Great set of tips... Especially useful is that H-hardness to B-blackness portion. I have an old OLD Eagle "lead set" with containers of all noted hardness to blackness for a "Draftsman's Mechanical Pencil" (which is still my favorite pencil-ish instrument)... SO I knew of the scale, BUT I just don't see many videos explaining any of it... SO GREAT job on the details!! I would like to add... AND keep in mind, this is PRIMARILY for beginners... Cut a sheet of sandpaper into 4ths, and keep them in your drawing "kit". You don't need any special, but around a 300 Grit (yes, same as #300) which is relatively middle of the road stuff, is about perfect... This stuff is VERY useful for "tipping" a pencil, or rather, just burnishing the very end of it for a nice sharp point in a few seconds... just tilt it and brush it side to side... blow off the dust AWAY from anything important (you know, like your drawing?) and you CAN even go a little slower and rotate the pencil as you work, BUT that's not nearly as important if you just want a few more nice CRISP lines all dark and everything... You CAN play at it, and learn to SHAPE the tip as much as sharpen anything, which can help make other marks a little easier, too... A nice flat edge instead of a point lets you get really crisp THIN lines one way, but discretely wider lines pulling the pencil perpendicularly to the thin lines... for instance... A few sheets of sandpaper keeps that knife from eating up your pencil and still provides a quick sharpened point with little investment... AND experiment with how (exactly) you position your hand to hold the pencil. What's shown in the video is the usual "underhand" hold supporting it. With a forefinger directly in line over the top of the pencil, gently holding it between the thumb and middle and ring fingers is an "overhand" hold that many portrait artists prefer for their work, offering a little more delicate touch to the variations of shading one can accomplish... Whenever I draw with pencil, my hands (yeah... ambi' here) wander all over the place... as does my particular "techniques"... SO in the beginning, while you find your own particular style of doing things, experimentation takes a certain precedent... or at least, it should. Don't be afraid of finding different ways of doing things, even the same old things... It gives us options for later, where we might not be so easily inclined to do the same things the same old ways for whatever reasons. AND if you're so interested in making something truly NEW and unique, then you're going to have to step out into NEW territory and techniques to get it... so there is that. ;o)
Thanks again for your tips G’narth. The fine sandpaper is a good tip I’d forgotten. I carried a piece in a pencil case for years that I only used once but that made it, and everything I put in the pencil case including my fingers all sooty all the time! The risks of our art!😆
@@stephentraversart Well, I still carry my sandpaper... The secret is using a paperclip to sandwich the "top" leaf upside down so it's "grit on grit" until you need it... In any case, I like to share when I have something to add... AND just for the record, I have a mechanical "draftsman's" or "engineer's" pencil (some call it a lead-holder)... AND several grades of graphite... SO the sandpaper is a wonderful addition for that... or I'd be CHEWING on a 6H tip to try and get any kind of point into it... haha Yeah... we suffer for our art... ;o)
Yay...graphite. Hope you're going to do a few more videos on using pencil. We used to use 10H when I trained in stonemasonry...good for drawing on stone but not much else!!
Yes finally pencil! Maybe you could show your process when doing a pencil drawing, if and how you make guidelines, how u indicate different materials etc.
Maybe I’ll do a few more. It would be interesting to see how the drawing techniques I’ve developed for pen drawing affect my pencil work, since I’ve done no pencil drawings for a couple of years. 😀
Even as a seasoned pencil artist that was very useful advice to look at lines from a different perspective. Thanks. Did you hear my gasp as the pencil hit the floor 😮😂😂
Great video Stephen I was also going to mention pencil extenders. I have used them a lot they are not expensive. Especially considering they save a lot on replacing the pencils so often. Also a lot of portrait artist I have noticed prefer the shorter pencils when using an over hand grip, I think they fit in the palm of the hand easier for gesture drawing.
About the length of a pencil or lack of. For my short pencils I have purchased “pencil extenders.” I don’t know if that is their name but that’s what call them. Now the short pencils are longer than what they were originally and I get to use all of the pencil until there virtually nothing left. Thanks Stephen.
Very useful video for those who want to start drawings and sketching. Sir, i have problem regarding scale when i start sketching from one end and reach to the othe end i realise that the object i am drawing i too big for paper it become out of proportion. Kindly make a video regarding scale. Thanks
With all the good points about smudging, I was surprised that you didn't address the ultimate smudge problem: what happens when you close the sketchbook on that beautiful effort and then carry the book around to the next subject only to discover that the last drawing is one big smudge! I suggest workable fixatif or, if you're traveling, a small bottle of unscented hairspray. Both work well and save a lot of heartache.
