Blending Pencil Techniques

Blending Pencil Techniques

In the last part of our blog, we created a Shading Guide, and familiarised ourselves with the different shades we can create using different gradients. We are now going to use one of our shading guides to learn blending pencil techniques.

Blending is basically merging different shades together, so that each shade flows smoothly into the next creating a very soft and realistic tone. It is especially useful for fill colour and creating depth and texture which we will cover in the next and final part of Step 1.

Blending pencil is another controversial subject amongst pencil artists. There are many who believe the medium simply isn’t suited to blending, and such techniques should be left to pastel and charcoal artists. However, I am not one of them.

Blending the pencil is by far my favourite aspect of drawing. Get the technique right, and you can create some awesome pieces of pencil art.

Pencil Blending Tools

To blend pencil, you will need either a Blending Stump or a Tortillon. If you are not sure what these tools are, then you can read about them in Choosing Art Supplies.

Again, another debate within pencil drawing is whether or not to use your finger to blend. I say NEVER!

Your finger is rich in natural skin oils, and every time you touch the paper with your bare skin you are transmitting these oils to the surface of the paper and these oils will not let go of the graphite, almost acting like a glue. That’s not a good idea, because adding or taking away graphite to these areas then becomes a little tricky, and can compromise the whole piece!

It is for the same reason I suggest you use a piece of tissue to rest your wrist on whilst drawing in pencil. This will also minimise smudging.

I use a home-made tortillon or Blending Stump. You can save money on a Blending Tool right mow, by checking out my ‘Make Your Own Blending Stump In 60 Seconds Hack’ from the HTD Toolbox!

How To Blend Pencil

For this you will need

A completed Shading Guide from the previous drawing tutorial A Blending Tool such as a Blending Stump or Tortillon

Tip; Using a small circular motion like scumbling with your blending tool helps to keep the blending nice and tight.

Holding your blending tool lower down and minimising pressure exerted on the tool can help gain a good control of this technique.

The diagram on the right demonstrates the motion you should make whilst blending.

Notice how the shading has now become very smooth.

1.) Using the small circular motion mentioned above, use your blending tool to blend the second block on your Shading Guide.

Don’t fret about going over the lines, and attempt to softly merge with block one.

Tip; It is important to note when shading, that you should always go from light to dark, as a lot of graphite can ‘stick’ to your blending tool, and will carry to the next shade or gradient.

2.) Now gently merge block two into block three, using the same circular motion, and ensuring the blending is kept very tight. You can increase the pressure slightly for each block.

3.) Repeat the above process for the remainder blocks, moving in the same circular motion and keeping the blend tight between blocks. You should now be left with something like this…



And that’s it! Easy, hey!

If your blending doesn’t look like it has merged nicely, and you can see a clear distinction between two blocks, then continue blending using the small circular motion. It will merge smoothly eventually, just have some patience with it and don’t put so much pressure on that you wear away the paper!

In the final parts of Step 1 of this blog, we will be using all the techniques we have learned up to now to look at how to create depth using 3D drawing.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow this blog and most importent plz leave your comments below in the comments section of this blog, that how you like this blog and what you want to see more or learn about drawing and shading.
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Shading Techniques With Pencil

Hello friends,

In last lesson we learned how to improve our drawing skills. I hope you like this tutorial and practiced my previous classes. I would like if you share your work or experience with us
on our facebook group, so that everyone can see and appreciate. You can find our group link in the blog profile, I hope to see you there.
So lets get on the topic. I am going to tell you about some pencil shading today. I know many of you are waiting for this topic to start from many days and finally we are here.

Shading Techniques with Pencil

Once you have mastered the basic pencil drawing techniques from the last tutorial, these can then be used to create different shading techniques within pencil drawings.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating different shades and a shading guide in which you will be able to refer to throughout this tutorial.

A shading guide when learning to draw is a useful tool to have, as you will be able to assess which shade is appropriate for different parts of the pencil portrait before executing it.

