Nice drawings
 

Hi Jeff,

Really nice drawings. Good job.

I noticed that you do cross hatch shading. My preference is to do shading in one direction only or shading along the volume. This give a more even and cleaner look. You can give this a try but it's only my preference.

Generally, I find them hardened in the store and warehouse. That is why I use 4B almost exclusively. It is soft enough for the darkest darks, and hard enough to bear down without breaking. I use a pencil lead holder, so I do not need to sharpen any wood repeatedly. You would benefit if you chiseled your point more often with a shanding block. You will find that your lines are even more expressive when you maximize the tip with a chiseled point. You will have darker darks, more control, and a greater variety of lines at your disposal. If you don't sand the tip, you limit yourself to a monoline.

Lefties
 

Hi, Jeff,

I'm a leftie too, and also can spot another right away by how their lines are drawn. That is until they become so skilled that their preference is played down by the brain's choice to make the line different.

Have you ever found yourself using your right hand to put a line in "exactly" the right place and the only way to do it is with your non-dominant hand? This happens to me sometimes whem I'm really "in the zone". Also, do you find it easier to draw a 3/4 profile facing right than left?

Lefties rule!

Jean