Thanks Mike. An excellent solution. Thanks for sharing it. (Though people may want to do a test to check if they can still make adjustments or not afterwards with whatever they spray). 😀
@@stephentraversart I agree, but I've had good luck for years. I've been painting for a long time, but I watch everyone of your videos and have saved many to watch again. You cover all the bases and do it better than anyone else. Thanks.
@@stephentraversart yes yes it can be done. 😅 if you add english subtitles. It can be automatically translated into Turkish without any problems. I would be very happy if you at least add it to future videos. Sorry for my English.
I like pencil drawing. You have given a great group of points that are very helpful. I do have a question...... In the area when you are talking about short pencils, you do not mention pencil extenders, which I have seen in the store but never used. Do you use pencil extenders when your pencils are getting too short? If not, why? Thanks for so many great videos!
I’ve never seen them Eileen, but they sound a great idea to not waste the pencil stubs. As long as they felt natural enough to hold, they could be great. Be worth a try I think if they weren’t expensive 😀
I love some of them... There are some different types, BUT most of them at least aren't terribly uncomfortable and they all DO aid in extending the stubs. I'm a little heavy-handed by nature, so I rather enjoy any of them with rubber or cushion included, and think those are worth a little extra investment, since I'm liable to just get foamy "pencile grippers" and add them on my own anyway... BUT they're definitely worth the bother... ;o)
Thanks for the video. I'm taking a drawing class at a local community college, and he recommended an AFMAT pencil sharpener. It provides a similar point to using a knife. Personally, I like switching between a pen and pencil with my drawings for a little variety. Have you dabbled with digital drawing?
@@stephentraversart, if you try digital, I’d love to hear your feedback and see your work. I have a couple of Wacom tablets (One and Cintiq Pro 24”) and it’s pretty amazing the realness and flexibility it provides. Thanks again for all of the videos.
I'm loving this series! I just started seriously practicing my "drawring" a few weeks ago, with my tin of Derwents, my relic-of-school-days sharpener, and no advice at all. Some of your tips today, I already figured out through trial and error, but sharpening erasers was a game-changing revelation! :-) Have you got any tips for faces? I found a great photo, and I've been drawing it over and over, so I can track my progress. She's progressed from looking severely disfigured to just looking very drunk, and in my latest effort she almost has a facial expression! I hope someday she'll be recognizable as herself, and I'll be able to draw faces without a cheat grid. My biggest surprise so far? The most difficult part of the face to draw is the nose!
Drawing the same scene repeatedly is a great strategy for improvement. Keep at it. Portraits are not a real subject of mine, but understanding the anatomy and proportions of the head are probably key. We naturally focus more on the features than the rest of the head, which can then be less accurate. Also, try drawing it with different media and different techniques, rather than in the same way. And have fun. 😀
@@NameLikeNobodyElse It's a shot of Claire Forlani from the coffee shop in Meet Joe Black. So yeah, she'll be looking mighty fine, once I can draw better. 🙂
@@jerrysstories711 "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" exercises make dramatic jumps in your skills. If you can find the workbook, then you don't have to wade thru so much unnecessary info about ur brain... unless u like all that. It helps you to 'see', then u can use that with all the techniques taught here.. Me & my sister got together & did "lessons" every Friday for a couple months. I'm still surprised when I come across some of the drawings. I need to break that workbook out again.
I also noticed that there are differences between manufacturers & additionally mechanical pencil leads & those such as your Staedler's, which I have as well as mechanical pencils.
Yes, there are darker shades, but I’ve noticed they often seem to be of a different composition than the standard range, even within the same brand. It can make sections drawn with them look oddly distinct in the finished drawing 😀
yessssss made me happy to see pencil drawing
It was a fun change for me. 😀
Great set of tips... Especially useful is that H-hardness to B-blackness portion. I have an old OLD Eagle "lead set" with containers of all noted hardness to blackness for a "Draftsman's Mechanical Pencil" (which is still my favorite pencil-ish instrument)... SO I knew of the scale, BUT I just don't see many videos explaining any of it... SO GREAT job on the details!!
I would like to add... AND keep in mind, this is PRIMARILY for beginners...
