Thanks for coming back for part two. Hurray! I am sure you did well in part one so let’s get right in. Oops, if you miss the part one, you can click the here. 

This part, we have collaborated with Alex Gordo, known as @artofgordo on social media. You will learn how to make your drawing more realistic by shading and blending it. 

Art supplies you need:

1. Graphite pencils
2. Charcoal pencils
3. A black color pencil
4. A small round blending brush (for blending small areas)
5. A big flat blending brush (for blending big areas and edges)
6. A pointy mechanical eraser
7. A flat mechanical eraser
8. A mechanical pencil (for adding the details precisely)

A. Start shading with darker grade graphite pencils

To start with, we can use some darker grade graphite pencils or charcoal to shade the shirt. We focus on the shadows of the T-shirt. Then, we can use the brush the smooth the graphite out and drag the excessive graphite onto the bland areas to create the shadows nicely.

 B. Add the highlight with a pointy eraser

When the light hits on the objects, the areas become more white. In order to take out the excessive graphite from the paper in small areas, we can use a pointy mechanical eraser.

Tips for choosing the blending brush:

• The brush is better to be soft because the hard hair may damage the surface of the paper.
• When we choose the hairbrush right, next, we need to choose the size right. Small brushes for small areas and big brushes for big areas.

C. Drawing eyes and eyebrows

To shade the eye realistically, you don’t need to shade all the eyes. You can focus on drawing on the darker values and use the brush to soften it out.

The same as drawing eyebrow, firstly, draw the hair of the eyebrow with darker graphite pencils and use the brush to blend the graphite out.

D. Drawing hair

Use the same method as previous, use the darker graphite pencils to draw the shadows of the hair and blend it out. Keep on the process of adding the darker values and blending it out evenly until you get the smooth texture of it and the darkness you want.

Use the eraser to take out the unwanted graphite on the paper to create the highlight.

Don’t forget to tag us #loeilart or @loeilart to share your result with us. Profiter de l’art.

About the artist - Alex:
A realistic drawing artist based in the US, who is excelled at drawing with graphite pencils and charcoal. He has done lots of astounding artworks of Henry Cavill, Barbara Palvin and more.

Instagram: @artofgordo (https://www.instagram.com/artofgordo/)

Facebook page: @artofgordo (https://www.facebook.com/artofgordo/)