Rane

[Jimmie Arroyo]

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.

[Chuck Yokota]

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.