DrawWithMike.net

Portrait...
Charcoal & Pencil... study.

Greetings, I'M just starting to draw portraits and this is my first one in mixed media.
All comments are welcome.

Lyle

Hi Lyle. I'm not a portrait artist but this looks wonderful, and more so because it's your first one mixing charcoal and pencil! I can't find fault at all with the proportions, and that 3/4 view is so attractive. All I can say is well done!

Lovely modelling, and you've captured the character well.

Mixing graphite with charcoal is not something that ever worked well for me. Well done for making it work for you!

I tried carbon and graphite too. But, eventually, I decided to be a graphite-only specialist

While it's true the charcoal and carbon overcome the reflection problem with graphite, this video might help you fix the graphite shine, and produce deeper darks.

Thank you for the kind comments. I was not sure if I captured the eyes in the right position... for a 3/4 head turn. I have found that using a graphite pencil, charcoal and a black colored pencil to be very useful. As Mike mentioned in one of his wonderful video's charcoal over graphite is a bit tricky. I also tried some indenting using those three and achieved this result.

Are you saying that you indented ALL the hair? I've seen that done before, and I'm not a fan, but to the average viewer I have to say this is quite impressive.

The only reason I'm not a fan is that it creates the correct texture and a semblance of hair... but it omits all the little peculiarities that make hair actually look like hair. In other words, it's too clean and precise.

But this is still an accomplished drawing of a charming little dog.

Hi Mike... yes I did indent all the hair...long and short. I'm not a fan either. I did this as a study to see just what it would look like when completed. It has some charm but it does omit a lot of the little peculiarities in the hair. I like your idea of using a dash of it in places. I have looked at all of your videos and I am having difficulty completely understanding your technique for drawing dog hair. I love and appreciate your drawings and I realize that they take hours to complete but I feel that I could benefit from watching you draw a portion of one of your beautiful drawings to see how you complete an area... in a video.

qwert6 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:17 pm I have looked at all of your videos, and I am having difficulty completely understanding your technique for drawing dog hair.

The next video will feature the hair of an Old English Sheepdog. It's not a "how to draw hair" video, but I've no doubt it will help.

I love and appreciate your drawings and I realize that they take hours to complete, but I feel that I could benefit from watching you draw a portion of one of your beautiful drawings to see how you complete an area... in a video.

The best I can do right now is to refer you to RILEY. There isn't a narration - just me drawing (and a couple of bits of silliness). I made it for Linda while I was drawing Riley over a period of about six months. I was learning to light, film, and edit at the same time, so you'll be pleased to hear the quality improves in the second half

My basic approach is:
Concentrate on a small, manageable, area.
Using the reference(s), work out what's going on three-dimensionally.
Don't try to copy the reference, just draw what you understand about that area.
Draw until its complete - then move to the next.

Here's RILEY for you.

Hi Mike...thank you for the Riley link. I watched the video several times and it was very helpful. After seeing your other videos and then watching Riley I think that I now have a clear understanding of your technique for drawing dog hair.

Best Regards, Lyle

qwert6 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:50 pm Portrait...
Charcoal & Pencil... study.

Very nice indeed!