanks for your work, I really love your art! Hugs from Brazil
Great technique to figure out values! I thought the final drawing was spot on but there's little chance it would have been that good without the practice runs. Good lesson and great idea - thank you! :)
This one's great timing for me! Love all your videos. Always learn a lot. So grateful to you for putting it out there. PS: looking forward to a book :)
@@stephentraversart completely understand that. I've been looking at some very good books and focusing on improving my work. I think you offer something that no one else does, so I thought I'd throw it out there. Meanwhile very pleased your videos are available and it's really been making a difference for me in my work. Very grateful - thank you
Funny you should mention "alcohol based inks"... (though, this might be a TAD off-topic... haha) As a dip-pen schooled experimenter, myself... I'm most consistently in a quandary about whether to go "pure" on acrylics or alcohols... Anxiously awaiting some refillable brush-pens (compliment to my enormous collections of brushes and nibs... {rolls eyes and whistles a long low tone}...) SO... just wondering if you have a preference, yourself, or if you've just always seemed to end up with alcohol inks because of the pens you most frequently buy. One advantage to dip pens and the staggering arrays of nibs available is that I can quite literally just dip my pen into anything and draw with it... so my choices can be as arbitrary as I like... give or take a few mountains of "farting around". ;o)
In the five years I’ve been drawing in ink I’ve only ever used these alcohol based ink fine liners. But I should probably be a little more adventurous and go the dip pens!😀
@@stephentraversart Well, I've just ordered a 24 pc. Kit of alcohol inks and a bottle of diluent... Apparently the acrylics have more tendency to "bleed" which is "BONUS" if you want to shade and mix easily... Just add water to ink in the brush-pen and you get the shader... or draw "wet on wet" to blend on paper directly... BUT it has the drawback of "bleeding" any time it's wet, whether you intend it or not... SO... in the last couple days, I may have gotten my answer "by raw research"... BUT I'll take the adventure dive and play a little "who catches hell"... haha... Hopefully alcohol inks prove more archival and color-fast... I'll just have to find my custom "style" for diluting to suit without being too transparent... I guess... AND YES!!! You definitely SHOULD try dip pens... It's a bit fiddly AT FIRST, but you'll find a nib type (or rather a few) to give you the FULLEST control of line thickness and weight... The ink isn't terribly expensive whether you stick to alcohol or add acrylic... and with a small cup (like a 2 oz. shotglass/tumbler) full of water or alcohol and a paper towel make clean-up and color switching a breeze... dip... swish... wipe... Anyways... you're doing fine as is... Thanks for the reply. Hope this might help (just about anyone who happens on the thread... really)... ;o)
As always, I love your videos. They inspired me to draw again after years. For many time I used pencil and now I'm encouraged to use only pen. And I think it's working good! 😉 But I wish to ask you something. I'm searching for markers with this tones of grey but I'm not right if those I see are correct. Can you tell us wich you use? (and I'm sorry about my english... i'm learning how to draw better and a new language at the same time!) Thank you!
Great to hear Daniel. Thanks for telling me. I use COPIC SKETCH markers, various tones of the Neutral Grey colour, N0-N6. Hope this helps. They are not cheap, but they are refillable 😀
well, this is a different way to hatch the drawing . Stephen, can we use the lines to hatch this drawing? if we do, do the lines ruin the appearance of our work? in many cases, I noticed that using lines to hatch is very popular but with certain risk.
We can hatch anything we want David. And there is always the risk the lines could end up overcrowding the scene, but we’ve all done that. The only way is to experiment and learn. 😀
I was getting pretty frustrated with a composition I was working on and saw this video, it was exactly what I needed to see. I pushed the darks and everything looks way better. Thanks for the good reminders!
That’s so great to hear. Thanks for telling me 😀
I struggle with this a lot, its inspiring to see your practicing process before you attempt the real artwork- Ive long forgotten about experimenting before dealing with the proper artwork
It’s a great process to be able to use, at least at times, not necessarily always. Good to remind ourselves we’re always learning. All the best with your drawing 😀
Just cutting down several sheets of typing or printer paper into relatively similar sizes to stack up and staple together CAN give you a fine practice pad... just big enough (I usually go with about the size of an Index Card) to scratch out a few good details or spread a texturing or shading technique to see where the lines or hatching/cross-hatching get me...
AND whether you warm up to a new representation of a rose blossom or switch out techniques for windows and panes, or just tease out a few ideas about catching reflections and refractions of glass or water... scratch out what you need, yank the "page" off the pad, and set aside for further visual study, or crumple and pitch at the waste bin... whatever suits while you make your progress...
Sometimes, no matter how much experience and progress I grow through, some additional "farting around" becomes mandatory if I'm ever going to kick this project out the friggin' door... or get on to the next one. ;o)
a terrific idea to make copies for experimentation - thank you!
