Pencil Drawing: Going Deeper

Many will think that pencil drawing is subordinate to the other fields of fine arts like painting, sculpture and photography.

As a form of visual expression, drawing is the earliest type, most easily learned and is the most practicable.

It is at times an early stage to other art works that would require color application. While sketching, as many call it, is a stage to other artworks, it can very well be pursued as a masterpiece in itself.

Drawing is a process that can be considered distinct from painting. There are drawings that are finished artworks and are intentionally done to be in such a medium. However, drawing is often initiatory or exploratory.

It puts a considerable emphasis on experimentation, observation, and composition, often as a preparation for painting.

Painting, on the other hand, is often a means finishing a work of art. One basic distinction of painting and drawing is that drawing rarely uses colors in its composition while color theory is a major part of painting.

Although pencil drawing does not use colors, there are some techniques that can be used to add emphasis to the details of a drawing.

This method and techniques are combined to reach a desired output. Here are some techniques and methods that you can use to improve your drawing:

Practice shading and hatching. In order to control the appearance of the image, the stroke of the drawing is highly essential. Hatching, while typically used in ink drawing, can be used and this technique consists of groups of parallel lines.

To create a darker tone, cross-hatching is used in two or more different directions. By using pencils and drawing sticks, variations in tone are easier to achieve. To produce a depth effect, lines are usually drawn to follow the contour curves of the surface.

The use of dots can also produce texture and shade.

To create different tonal values on the paper, shading can be applied. This is used to represent the shade of an object, the light source, and shadows it cast.

The application of this technique with detailed attention to shadows, light source and highlights will result in a very realistic presentation of the image.

In order to soften or spread the original drawing strokes, the technique of blending can be applied. In this method, one can use a combination of erasers, tissues, something blunt, or even a fingertip.

Look for something that creates smooth textures in the pencil drawing, and also for material removal to lighten the tone.

There are many techniques that an aspiring artist can practice in pencil drawing. The use of one or combination of all will result in a very realistic depiction of the object and reality.

However, artistry is the most important ingredient in every artwork. It then means of the artist communicate to the viewer the ideas and the feelings of the piece of art.

Artistry is not capable of measurement, but a degree of personal touch and style will separate a rough sketch from a drawing masterpiece.

Author: Murtaza I Habib

About the author:
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