10/31/2020

Koh-I-Noor 1500 pencils review

Koh-I-Noor 1500 pencils review


 

Today I'll share a short review of a product described as an "all time classic" and a must-try for every pencil fan :)

7/22/2020

How to draw a dog with colored pencils - a step by step tutorial

How to draw a dog with colored pencils - a step by step tutorial





Long black fur can be tricky. In this tutorial I will show you my method and I will give you some tips on drawing on tinted paper.


7/16/2020

How to draw a cat with graphite pencils - step by step tutorial

How to draw a cat with graphite pencils - step by step tutorial



In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a cute kitten in 9 steps!


Media: I used Koh-I-Noor 1500 (yellow) pencils, 4B to 8B; kneaded rubber, pencil eraser (Koh-I-Noor Era)
Paper: white bristol, with slight texture, size A4 (approx. 8 x 10 in)
Optional: Daler Rowney Perfix Fixative spray - to protect the finished drawing Photo reference: Clipart Library, personal use
http://clipart-library.com/clip-art/persian-cat-silhouette-4.htm


Step 1: Sketching the shape


Let's define how much space will the drawing take, and make a sketch.
I took a pencil and measured the head on the photograph. I realised that it takes almost 3 heights of head to fill the sillhouette, just look at the scan.
Mark the fur - study the reference and look how it is arranged, it's curly and shorter closer to the head. In the middle of the photographed kitten it looks longer and fluffy.
When you draw eyes, ears - keep them in one line to avoid the situations like one eye is placed higher ;)



Step 2: Drawing an eye

Fill the eye with 4B pencil, do not press the pencil too much to the paper. Try to get a smooth and delicate look. Mark the iris and leave a white spot (the blink). You can use pencil eraser (or kneaded eraser) to make the bottom part of the pupil a little bit lighter. Darken the upper side of the pupil, you can use softer pencil like 6B - we want to achieve the shadow that comes from the eyelid. Take the 8B pencil and create a dark outline, just as shown in the scan. Start working on the short fur around the finished eye - notice that it is darker near the eye. You can use pencil eraser to create short white shiny hair.


Step 3: Creating the second eye and working on head fur

Follow the instruction from step 2 and draw the second eye the same way. Draw short hair on kitten's ear and head, using the pencil eraser from time to time. Mark the nose, draw light fur around it. Use softer pencil (7-8 B) to create darker parts, slightly increase pressing the lead to the paper.




Step 4: Drawing the second ear and the rest of the head

You can use softer pencil like 6B to fill the whole ear. Then create the darker outline. Draw the rest of the head, lighter parts first, then press the lead harder and create darker hair. Use pencil eraser to make white hair on the ear.




Step 5: Creating longer and fluffy hair

Use 4B pencil to make the first layer - apply the graphite in a delicate and steady way. Then mark darker wavy hair here and there. Use pencil (or kneaded) eraser to add some lighter fur and single hair. Now we have the impression that the fur shines in some parts :)




Step 6: Working on the fur

Let's continue and draw the back of the kitty using the same method as described above. First, a smooth and light layer, then darken groups of hair and finally adding some light by erasing.




Step 7: Drawing the paws

Start filling the front and back paw - look at the reference and observe how the fur waves. Use the same way to apply graphite as before in steps 5 and 6.




Step 8: Still working on the paws

Continue working on the paws. You can see this step looks a bit darker. I just applied more 8B graphite on the head, around it and at the back. I used a lot of the pencil eraser -  to create long, white curly hair.




Step 9: Finishing the drawing

We are slowly finishing our kitten. All we have to do is to finish these lovely paws, with its wavy and soft fur. Mark the tail behind the cat and a delicate soft shadow under it. We must add some whiskers. That can be done by erasing the graphite with fine tip pencil eraser. Now when the drawing is finished you can spray it with a special fixative for pencils. That will protect the artwork from smudging.





* It is forbidden to copy this article (and drawings included in it) without the author's permission.

2/12/2020

Posca Markers - Review

Posca Markers - Review

Posca Markers - a small test on various surfaces







Today's review will be a bit different than the previous ones - I decided to make a small test of Posca paint markers. I love artworks posted on Instagram which were created using these markers (@twelvepapercranes, @gremren, @martalopezfdez.art, just to name a few). They remind me of a style called "flat design" in vector illustration. Choosing 3-4 colors enables you to create an interesting artwork.

I tested this product on various surfaces like craft cardboard, glass, plastic semitranslucent board.


Prices: approx. $3.99 - $7.99
On the official website we can read that Posca is a creative tool for all materials: plastic, wood, cardboard and so on. It is recommended for those who create street art and graffiti. Markers are easy to use and the effects are great.
Having that all in my mind, I decided to check out this tool by making small illustrations. Here are the results:


1. At first I tried the paper. I used Fabriano Accademia 200gsm. Here are examples - I made a couple of cute illustrations:







I enjoyed drawing with Posca on this paper. I love the way the colors look like, they are so vivid. The surface is rather smooth and that was a big advantage while applying the paint. The outline part was a bit problematic - I found it hard to make outlines with a broad tip.
Another thing that irritated me was appearing of unaesthetic clods. I didn't see any of them on Instagram works. Happily you can remove them with a knife when the work dries.
The areas covered with paint, especially larger ones, are not perfectly smooth - you can see marker strokes.


2. A piece of grey craft cardboard - the result was a complete failure.

I gave up after a few strokes because it was going worse, a lot of horrible clods appeared. Maybe it's because the cardboard isn't smooth.


3. A piece of semitranslucent plexiglass board.

I really had fun drawing this little penguin. Just made a sketch, placed a plexiglass board on it and drew with markers straight away. The surface was smooth and it was easy to make strokes and apply paint. And, what is worth noticing, there are no uneaesthetic clods! However, some parts of the drawing required a second layer of paint because the first one didn't cover the plexiglass. I also noticed very tiny paint splashes here and there so you must be careful while making the strokes, it looks like the marker tip scratched the surface at times.




4. A piece of material - a thicker canvas is recommended.

I took a piece of a thin material and it didn't work, especially with markers with a broad tip. I could only make spots, creating a straight line was impossible. The tip tended to stick to the material.


5. Glass - the paint applied to a glass jar smoothly, there are no clods.

Unfortunately, the coverage isn't satisfying. A second layer is needed. A big plus is that if we don't like the pattern we can easily erase it by using water.




6. A piece of dark brown cardboard with coating - the surface feels a bit like a plastic.

I drew a fox on it. The markers worked good on this cardboard, there are no clods. Unfortunately the coverage leaves much to be desired even after applying a second layer of paint.




7. Wood - I didn't find any wood piece I could paint on, so I'll update this article as soon as the situation changes :)


To sum up:

💙I achieved the best results with the paper
💙White paint Posca marker can be very helpful while drawing details in portraits (e.g. eyes, thin hair, etc.)
💙Markers didn't work on surfaces like grey craft cardboard or thin material
💙Another disadvantage is they are rather pricey. I don't think I'll buy more colors, I think I'll just stick to vector gaphics programmes :)

 
* All the illustrations were created by me. It is forbidden to copy this material (and images included in it) without the author's permission.