MATERIALS
• A2 Arches 300gsm Smooth Watercolour Paper
• Derwent graphite pencils – 4H, HB, 2B, 5B
• Progresso 8B graphite pencil
• Willow charcoal
• Old boar-bristle brush
• Blending stumps
• Tissue paper
• Kneadable eraser
• Maulstick
• Tracing paper
• Felt-tip pen
• Knife and garnet paper
Choose your reference photo
When you are beginning a drawing you need to choose a subject which excites your interest and preferably one which challenges you. I especially enjoy drawing kids in action, or totally involved in an activity, or just being still and wondering. The range of expressions offered by children at play is infinite. It’s a whole world waiting for artistic exploration!
So, take plenty of photos, because kids won’t sit still for hours with exciting expressions on their faces waiting for you to puddle about with a pencil! Rifle through your shots and choose a photo which is suitable for a drawing. This isn’t always easy.
For this project, I found myself choosing a photo of Sam looking sweetly at the camera. I sketched it up and took a transfer sketch of the line-work in case I wanted to paint the portrait later; and then decided that the picture did not work as a drawing. To create a drawing of a child, I find I need to work with a subject that appears to be captured from life, as if I had sat and sketched the subject whilst the action were taking place: in other words, the picture needs to tell a story. Having a portrait of Sam staring demurely at the viewer works as a photo, but not as a drawing.
Fortunately the photo shoot with the bird-bath scene happened along and I took a video. Taking stills from the video I came across a number of possibilities for a good drawing and chose from these.
Take your measure
The size and proportion of a picture is important. Some scenes look impressive if they are huge, others are best realised at a smaller size. I make this portrait of Sam about half life-size, 345mm x 515mm, so the viewer can appreciate the scene with a sense of distance.
Choose your equipment
I am using a sheet of A2 Arches Smooth 300gsm Watercolour paper for this composition. My graphite pencils include a full range of Derwent, from 4H to 6B (I only use half of these), along with a Progresso 8B. I also use sharpened willow charcoal sticks with a boar bristle brush, to obtain the deepest shadows. Blending stumps help to define areas of shadow and soften lines. Tissues are best for the softer shadows. Add a kneadable eraser, a maulstick and a drawing board and we’re set to go!
STEP ONE
Setting up the composition
I draw a border around the page, so that I don’t stray too close to the edge, remembering the picture will be framed. I then set my guide marks, dividing the page into lateral and horizontal thirds. This will allow me to set Sam and the birdbath suitably in the page.
The main forms of the scene create two ‘T’ shapes: the bird-bath is one ‘T’ and Sam forms a ‘T’ on its side, with his outstretched arm. These blocks of form will consume the left side and lower half of the page, leaving a portion of the page for the backdrop of shadowy foliage. The tumbling ‘T’effect should lead the viewer’s eye through the scene.
Using my reference photos and an A4 print of the main figure (Sam), I plot the basic lines with a 4H pencil, measuring the height and width of the figures first and dropping a faint straight reference line vertically through their centres. Using straight lines I create the many angles and geometric shapes hidden within the forms. This basic plot will allow me to fill in the values and forms, rounding them out as I go. The curves in the bird bath are also formed with short straight lines at first, to create the basic shape.
STEP TWO
Tracing a reference I illustrate these lines on tracing paper for demonstration purposes. (For the sake of this demonstration, I have marked some of the smaller line directions in green and some of the larger directional lines in pink; notice the appearance of the underlying geometry of the structures.)
STEP THREE
Working up the figures Sam is the focus of the picture. I begin to work in the major shadow shapes and some of the finer details, moving from the face down. I use 4H, HB and 2B pencils at first to obtain some sense of value and form. Sam’s threeyear old face is very rounded and it is important to capture this. I am also aiming to recreate his expression of wonder as he dabbles with the water.
STEP FOUR
Deeper and darker I begin with the eyes and mouth; building the creases and hollows, I then work outwards into the larger shadows again. I work in very fine layers of shading, cross-hatching with fine lines and then caressing the page with tissue paper to blend the edges of lighter and deeper shade. Building the values gradually gives a softer overall effect. Sharp pencil tips are useful though, when a clean edge is needed to define the curve of ear, lip or nose.
Sam’s hair is like gossamer. I intend to give it some detail and shading to define his face, but let the bulk of it decay into obvious pencil markings. It can be interesting to look at a drawing which hints at reality and super-detail, but which also reveals itself to be a sketch.
STEP FIVE
Dressing the subject
Sam’s shirt and jeans are not significant in themselves, but the shadow-shapes give his face an anchor. Abstracting the clothes and allowing the pencil marks to have some precedence directs the viewer’s gaze to the main feature, the boy’s face.
STEP SIX
The hand
I love hands as much as faces. Our hands are so incredibly expressive! Children’s hands so often signify curiosity, adventure and exploration. Sam has just dipped his hand in the water as a preliminary gesture before he begins to splash. He is fascinated by the sensation. He stares at his hand in wonder. I work on his hand carefully, not overdoing it, but giving it enough roundness to warrant its central position in the picture.
STEP SEVEN
Water and pockmarked concrete The texture of the bird-bath, along with its moist, mossy bowl, is fun to fill in. Some definition of features is necessary here, but the effect should balance with my nephew’s figure.
FINAL STEP
A little foliage and foreground to finish
There has to be an explanation for the dappled light which I have carefully portrayed falling across the figures in the drawing, so I recreate the overhanging shrub, giving it enough density to make it credible, but allowing the main figures to stand out.
I then smudge in some foreground with charcoal dust and pluck out some leaf litter with the kneadable eraser. This earths the figures. This is the final touch! I sign with a flourish and stand back to contemplate. Time to begin another project!
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• Keep your pencils sharp. I use 180 garnet paper to grind a tip, then 800 wetand-dry to polish it. I carve the wood away with a penknife. A long sharp stem of graphite is much easier to achieve detail with.
• Blending stumps are great for giving shadows a smoother surface, but blending pencil over pencil causes the underlayer to shift and blur also; this is useful to remember. For example, I often use a 2B pencil over a 5B or charcoal tone to deepen tone and spread the surface.
• Scribbling with pencil or dripping’ charcoal dust creates texture for rough surfaces such as pock-marked concrete or rusted metal. Removing spots with a pointed kneadable eraser creates highlights in shadows.
• NEVER EVER blow on your drawing to remove stray particles if your lips are wet!!!
• Plan ahead. If you have a rough sketch or a fully worked construction of the composition, your finished piece will be much more convincing.
• Turn your picture upside down or use a mirror. Our brains are lazy; once the brain sees something one way, it will have trouble refreshing its perspective; do anything you can to stimulate your brain as your work progresses. This keeps the process and the end result interesting!
