Sketch and Wash Graphite Sketch and Wash Graphite Art

Cartoon a Portrait with Water-Soluble Graphite Pencils

How to use h2o soluble pencils

Wetcanvas Guest Lecture past OzonaLori

Overview

Working with water-soluble graphite, for me, offers the all-time from both worlds of cartoon and painting. It allows the familiarity and condolement-level I feel with drawing, lets me concentrate on value differentiation rather than the mastery of the color wheel, and allows some play with brushwork, which feels like a stepping-stone toward painting.

It is also a very easy medium to work with when sketching out in public. I have made portraits in places like a Major League baseball game, using jump h2o forth with my finger for a brush (…a girl's gotta practice what a girl's gotta do!)

In this lesson, I will take you through the steps of creating a water-soluble graphite portrait. In a few piece of cake steps, yous will learn how to transform a drawing into a monochromatic painting!

Some notes on materials:

All you volition need is a h2o-soluble graphite pencil, paper with a smooth cease, h2o and a soft sable castor. I like to utilize almost a #12 round watercolor brush. A paper towel can as well be useful.

The pencil

Many companies brand graphite pencils that are water soluble. Probably the easiest to find, as it is available in all of the big craft chains, is General'south Sketch and Wash pencil. Most of the companies that make watercolor pencils also manufacture water-soluble graphite pencils, also. Expect in the displays to meet if the store has included their graphite versions as well. Usually you can discover them in a range from about 4B to 8B. I have non actually institute a need to get a range of these pencils. I good nighttime one is mostly all that is needed.

My favorite brands are a little harder to find: Karisma Graphite Aquarelle by Berol and Cretacolor'south Monolith 4B with a paintbrush symbol on it. The Karisma Graphite Aquarelle pencil comes in Medium, Soft and Extra Soft. They deliquesce beautifully and feel wonderful on the paper in the cartoon stage. The chief problem with these is the difficulty in finding them. They are made in Mexico, but the store that I buy them from imports them from England. The Cretacolor pencil is also cracking to work with and somewhat easier to find, and because it is a solid graphite pencil - no wood- you lot can utilise the side of it for wide strokes or shading. It is only available in 4B, as far as I know.

The paper

Any polish paper that tin take water media will piece of work well. Cull either a cold-pressed watercolor paper, or a sized drawing paper that is designed for h2o media. I particularly like the Aquabee line of sketch pads- either the #808 or the Globetrotter Sketch Diary. These papers are double-sized to accept moisture media, but are in a convenient pad. They are non that like shooting fish in a barrel to find, but have been available for a good price online through Cheap Joe's.

Step one:

Offset, make your drawing, paying attending to the darks and midtones, and leaving the white of the paper showing in the lighter areas. Your cartoon need not be painstakingly shaded, because the painting phase will even out some of the tonal values and allow you to pull some of the darker areas over to shade some of the mid and lighter tones when diluted with the water.

Step 2:

Using the moisture sable brush, add water to the drawn areas and let them deliquesce into the graphite paint. Experiment with both dabbing the castor, and letting it slide over the surface of the drawn lines to see what happens. You can redistribute the tonal values by pulling midtones from the darker areas.

Use the newspaper towel as an boosted tool. It is great to keep one folded upwards to blot your brush on, and a crumpled up towel tin can help you lift out highlights or fifty-fifty add texture.

Step 3:

Add together additional tonal values where needed past drawing lines or shading.

Step 4:

Add additional detail.

Step five:

Let the drawing dry completely and add together last details with dry out media.

Completed Portrait

Detail from Finished Portrait:

To come across my other artwork, visit my galleries on pbase

Artist's Bio

OzonaLori

Lori has loved the Arts her entire life. From an early on age, she sang with choirs, made things from institute objects and even designed her own wearing apparel.

Lori received her BFA from the University of South Florida, with Drawing every bit her main emphasis, and Photography as her secondary area of interest.

Music is also an important office of Lori's life. She is a performing singer-songwriter, who plays audio-visual guitar, hand drums and mountain dulcimer. Lori was role of a female contemporary folk trio for three years, who played acoustic venues and music festivals all over Florida. Her group also recorded and produced a CD while they were together.

Today, Lori designs and sells her jewelry, helps her husband manage their real estate investments, volunteers at her girl's school, teaches elective courses and works as much equally possible on her art and music.

Commodity, Copyright OzonaLori, 2005

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