In time, as you become more familiar with the different shades you can create, you will be able to ditch the shading guide and execute shading as though it is completely natural to you.

Pencil Sets vs A Single Pencil?

When you were back at the process ofchoosing your art supplies, you would have made a decision on whether to purchase a set of drawing pencils in different grades, or just one single pencil in a versatile grade.

Again, this is a personal preference, and different people prefer different things.

The process of learning shading techniques with pencil is very similar in both situations, so don’t fret. You will just have a little more work to do here if you opted for the set, as you will have more gradients to experiment with.

What Are The Different Grades In Pencil Drawing?

The twenty most used and common grades of pencil are illustrated in the diagram on the right.

The ten on the left of the diagram are the most common for pencil portrait drawing.

The numbers and letters are part of the grading system to signal the type of lead that is inside.

The letter ‘H’ means ‘hard’. This kind of lead is hard, which doesn’t add a lot of lead to the paper, keeping the shading very light. The number next to the letter tells you how hard the lead is with 9 being the hardest and lightest.

Pencils with an ‘H’ gradient are generally unused in pencil portraiture, simply because the lead is too hard to manipulate on the paper.

The letter ‘B’ means ‘bold’ or ‘black’, and signals a soft lead in the pencil, which adds a lot of lead to the paper, creating darker shades. Similar to ‘H’ grades, the number next to the letter signals how soft the lead is, with 9B being the softest, and therefore darkest.

These are the most common in pencil portraiture.

The ‘F’ grade means ‘Fine point’. These pencils are still relatively hard, but have a very fine, sharpened point. Again, these are uncommon in pencil portraiture.

And finally, the good ol’ ‘HB‘ we all doodled over our text books with in nipper school. This is half-way between hard and soft, and is neither here nor there. Some pencil artists may use this pencil for crating lighter shades, though I personally find it still a little too hard.

If you did choose a set, then odds are you will have a good portion of the grades set out above in the diagram.

To create the shading guide and for the duration of the tutorial, and so not to confuse you all, we will use a 2B pencil. Those of you who own a set of different gradients can also repeat the same process for all the gradients you wish to use for your shading guide, and then refer to this throughout the tutorial.

Creating A Shading Guide

For this you will need;

A Sheet of Paper, Your 2B Pencil, A Ruler

1.) In a light outline using your pencil and ruler, draw a 20cm x 2cm rectangle.

2.) Mark off every 2cm along the 20×2 rectangle.

3.) Draw a line from each 2cm mark to create 10 seperate blocks.

4.) Number each block 1-10 starting from the left.

5.) Block One will be left untouched, as this is the lightest part. So, using your preferred technique from the previous tutorial, fill in the Block Two a shade darker than the first. This will be the lightest shade you can do with a pencil.

6.) Then move onto Block Three. Remember to use techniques such as cross-hatching or scumbling to get the shade a little darker than Block Two. You can also increase the pressure put onto the canvas slightly.

7.) Repeat the process for the remaining blocks, making each block a shade darker than the previous block by using pencil techniques and increasing the pressure slightly.

8.) By the time you reach Block Ten, the shading should be very dark. Almost black.

And there you have it, all the different shades laid out in front of you for you to refer to.



You can practice this as much as you like to get the shades as you like, and I suggest you do as it will help during your pencil portrait drawing.

In the next tutorial, we will use another one of these shading guides to learn how to blend pencil, so make sure you don’t throw any of your practice ones in the bin.

Again I would like to remind you of our facebook group. You can share all your practice drawing and shading sheets to our fb group. If you have any suggestions or queries, you can post them to our group. You also can post your personal drawings and other artpost to the group. So dont forget to join our fb group. The link is provided in the profile.
Also I want to tell you all of you that many of you asked me for the attachments of blog images. So just want to tell all of you that these all images are downloadable and you can download them anytime for your reference.
I hope you like this tutorial. I would like to hear your views on this post please comment in the comment section of this blog. Thank you for visiting my blog.
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How To Improve Your Drawing Skills..

