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The first drawing i did in 1993 ….. Can you guess who the actor is?
Curious. I’ll take a stab at Roger Moore.
Art and Jewellery on Etsy
"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso
Thank you for this thread, I subscribed to it, it will be good for encouraging me during my journey
Jose, C & C welcome
Guys your progress are amazing!
Thanks @SparrowHawk7 for creating this thread, it really encourages all of us beginners!Hope my path will be similar to yours
Ciao,Nat
nat
Gli occhi dischiuse il vecchio al giorno, non si guardò neppure intorno, ma versò il vino e spezzò il pane per chi diceva "ho sete, ho fame".
C&C's always welcomeThis thread is awesome… It really shows how you improve over time
My first trials were on December 2015 when I got a pencil set for Christmas and decided to learn how to draw for me to improve my painting. Here the thread with my first attempts.
Here my most Recent one. (1 year 5 months after)Federico Garcia
My Blog
C&C always welcome
"...when someone gives a critique of your work, fear not. It usually means they like or care more of your work than when they just pat your back." - Tiago
I have two mantras that I use for drawing.
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[*]Practice, practice, practice. It’s a skill and nobody is born knowing how to draw so a desire to learn and a dedication to that are necessary to progress.
[*]Practice patience. Patience is a critical thing with drawing as with all art. There are several areas where it comes into play. First, it takes time to learn to work with any media. With graphite it means learning how to apply graphite and how it behaves. Finding the right paper and the right pencils. It is a good deal more than just putting a pencil to the paper and making a mark. Secondly, it takes time to learn to see and learn to duplicate that with graphite. As you practice you will learn how to really see as an artist and that will open other doors and frustrations. When I first started to draw my drawings took a couple hours but that was enough time to put down the things I saw. As I built skills I began to see much more and was able to get those things on paper better. Now my drawings often take over 120 hours to complete but I need all of that to do my best work and to get what I see on the paper. And I am still learning. Thirdly, every drawing will have at least one place that you are going to be bored doing and you will be tempted to rush through it. DON’T!!! If you rush you are going to know you rushed through it so it is not your best work and every time you look at that drawing it will show to you. And, it will also show to other experienced artists and perhaps even to non-artists. This could extend for hundreds of years and I do not want anyone to see my work and see my impatience in the future. I want my work to be representative of my very best at all times.
Talent does come into play to a minor extent by how long it takes someone to improve. Everyone is different so I can’t say it will take everyone a fixed amount of time to reach a certain point where their work is what they hope it will be. Some may get there in a few months others take longer but EVERYONE can get there if they want to and if they listen to things other artists may say. Not all can be professional but everyone can learn to draw FAR better than the average person and build a skill they can be proud of.
The fact that you are here at all tells me that you have an interest in learning to improve and many have been told how talented they are by friends and family. There is always something more to learn and skills to improve but this is a place to do just that. In the past artists often got together in town to share their techniques, works and general discussion of art. WC is the same thing except you have worldwide access to other skilled artists. Don’t be defensive about critiques – they are not intended to be an assault or negative. Moderators are here to be sure nothing like that happens. But the vast majority are meant to help you improve because the artist saw something in your work. And remember this is a worldwide site so there can be language difficulties. But make the most of what this site offers and you will be pleased with the results. :thumbsup:
Okay, I’ll play. I’m not sure how inspirational this will be but I’ll share a comparison anyway. This first drawing was my first real attempt at a full detail drawing back towards the end of 2010, I had done quite a bit of sketching before this though for a year or two.
This the last full detail drawing I did, a few months ago.
David
What I notice in all of these submissions is that the earliest drawings lack a full range of values where the more experienced works show much darker and a wider range. New drawers tend to be afraid that they will ruin their drawing if they get anything too dark but the truth is that you won’t. It should be balanced and it is possible to go TOO dark but that is far more rare.
These drawings are terrific to look at and I agree so encouraging. I came on today looking for some tips for drawing faces. I seem to have real trouble getting features presented properly in the face.all of these ideas are inspiring. Thank you for your generous spirits.The darkest pencil available at this time is the General 9xxb pencil. I have some but haven’t tried them yet … I suspect layering is still going to be the best way to get the most solid values.
luvin, I suggest to make a thread to show us your work, is easier to advice when you have something specific to review. Besides that , I can tell you my tricks to make very dark parts:
When is a small area or line or detail, first I do the base in charcoal (I use stadtler charcoal pencil) and then I layer the H to B pencils over.
-The other trick is to use Fixative and redo layering over. When graphite becomes too slippery or the layering becomes difficult add a bit of fixative and the tooth comes back.
-Another trick is to use water or alcohol, like to make the tip of the pencil wet with your saliva or a bit of water and then draw. (Warning, this cannot be erased after, Warning #2 your paper consistency is important too, some papers may wrinkle or damage when water media is applied). If you use graphite powder, dilute it in water or alcohol, and then apply with a brush, you will get the highest dark possible. When dries is very easy to smudge the upper layer, so I recommend to use fixative immediately after, but it does not leave the shine, and it is far less work and leaves a totally even result. Federico Garcia
My Blog
C&C always welcome
"...when someone gives a critique of your work, fear not. It usually means they like or care more of your work than when they just pat your back." - Tiago
Drawing realistically does take patience and it’s not a quick style. But if realism is what an artist wants, then you have to take the time necessary to get it done. There aren’t any shortcuts.
Susan – the method of starting with charcoal or using fixative that Federico spoke of are good ones. Remember though that using charcoal over graphite will not work well without fixative. The graphite is a dry lubricant so things do not stick to it well – including charcoal. It is also why adding more layers of graphite is time consuming.
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