Adjust Value
Artistic Adjustments
- After I added the background hatching, the bear almost disappeared into it, so I darkened the fur with the tip or side of the HB pencil, depending on the area. After I did that, I saw that the background could be even darker.
(Drawings are always a series of adjustments and nothing is sure until the drawing is done, so there are always several of these seesaw, one thing depends on the other, moments.)
Shadows And Brush Blending
- Then I experimented with some detail on the bear’s feet, leg, face, ears, and bow.
- Added dark shadows under his feet and legs with a 2b pencil held in a normal writing grip to make him look like he is sitting on something,
- Brush blended the hatching on his bow and the bottom of his feet to give them a smoother texture and to create contrasting textures to add more interest.
- Used a 2H pencil held at a low angle to hatch thin dark shadows under him to give him the look of “sitting on something.”
- Smoothed the background by going over it with the tip of a 2H pencil held in a writing grip because the background texture was competing for attention with the fur texture.
- When the bear stood out from the background enough, I felt I could be more extreme with his body shadows so I “pushed” them (made them darker than they really were) while experimenting more with fur detail.
Final Details
Final Details
- I decided from my previous experiments that I could form the fur texture best by erasing tuft shapes with a kneaded eraser pinched into a point or a wedge.
(When you erase details they usually turn out the wrong value, and all of my erased tufts needed to be touched-up. I shaped them into better “fur” shapes with the tip of a 2h pencil and added darker notes at their roots with the tip of an HB pencil to create depth.)
- Erased just enough to hint at the texture. Notice that the texture on his belly and farthest arm is very indistinct, but the fur detail on his nearest leg show more detail.
- Used the tip of a sharp 2B to darkly hatch his nose and eyes, but first I used my battery powered eraser to erase highlight dots from his eyes. Then I touched-up of the shape of the highlights after the pupils were filled.
I only used a few supplies for this sketch. Here they are.
The links lead to Dick Blick. (My affiliate and the art supply store I order from.)
- Canson Pure White Drawing Paper
– This is the paper I used. It’s inexpensive and has a good texture for sketching, but most other smooth drawings paper will work for this texture too.
- 2B, HB, and 2H Pencils
– A good starter range of pencils.
- Kneaded Eraser
– I buy several of the small ones because I lose them all the time. (I suspect a certain cat loves them too much.)
- Battery Powered Eraser
– This one is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it. I’ve had mine for 20 years and it’s still going great. However, you can find them for around $10 is you shop around.
- Small blending brush – Try several styles to find the kind you like best. See what kind I use in my blending how to.