Cut a sheet of sandpaper into 4ths, and keep them in your drawing "kit". You don't need any special, but around a 300 Grit (yes, same as #300) which is relatively middle of the road stuff, is about perfect... This stuff is VERY useful for "tipping" a pencil, or rather, just burnishing the very end of it for a nice sharp point in a few seconds... just tilt it and brush it side to side... blow off the dust AWAY from anything important (you know, like your drawing?) and you CAN even go a little slower and rotate the pencil as you work, BUT that's not nearly as important if you just want a few more nice CRISP lines all dark and everything... You CAN play at it, and learn to SHAPE the tip as much as sharpen anything, which can help make other marks a little easier, too... A nice flat edge instead of a point lets you get really crisp THIN lines one way, but discretely wider lines pulling the pencil perpendicularly to the thin lines... for instance... A few sheets of sandpaper keeps that knife from eating up your pencil and still provides a quick sharpened point with little investment...
AND experiment with how (exactly) you position your hand to hold the pencil. What's shown in the video is the usual "underhand" hold supporting it. With a forefinger directly in line over the top of the pencil, gently holding it between the thumb and middle and ring fingers is an "overhand" hold that many portrait artists prefer for their work, offering a little more delicate touch to the variations of shading one can accomplish...
Whenever I draw with pencil, my hands (yeah... ambi' here) wander all over the place... as does my particular "techniques"... SO in the beginning, while you find your own particular style of doing things, experimentation takes a certain precedent... or at least, it should. Don't be afraid of finding different ways of doing things, even the same old things... It gives us options for later, where we might not be so easily inclined to do the same things the same old ways for whatever reasons.
AND if you're so interested in making something truly NEW and unique, then you're going to have to step out into NEW territory and techniques to get it... so there is that. ;o)
Thanks again for your tips G’narth. The fine sandpaper is a good tip I’d forgotten. I carried a piece in a pencil case for years that I only used once but that made it, and everything I put in the pencil case including my fingers all sooty all the time! The risks of our art!😆
@@stephentraversart Well, I still carry my sandpaper... The secret is using a paperclip to sandwich the "top" leaf upside down so it's "grit on grit" until you need it...
In any case, I like to share when I have something to add... AND just for the record, I have a mechanical "draftsman's" or "engineer's" pencil (some call it a lead-holder)... AND several grades of graphite... SO the sandpaper is a wonderful addition for that... or I'd be CHEWING on a 6H tip to try and get any kind of point into it... haha
Yeah... we suffer for our art... ;o)
Yay...graphite. Hope you're going to do a few more videos on using pencil. We used to use 10H when I trained in stonemasonry...good for drawing on stone but not much else!!
You could almost carve the stone with it!😆
Great tips. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!😀
Great Lesson!
Thanks for telling me. 😀
Actually, Stephen, blunt pencils are probably the best for hatching.
Thanks for video!
It depends on the effect you want. But that could work best for some. 😀
Thank you so much for the information you shared 🤝
Glad it was helpful Ambika😀
Yes finally pencil! Maybe you could show your process when doing a pencil drawing, if and how you make guidelines, how u indicate different materials etc.
Maybe I’ll do a few more. It would be interesting to see how the drawing techniques I’ve developed for pen drawing affect my pencil work, since I’ve done no pencil drawings for a couple of years. 😀
Even as a seasoned pencil artist that was very useful advice to look at lines from a different perspective. Thanks. Did you hear my gasp as the pencil hit the floor 😮😂😂
Haha. Actually, I was expecting it to NOT break this time, just because I wanted it too! Thanks Valerie. All the best with your drawing 😀
Great video Stephen I was also going to mention pencil extenders. I have used them a lot they are not expensive. Especially considering they save a lot on replacing the pencils so often. Also a lot of portrait artist I have noticed prefer the shorter pencils when using an over hand grip, I think they fit in the palm of the hand easier for gesture drawing.
I was going to mention pencil extenders, too!
They sound a great idea! 😀
Thanks Carina 😀
Thank you so much for this information 😊😇
My pleasure Kanika. 😀
About the length of a pencil or lack of. For my short pencils I have purchased “pencil extenders.” I don’t know if that is their name but that’s what call them. Now the short pencils are longer than what they were originally and I get to use all of the pencil until there virtually nothing left.
Thanks Stephen.
Thanks Abi. A few have mentioned these now. They sound quite useful. 😀
Thanks a lot for your tips, Stephen.
Especially cutting the eraser in order to get a thin erasing shape was helpful. 👍
Sadly, we do end up with lots of tiny erasers! 😩
Very useful video for those who want to start drawings and sketching. Sir, i have problem regarding scale when i start sketching from one end and reach to the othe end i realise that the object i am drawing i too big for paper it become out of proportion. Kindly make a video regarding scale. Thanks
A good idea. I’ll see what I can do. 😀
Thank you!
