Rane
 

Graphite and white pencil, 16x12, on Cranson light gray paper. Critiques gratefully accepted, digital demonstration OK.

Well, Chuck, I

Steven,

Once again, many thanks for your critique. I am always helped by your observations and suggestions.

The hair was difficult for me. Her hair does tend to fall in distinct locks, but my attempt to render it made it look like she was wearing a mop. I did attempt to correct that, but not very successfully.

Drawing on colored paper is a new departure for me. I was inspired to try it by the amazing drawings Jimmie Arroyo has been producing.

Unfortunately, I had sprayed the drawing with fixative before I read your critique, so I am unable to implement many of your suggestions.

Hey Chuck,

My immediate reaction was how light the values in the face were, especially compared to that in the blouse. It looks very flat. I understand that pics never justify the original, but the darkest area in her blouse is darker than any part of her face, including her eyes. The shading in her right arm also seems too strong.

I don't know how I would have handled the hair myself, I think I would have done alot of erasing after modeling, particularly where the hair meets the blouse.

Even tho you sprayed it with a fixative, you should still be able to play around with the values. If you like the toned paper, you may want to try the Stonehenge brand. It is lighter in color than Canson, but Stonehenge is heavier and accepts graphite better in my opinion. If you stick with Canson, try their 'Moonstone' colored paper.

Good luck. If you do decide to work on this further, please post an update.

Hi Jimmie,

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I appreciate them, especially since I greatly admire your drawings.

I did have trouble knowing how dark to go, and as you say the paper I was using didn't take the graphite really well. The blouse was black, which I drew lightened up as it seemed too dark for the drawing. I will try working with the values some more, and will post an update. In the meantime, I am posting the reference photo.

Update
 

Here is the drawing after working on some of the values:

Before I make another comment, I'd like to ask, how close is this to the original? It looks highly compressed, as does the reference photo. It would'nt be fair to offer a critique on something so grainy, I'm sure it looks better in person. Would also like to know the range of pencils you are using, it does'nt look like you're going any softer than an HB. If you are going softer, then it looks like you're applying it too lightly giving it a see through texture. (I made another comment after all!) if you want to send a bigger file to my e-mail for better clarity, feel free.

Hi Jimmie,

I am posting closeups cropped so they have the original pixel resolution of the photographs. While there is some graininess due to the picture resolution, most of the graininess in the drawing is due to the texture of the paper.

I used a range of pencil leads from 2H to 6B. I didn't press really hard with the pencils, trying not to press down that paper texture. Should I go ahead and press harder, not worrying about flattening out the texture?

I will also email you the larger original file of the drawing.

Chuck,
I'm watching your progress with interest. I think you have a good likeness. I'm gonna learn "over your shoulder", if you don't mind. Can I ask how large the face is? I'm wondering with my own work if I woud be able to catch details better if I were working on a larger face, therefore large features and more "room" for detail.

Hi Pat,

The head is about 4-1/4" tall. I do find it more difficult to work on a face this small; a hairsbreadth of difference can affect the likeness. However, I did want to do a half-length drawing and I didn't want the overall size to be too large, so I'm stuck with it. Especially at this size, I would rather have used a smoother-textured paper.