Glad you found this helpful Barbara. 😀
Great approach 👍Thanks for sharing this splendid idea
Hope it works for you. 😀
Thank you sooooo much for this demo, I allways struggle with value. But this video is just what I needed to go "Aha! Now I get it!"
So glad to hear this. Get ready for your drawings to get really dramatic!😀
Perfectly timed for me. I'm fighting against muddiness. Thanks Stephen!
Have fun with it. 😀
@@stephentraversartQuestion-are you getting your extra prints done at Officeworks? Is it just standard printer paper you print on for home copies?
I just find my ink markers bleed so bad on printer paper which is why I'm wondering if your final version on the original is different paper
It might seem like extra work, but have you considered Butcher Paper???
Get the UNWAXED... wherever there's a choice, because the wax... well... it can eventually lead to headache... BUT a LOT of butcher paper is completely unwaxed, anyway. It holds up to meat and produce being wrapped and frozen with it, AND holds the Sharpie Labels scrawled across it pretty well... Eventually, there's just so much moisture you can't really help a little bleeding, but I've never gotten my butcher paper "work" that wet with ink, and I play in dip pens and brushes with acrylic, frequently thinning for "wash effects" by adding ordinary water... SO it gets wet enough...
Butcher Paper (at least the last "cheap-o" roll I bought) has a relatively solid and consistent "tooth" if you dabble in graphite (pencil) or wax (crayons and pastels)... I'm sure there's better out there, but it can be measured down and cut as precisely as you care... AND they DO put out rolls at different widths, depending on what you want to start with, and how much measuring, calculating, and trimming you care to do per "sheet" exactly... AND depending on what type(s) of printer you might have available to you. ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 legeeeend
Another great video with some essential tips.
Thanks Paul. Glad you found it helpful 😀
Love it. I’m learning more every time..!
That’s great. Keep going!👏
Such a great idea! Why did I never think to copy the line work first for test runs? Thank You!
Yes, it’s so deceptively simple. Some of the best ideas are. Have fun with it. 😀
If I could even get something close to the first image, I'd be so happy. 😆
I have become bolder with value over the last few years through deliberately experimenting. Why not plan to get better than my best one. I hope you do. 😀 All the best Ristray. 😀
Brilliant video.
Thanks Ryan. 😀
I'm the weird one who likes the first one best, because it looks like the friendliest street that I wouldn't be afraid to walk down, lol. It could be that my monitor is too dark as the others kind of look dark and scary on my screen. But I do understand and appreciate the tutorial. I am new to art and struggle with tone and values (and the art vocabulary in general, lol). You are so talented thank you for this.
Value is really just lightness and darkness. That’s the key thing to remember. But it’s different to colour. Desaturating an usher shows you values without the distraction of colour. Tone is a more general word. Preference for all things art is a personal thing. But the more we understand, the more choice we get to make. Have fun with it all. 😀
@@stephentraversart Thank you so much. I love your work.
Very interesting, thank you. I will do this! 🌷
That’s great Marie. It’s a great way to develop skills in this area. 😀
Thanks
My pleasure 😀
Super advice ! Certainly good idea to have some practice copies to experiment with first, so as not to spoil the original. 😊
I hope your able to use it to good effect. 😀
I appreciate your demonstrations very much!
Great to hear Peter. Thanks 😀
So great to see the different versions! If you haven't already, could you do a similar video but with cross hatching instead of markers?
If you look at this video, the first video does this: th-cam.com/video/ZaG0MeXciyY/w-d-xo.html
Your advice is clever. Thank you.
I like the 3rd image best for how accurate it looks compared to the actual photo, but the 2nd photo has value in that allows us to see more detail in the shadowed area where the people are. The 2nd image would be great for an illustration in a novel.
The 1st is good for other reasons.
Thanks Eugene. I think I would rank them the same way. 😀
I have to express my gratitude for sharing your skills and experience. However I am exclusively on a digital tablet! But that makes no difference in learning from you and most of all, I am having so much fun 🤩 using what you teach since your style is exactly what I like. Thank you so much. Peter, France.
Great to hear Peter. I’m glad it’s still so relevant to digital art- which I have no experience of. Have fun drawing your beautiful country. 😀
This technique is very interesting to me. When I'm working in a digital studio, we often do hue and value adjustments on mutable layers, which cumulatively make the final image. If one of them is suspicious, like a burn or dodge layer, we can turn it off to compare, or make adjustments. If I try having several tone layers on a spectrum between extremes, I can mute them and pick and choose what works best for the final tone layer and get the most oomph out of my drawing.
This is a great presentation, as always!