Hello Learners, Welcome to another section of my blog. Today I am just going to tell you some tips & techniques by which you can improve your drawing skills. So lets start ...

So what you think, what is a drawing? Drawing is a skill that everyone wishes they could improve, but many people belief that drawing talent is natural. Nothing could be further from the truth. With a careful eye and some patience, anyone can become a better drawer.

Draw Daily

Practice, practice, practice. That’s the mantra of famous artists across the world, and practice is the sure-fire way to improve your drawings. Even spending a few minutes a day on sketch engages your brain with your art and helps you learn new techniques.

Bring a sketchbook with you 

everywhere

If you always have a small notebook with you, then you open up the possibility to draw anything – from people on the bus the nature scenes to awe-inspiring city skylines. You need to practice to be a better drawer, so set yourself up to practice anytime.

Purchase a variety of pencils

Pencils come in a variety of ratings that tell you how hard they are and the thickness of the mark. Pencils labeled “H” get progressively harder, and leave fine, faint lines, while those labeled “B” are good for thick, darker lines. A decent set of starter pencils, available at any art store, might include a 4H, 3H, 2H, H, HB , B, 2B 3B and 4B. Play around with your new pencils to test how each one feels. Note the differences in the lines and try to incorporate different pencils into different drawings. Please refer below image.

Experiment with texture, color, and blending.

Use a couple of pages in your sketchbook to experiment with the way your pencils lay down color, how your fingers or tissues blend colors together and how to shade simple spheres. You need to understand how your materials work to improve your drawings and use the right pencil for the right lines.Make 3-4 timelines and practice transitions. How can you use each pen to shade the line from completely black to completely white?

Draw from pictures or other 

drawings

While you should never trace another artist’s work and claim it as you own, you can learn valuable techniques by copying photos or drawings you admire by hand. Since a picture is already 2-dimensional, you take away the stress of learning perspective and focus solely on the lines and angles. Practice recreating classic drawings to learn from the masters – da Vinci was the king of human anatomy, and his drawings have a lot to teach you.Never trace – you don’t actually practice drawing, just making lines.

Draw upside down

Drawing upside down forces you to forget about trying to make the drawing look right and instead drawing what you actually see. You can get similar results by drawing through a mirror, or practicing with distorted or Photoshopped images.

Study your source material

Drawing accurate contours requires more than simply looking up an image online. The best artists and art teachers pour over books, real-life examples, and studies to understand the lines they are making. While this depends on the type of drawing you are working on. All artists can benefit from time away from the sketchbook every now and then. If you are drawing people, invest in an illustrated book of human anatomy, or sign-up for drawing classes with a live model.If you are drawing animals, spend a day with your sketchbook at the zoo or purchase an illustrated textbook on animal anatomy.If you are drawing landscapes or city scenes, you should invest in a book about perspective to help you accurately create depth in your drawings.

Buy a wooden art doll

These small, standing puppets have a variety of joints that you can move into place and perfect human proportions. As such, they can be useful when trying to draw complex poses. Simply put the doll into the right position and use it to sketch out your drawing, adding the details of your character later.

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I hope you like this section of the blog. If you have any question upon this you can ask, email or also you can post your comments to our facebook group {link is in the profile}. Don't forget to submit your practice sheets. I am always here to help you anyway. 

THANK YOU

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Christmas Special.. 🎄🎊🎋🎍

Hello Friends,

I hope you all are doing good with our drawing sessions. And yes its a Christmas time means holidays and masti time for all of us. So I also wanted to do something special for all of you on this Christmas. 

I think Christmas is almost everyones favourite festival. It gives us joy and happiness. And as I know it attracts everyone from kids to elders. And what is the main attraction of Christmas? Yess its Santa.. So, I think you already get an idea that what I am going to do today.. yes I am going to teach you how to make Santa step by step. Sorry for adding this lesson in between but Its Christmas time.. and I think it is ok to have some fun while studying. 

