Back again .... Finished

[SparrowHawk7]

Originally Posted by ShinyShimmy

You'll have to spray it on, I don't know how to do that either

Hmmm ... I'm not sure just WHAT to say now ...

[SparrowHawk7]

Thanks Peggy ... I'm a bit rusty so I have to get the cobwebs out. Also I tried working with sharp pencils on this but I don't like them at all!!! I am much more comfortable and can do much better details with dull pencils ... and I don't run the risk of hurting myself either! I guess I'm a bit strange for an artist, eh? Well, probably just strange overall. Well, that's OK ... Katie says she loves me.

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by ShinyShimmy

Well..... I do exfoliate every day I could upload a pic?

Dont tempt them


Sorry to read about giving your horse away. That is so tough
I got my mare when she was 3 months old (her mom is a fostermare and was needed for a Thoroughbred foal, thats why I got her so young). I reared her. Glory is 7 now and my pride and joy I started breaking her (3 times) but never got to finish the job fully because of this, that and the other. Woking full time in a studfarm, kids, house, dogs, cats, fishes and of course my art is swallowing up pretty much all off my time. She feels like an oversized puppy, doing nothing But I love my girl and she aint going nowhere.

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

Hmmm ... I'm not sure just WHAT to say now ...

maybe you dont know what to say .......but just what were you thinking

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

......Well, that's OK ... Katie says she loves me.

I do

[SparrowHawk7]

Originally Posted by Kathrin G.

Woking full time in a studfarm

I would LOVE to work in a studfarm!

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

I would LOVE to work in a studfarm!

as the resident stud I assume

[SparrowHawk7]

It's a tough job ... but somebody's got to do it!

[ArtbyPeggy]

Originally Posted by Kathrin G.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7
I would LOVE to work in a studfarm!


as the resident stud I assume

[ShinyShimmy]

You guys are killing me.

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

It's a tough job ... but somebody's got to do it!

You'd be good at tough jobs I'd say

[SparrowHawk7]

Originally Posted by Kathrin G.

You'd be good at tough jobs I'd say

I have a good answer to that .. but we're already killing Sarah and Peggy's in stitches so I'd best just keep it to myself ... too bad ... sigh

[ArtsyBren]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

Well, another weekend's drawing sitting. Again I was too lazy to pull out all the camera stuff so here's another scan. The actual drawing is much larger but this was all that would fit on the scanner.



I spent a couple hours going over stuff I already drew ... about half of it on the eye. I decided to use my artist's license to enhance the depth more than the reference photo .. but I place SO much emphasis on the importance of eyes that I consider it time well spent. That eye probably has about 24 layers of graphite on it ranging from plain paper (catchlight) to 4H (light areas), 2H, 2B 4B and some charcoal/graphite mix in the very black blacks. The markings on the forehead are not right and they bother me .. they are the most important thing I have to define the skull shape but I'll straighten them out once I get the nose curve set. Right now I'm just starting on that. The actual nearer edge of the nose is a bit further to our right and then I get to the focal point - the near eye. I'll need to spend plenty of time on that to get it to grab the viewer's attention. The bottom of the nose is somewhat below the bottom of the scan .. and then there is more below that. Pretty soon I will have to use my camera.

After having watched some of Darrel Tank's videos I thought I'd try a sharp pencil. I hate it!!!! I've given it a fair chance but I am going to return to my dull pencils at the next sitting. It think you'll find that the detail improves once I do that. That far cheek is supposed to be out of focus, BTW ...

For those of you interested in how I draw fur there are a few hints up here. I often start with a solid batch of layers of 4H which you can see at the bottom of the cheek and the middle of the nose. If the pattern is complex I will lightly sketch in the general pattern as I've done at the lower left side of the nose .. I will go back and give it a solid 4H base and then work it further. The upper nose section that is obviously just reaching the detailing stage isn't integrated into the rest of the fur very well yet .. it has about 6 layers of detailing in it so far .. probably another 4 yet to go - perhaps more. I keep at it until I get the texture to look as it should - and so it fits into the rest of the fur as seamlessly as possible.

Sarah asked me what pencils I use. I do not like wood cased pencils for several reasons. First the graphite isn't always exactly in the center so it's off-center when you sharpen. I use the side of the pencil quite a bit and when the graphite isn't centered I find myself trying to draw with wood which doesn't work so well. And to draw with the side of the pencil effectively I would need to shave the wood further to expose more graphite .... once I do that the pencil is very fragile and remains that way till the graphite wears down ... or breaks. Lastly the balance of the wood cased pencil changes constantly as I sharpen it or shave off wood. I find that annoying as well.

So I use clutch pencils (mechanical holders) and 2mm graphite refills which are the same size as most wood pencils. They require a special sharpener but it's inexpensive. I use 4H, 2H, H, HB, 2B and 4B grades of graphite in my clutch pencils - and a wooden 6H because Staedtler doesn't offer that grade. I've only run into 2 refill manufacturers - Turquoise and Staedtler Mars Lumograph ... of those two the only one I would use is Staedtler. The Turquoise I tried had little pieces of debris in the graphite that was annoying at best .. and damaged the paper at worst. The Staedtler is creamy smooth and I've never found any debris in it. Also the 12 pack refills come with a replacement plunger for the clutch pencil - a different color for each grade. This makes it easy to find the grade graphite I want at a glance.

I am just experimenting with mixing charcoal and graphite. It's important to know that you cannot put charcoal over graphite but you can put graphite over charcoal. The reflectivity of the two is vastly different so I have put graphite over the charcoal to even out the shine. When I first started doing realistic portraits I began to use carbon for the pupils since pupils are basically black holes and do not reflect any light. However, I found that the eyes were sort of spooky as they were just too intense. So I went to graphite.

As for the reflectivity, I don't worry about that much. We see it a lot when we're working on a piece because the paper is right there. But I've found that once it's matted, framed and under glass, the reflectivity isn't something I worry about. The paper is then reset back into the frame somewhat and light doesn't seem to play with it. Sometimes I spray my work with fixative but more often than not I forget. Due to the way I apply the graphite I don't seem to get any smudging or dust.

I hope that covered everything you wanted to know, Sarah .. if not, ask me again.

BTW .. the drawn area on this is about the size of my hand to give you some idea of the scale.

I thought I would bring this one forward a page, just so I could remember that you are DRAWING SOMETHING...

Poor Shimmy, we try to keep him under control but sometimes he breaks out... Katie handles him well but SHE IS USED TO WILD ANIMALS!!Those studs, well...

Now, that I got both of those catty remarks out of the way, but mildly catty, I would say...

This is so lovely, Ken! You have certainly NOT lost your touch. That eye is incredible. Did you say this is Casper, or isn't? I can't remember. Anyway, lovely cat. The depth in that eye is perfect!

[Sweenart]

Really glad you have taken up your pencils again Ken and thanks for sharing your trade secrets !! The detail you are achieving here is perfect !


Tony

[Kathrin G.]

Originally Posted by SparrowHawk7

I have a good answer to that .. but we're already killing Sarah and Peggy's in stitches so I'd best just keep it to myself ... too bad ... sigh

ah go on Ken .... you know you really want to
Or do my wishes not count for anything ...............