Gosh, sounds quite a process to me, but I expect you do it quite quickly with practice. Thanks Michael. All the best with your drawing 😀
I really loved the video. This is exactly what I was looking for, and it’s something that I was struggling with.
Thanks for your work, I really love your art!
Hugs from Brazil
Thanks. It’s so great to hear this. All the best with your drawing 😀
Great technique to figure out values! I thought the final drawing was spot on but there's little chance it would have been that good without the practice runs. Good lesson and great idea - thank you! :)
Haha. I actually think it looks a bit dark in the videos, but it appears lighter in real life. 😀
Your sketches remind me, spending time with my best friend and sketching Isfahan's monuments during college. Now it's 7years later and we're engaged
What wonderful memories. I’m glad to be reminding you of them. 😀
@@stephentraversart yes, thank you 🤍 Good luck
Mid tone is mediocre! It’s really apparent in amateur watercolor! I luv your channel so so so much💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
That’s so often sadly true. Thanks 😀
This one's great timing for me! Love all your videos. Always learn a lot. So grateful to you for putting it out there.
PS: looking forward to a book :)
Thanks Diane. I always love hearing my videos have been timely. Not so sure I have the energy for a book right now 😀
@@stephentraversart completely understand that. I've been looking at some very good books and focusing on improving my work. I think you offer something that no one else does, so I thought I'd throw it out there. Meanwhile very pleased your videos are available and it's really been making a difference for me in my work. Very grateful - thank you
Very interesting!
Thanks Rebecca😀
❤❤❤
😀😀😀
Funny you should mention "alcohol based inks"... (though, this might be a TAD off-topic... haha)
As a dip-pen schooled experimenter, myself... I'm most consistently in a quandary about whether to go "pure" on acrylics or alcohols... Anxiously awaiting some refillable brush-pens (compliment to my enormous collections of brushes and nibs... {rolls eyes and whistles a long low tone}...) SO... just wondering if you have a preference, yourself, or if you've just always seemed to end up with alcohol inks because of the pens you most frequently buy.
One advantage to dip pens and the staggering arrays of nibs available is that I can quite literally just dip my pen into anything and draw with it... so my choices can be as arbitrary as I like... give or take a few mountains of "farting around". ;o)
In the five years I’ve been drawing in ink I’ve only ever used these alcohol based ink fine liners. But I should probably be a little more adventurous and go the dip pens!😀
@@stephentraversart Well, I've just ordered a 24 pc. Kit of alcohol inks and a bottle of diluent... Apparently the acrylics have more tendency to "bleed" which is "BONUS" if you want to shade and mix easily... Just add water to ink in the brush-pen and you get the shader... or draw "wet on wet" to blend on paper directly... BUT it has the drawback of "bleeding" any time it's wet, whether you intend it or not...
SO... in the last couple days, I may have gotten my answer "by raw research"... BUT I'll take the adventure dive and play a little "who catches hell"... haha...
Hopefully alcohol inks prove more archival and color-fast... I'll just have to find my custom "style" for diluting to suit without being too transparent... I guess...
AND YES!!! You definitely SHOULD try dip pens... It's a bit fiddly AT FIRST, but you'll find a nib type (or rather a few) to give you the FULLEST control of line thickness and weight... The ink isn't terribly expensive whether you stick to alcohol or add acrylic... and with a small cup (like a 2 oz. shotglass/tumbler) full of water or alcohol and a paper towel make clean-up and color switching a breeze... dip... swish... wipe...
Anyways... you're doing fine as is... Thanks for the reply. Hope this might help (just about anyone who happens on the thread... really)... ;o)
👋👋👋
😀😀😀
As always, I love your videos. They inspired me to draw again after years.
For many time I used pencil and now I'm encouraged to use only pen. And I think it's working good! 😉
But I wish to ask you something.
I'm searching for markers with this tones of grey but I'm not right if those I see are correct.
Can you tell us wich you use?
(and I'm sorry about my english...
i'm learning how to draw better and a new language at the same time!)
Thank you!
Great to hear Daniel. Thanks for telling me. I use COPIC SKETCH markers, various tones of the Neutral Grey colour, N0-N6. Hope this helps. They are not cheap, but they are refillable 😀
@@stephentraversart Thank you Stephen! I found it here to buy! Really not cheap for a hobby, but I'll have a lot of fun! 😉
well, this is a different way to hatch the drawing . Stephen, can we use the lines to hatch this drawing? if we do, do the lines ruin the appearance of our work? in many cases, I noticed that using lines to hatch is very popular but with certain risk.
We can hatch anything we want David. And there is always the risk the lines could end up overcrowding the scene, but we’ve all done that. The only way is to experiment and learn. 😀
@@stephentraversart great 👍!
Rue des rosiers?
I’m sure you’re correct if you know Paris. 😀