My pleasure Carol 😀
With all the good points about smudging, I was surprised that you didn't address the ultimate smudge problem: what happens when you close the sketchbook on that beautiful effort and then carry the book around to the next subject only to discover that the last drawing is one big smudge! I suggest workable fixatif or, if you're traveling, a small bottle of unscented hairspray. Both work well and save a lot of heartache.
Thanks Mike. An excellent solution. Thanks for sharing it. (Though people may want to do a test to check if they can still make adjustments or not afterwards with whatever they spray). 😀
@@stephentraversart I agree, but I've had good luck for years. I've been painting for a long time, but I watch everyone of your videos and have saved many to watch again. You cover all the bases and do it better than anyone else. Thanks.
Hello. Could you please add Turkish subtitles to this video and previous videos? Thank you
I don’t think this can be auto done Atakan. 😀
@@stephentraversart yes yes it can be done. 😅 if you add english subtitles. It can be automatically translated into Turkish without any problems. I would be very happy if you at least add it to future videos. Sorry for my English.
I like pencil drawing. You have given a great group of points that are very helpful. I do have a question...... In the area when you are talking about short pencils, you do not mention pencil extenders, which I have seen in the store but never used. Do you use pencil extenders when your pencils are getting too short? If not, why? Thanks for so many great videos!
I’ve never seen them Eileen, but they sound a great idea to not waste the pencil stubs. As long as they felt natural enough to hold, they could be great. Be worth a try I think if they weren’t expensive 😀
I love some of them... There are some different types, BUT most of them at least aren't terribly uncomfortable and they all DO aid in extending the stubs. I'm a little heavy-handed by nature, so I rather enjoy any of them with rubber or cushion included, and think those are worth a little extra investment, since I'm liable to just get foamy "pencile grippers" and add them on my own anyway...
BUT they're definitely worth the bother... ;o)
Thanks for the video. I'm taking a drawing class at a local community college, and he recommended an AFMAT pencil sharpener. It provides a similar point to using a knife. Personally, I like switching between a pen and pencil with my drawings for a little variety.
Have you dabbled with digital drawing?
No, That’s in the future, if at all. But variety can stimulate creativity. Have fun. 😀
@@stephentraversart, if you try digital, I’d love to hear your feedback and see your work. I have a couple of Wacom tablets (One and Cintiq Pro 24”) and it’s pretty amazing the realness and flexibility it provides. Thanks again for all of the videos.
I'm loving this series! I just started seriously practicing my "drawring" a few weeks ago, with my tin of Derwents, my relic-of-school-days sharpener, and no advice at all. Some of your tips today, I already figured out through trial and error, but sharpening erasers was a game-changing revelation! :-)
Have you got any tips for faces? I found a great photo, and I've been drawing it over and over, so I can track my progress. She's progressed from looking severely disfigured to just looking very drunk, and in my latest effort she almost has a facial expression! I hope someday she'll be recognizable as herself, and I'll be able to draw faces without a cheat grid.
My biggest surprise so far? The most difficult part of the face to draw is the nose!
Drawing the same scene repeatedly is a great strategy for improvement. Keep at it. Portraits are not a real subject of mine, but understanding the anatomy and proportions of the head are probably key. We naturally focus more on the features than the rest of the head, which can then be less accurate. Also, try drawing it with different media and different techniques, rather than in the same way. And have fun. 😀
😂 Drunk sounds like a fun place to be. I hope she looks great when she sobers up.😅
@@NameLikeNobodyElse It's a shot of Claire Forlani from the coffee shop in Meet Joe Black. So yeah, she'll be looking mighty fine, once I can draw better. 🙂
@@jerrysstories711 "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" exercises make dramatic jumps in your skills. If you can find the workbook, then you don't have to wade thru so much unnecessary info about ur brain... unless u like all that. It helps you to 'see', then u can use that with all the techniques taught here..
Me & my sister got together & did "lessons" every Friday for a couple months. I'm still surprised when I come across some of the drawings. I need to break that workbook out again.
I also noticed that there are differences between manufacturers & additionally mechanical pencil leads & those such as your Staedler's, which I have as well as mechanical pencils.
Thanks Larry. I’ve only ever used the Staedtlers I think, as I liked the normal pencils. 😀
@@stephentraversart I happen to use mechanical often for convenience, especially when outside. Stay well.
Faber Castell makes matt graphite pencils up to 14B
Yes, there are darker shades, but I’ve noticed they often seem to be of a different composition than the standard range, even within the same brand. It can make sections drawn with them look oddly distinct in the finished drawing 😀