CHALLENGE (21 DAYS): Day 11: The Drapery Exercise

Theme: Shadow Work 2

Welcome to the 11th day of my personal challenge:

21 DAYS to learn how to draw a realistic portrait with my right hand!

THE VALUE SCALE

THE SCALE OF VALUES

To succeed in light and shadow effects on a complex drawing, you must know and master two things:

1. The hardness or softness of your pencils
2. The value scale
                               My homemade value scale

A value scale in drawing represents the entire range of tones that can be achieved with a pencil! Generally, the reference can be taken with a single pencil: the 2B. With this pencil, you can create a very wide chromatic palette ranging from white (the raw paper) to the darkest grey by increasing the pressure on the surface. I am creating mine on a strip of paper; it will serve as a reference point when placing the shadows on my drapery.

HARDNESS / SOFTNESS OF GRAPHITE PENCILS.

Grey pencils, or graphite pencils, are a mixture of graphite and clay. they come in a wide range of textures ranging from the hardest H (Hard) to the softest B (Black), the perfect balance being the famous HB pencil used by schoolchildren! The higher the number in front of the letter, the softer or harder the pencil will be. Generally, and to make learning shadows and contrasts easier, one can use only the 2B, with which a whole range of values is possible by varying the pressure of the pencil on the paper.                                                                                                                                                                                    I am returning to my basic sketch started yesterday:                                                        

                                       

Here is my shadow work with the 2B pencil after my daily 15 minutes!!!

When I tell you it is time-consuming!!!

See you tomorrow to finish (maybe...) the drapery!

See you tomorrow!