And I’m finding that a little less than 2cm is too small for my newbie skills. Even sharpening my pencils every time I switch, it’s very not at all sharp. I am sitting on my .005 microns to stop myself from grabbing them in a panic. 🤣
It can be really hard to get those tiny details. Looking at this, I’m wondering whether you might be using the “wrong” side of the paper. It looks like it’s getting a little fuzzy, which I’ve noticed happening when I accidentally use the side of the paper that isn’t the smoother side. Double check and feel both sides, and see if this is the rougher side. It’s VERY subtle, but it does make a difference. With that said, I think you are doing a really good job here. You are creating very nice 3D form in this drawing – beautiful highlights and shadows. If you want to try to work on this one some more (if your paper still has enough oomph left), you could try using a wash of watercolor to fill in some of the white of the paper where it looks kind of “fuzzy” (avoiding the highlight areas). And then after letting it dry really well, you could try to crisp up some of the details with a really sharp verithin pencil. Keep playing. You are doing great, Heather!!
Oooh! I’ll try that! And I’m going to use the back of that page for today’s leaf. We’ll be able to see if I’ve been fighting the paper this whole time. I’ve also got a leaf that’s about 3” long, so a huge leap from the TINY acorns 🤓
And I’m finding that a little less than 2cm is too small for my newbie skills. Even sharpening my pencils every time I switch, it’s very not at all sharp. I am sitting on my .005 microns to stop myself from grabbing them in a panic. 🤣
It can be really hard to get those tiny details. Looking at this, I’m wondering whether you might be using the “wrong” side of the paper. It looks like it’s getting a little fuzzy, which I’ve noticed happening when I accidentally use the side of the paper that isn’t the smoother side. Double check and feel both sides, and see if this is the rougher side. It’s VERY subtle, but it does make a difference. With that said, I think you are doing a really good job here. You are creating very nice 3D form in this drawing – beautiful highlights and shadows. If you want to try to work on this one some more (if your paper still has enough oomph left), you could try using a wash of watercolor to fill in some of the white of the paper where it looks kind of “fuzzy” (avoiding the highlight areas). And then after letting it dry really well, you could try to crisp up some of the details with a really sharp verithin pencil. Keep playing. You are doing great, Heather!!
Oooh! I’ll try that! And I’m going to use the back of that page for today’s leaf. We’ll be able to see if I’ve been fighting the paper this whole time. I’ve also got a leaf that’s about 3” long, so a huge leap from the TINY acorns 🤓