Articles
RJ TIP - Steps for a better composition
Great compositions don’t just happen by accident. They take planning, patience, and a knowledge of all the visual elements at your disposal. The great thing is, no matter how much or how little talent you have, you’ll always be able to improve your art by sketching out a good composition before you begin.
With that in mind, here are the 8 steps for better compositions:
RJ TIP - Grid method using image software
Using the grid method with a graphics program. The program that you use is of little importance. I have chosen to use GIMP in this tip because it's available for free under an open source licence. You can download it here.
RJ TIP - Getting dark valuesIt's not always easy to get very dark values even with 6B graphite. What I found, and I'm sure many of you as well, is that you need to lay down the graphite in layers with hatching I do the hatching with no more pressure than normal writing. Pressing hard is not a solution. This will only burnish the graphite giving it too much shine. In addition to keeping the shine down, a second advantage to using layers is that you can use an architect's eraser to [pull up] a layer at a time. The fact that you have not pressed too hard preserves the tooth of the paper so you can work the tone until you get it just right. To get an almost charcoal black I do the following:
RJ TIP - My drawing tools
I know that you are asking yourself; "What tools does he use to create his drawings? ". I ask myself the same question every time I look at different artists' work. Do they use traditional wood-cased pencils or mechanical ones? What type of eraser do they use? We, as artists appear to have a fascination in the tools and techniques used by other artists. So, what tools do I use? Have a look through the index to the right and choose the section that interests you.