Hello internet, etc.
So I just wanted to point a little something out... In the past year, my graphite portraits have suddenly and vastly improved. Mysterious. I haven't [yet] achieved hyper-realism, but it's getting there, which is a faaar cry from portraits I did in 2017. I wasn't really sure at first why my art rapidly looked so much better, but in the comparison shot below, I captured a theory of mine:
Last year, my drawings still had that manga-esque influence, even when combined with realistic elements. I used one Papermate pencil, one plain white eraser, and a fine enough sharpener (never underestimate the power of a pencil sharpener!!). Now, I used every single one of these tools to create the drawing on the right:
- 4 art pencils: 2H, HB, 2B, and 4B
- Plain white eraser
- Kneadable eraser
- Good ol' sharpener (xtra sharpp)
- Tortillion (that rolled paper thing. Good for blending small/precise areas)
- 2 small nylon brushes (one fluffy, one shaped flat/round)
- Sandpaper block (makes graphite dust to brush evenly over wide surfaces) (also files down pencil tips, but be careful not to damage the surface of your paper with a jagged pencil tip after...)
- Big coarse-bristled brush (for brushing away eraser dust without using my hand. No more smudging/staining)
- Flashlight (I draw ~everywhere~. Gotta keep that sweet lighting with me)
These tools, paired with about 12 more months of drawing practice, resulted in a little something like this:
I dunno about you, but I see a slight improvement.
Not only this, but I've tried falling into the habit of applying as much detail and patience into every aspect of the drawing. This may or may not be because I'm simply in a real artsy-obsessive mood lately.
TL;DR use more tools! Even if you only have a few HB pencils and a basic eraser, try using a paintbrush to blend a sharp edge, or a scrap of sandpaper to grate pencil dust over a large area.
(Also, prAcTiCe. This isn't some cheap Instagram life hack.)
Byefonow,
-nesso
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