I am adding some very easy tutorials of how to make Santa Clause step by step. Plz see the picture below and try to make it. I hope you all have done our line and shape study already, then you will not find it much difficult to draw. If not then also no problem, you can try to draw atleast. I have posted very easy to draw pictures for all of you. Everyone can enjoy it. And plz do not forget to post your Santa drawing to our facebook group. {You will get the link in my profile.} Plz share all of your pictures with us. Everyone wants to see them.

HOW TO DRAW A SANTA CLAUSE

I hope you all enjoy while drawing Santa Clause. I will try to teach you as easier as I can. And yes how can we forget Christmas Tree, Snow Man and Reindeer? These are all important to have a great Christmas. Christmas is incomplete without them. I am putting their tutorials too. Plz try to make them and post your pictures to our facebook group.

HOW TO DRAW A CHRISTMAS TREE

HOW TO DRAW A SNOWMAN

So friends, I hope you enjoyed this session of drawing. Plz write in comments if you really like it. I would like to read all your comments and answering them. Keep learning and posting your work. I wish this Christmas may be the happiest Christmas for all of you. Enjoy your holidays and keep creating..

THANK YOU

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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🎂🍰🍫🍬🍧

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Patterns

Hello Friends,

In this blog we are going to study different types of patterns. In the simple language pattern is a repeated decorative design, e.g. 'the pattern on the wallpaper'. For reference please see the image below.

A pattern, apart from the term's use to mean "template", is a discernible regularity in the world or in a manmade design. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated like a wallpaper.

Following are some types of patterns shown in the pictures. Please practice them on a plain paper. You can submit your practice sheets on our facebook group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/133115620702864/

Also you can like my facebook page for more details.

 www.facebook.com/shilsartwork/
www.instagram.com/shilsartwork/

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Drawing Basics 2

Hello Friends, I hope you all have read my first blog and doing well. I also have got some amazing msgs from some users too. Thank you all for giving your precious time to read this blog and I hope it is helpful to all of you.
Now we have to move ahead towards our next step to drawing.
In this step we are going to learn more techniques of drawing. In the first blog we learn about different shapes n lines. In this blog also I am going to tell you about types of lines. There are many types of lines we use for drawing but I am going to tell you about some basic lines that we generally use for basic drawing. Please refer following picture..

I am posting some more pictures of some shapes and lines, please have a look on it and try to practice the same.

I hope this section will be very helpful for all of you. You can post your practice sheets to our facebook group.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/133115620702864/  Also you can like my facebook page for more updates. www.facebook.com/shilsartwork/

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www.instagram.com/shilsartwork/

Drawing Basics

Hello my friends, on a huge demand and looking after your interest in drawing I have decided to publish my blog before time. As I have promised you, we are going to learn basic drawing techniques with this blog. Anyone can join us kids and elders, as I always say that age has no barrier to learn new things. In our life we regularly learn new things and the process will go on... So, we are going to start with very basics of drawings. I will also post pictures of drawings and videos if possible. You just need to practice all those things which I am going to post over here. Practice is the main key of drawing. You have to practice a lot for being a good artist. An artist never stop practicing.. so as much as you practice, you will get better day by day. This required a lot of patience my friends. I will try to make it very simple for you, also try to use a very simple language so that anyone can understand it easily.

As we are talking about basics as per me, the very basic thing for every drawing is shapes and lines. There are many kind of shapes n lines by which we can draw a picture. Please have a look on the following shapes n lines. Try to draw them on a paper. Practice till you get satsfied with your own work. This practice will make your hand move according to your drawing. So lets start practicing. And dont forget to post and comment with the pictures of drawings and your experience for my blog. If you like this plz drop a comment below.

If you have any queries regarding this section of the tutorial, feel free to ask questions by any mode. You can also like my facebook page for more updates and to look after my work. I have provided the link below.

www.facebook.com/shilsartwork/

www.instagram.com/shilsartwork/

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