Wet Weekend

This project started so that I could try out my new set of Derwent Graphic pencils. Reference image from LuisdeBurg z pasadiso9. 

As before I started with the grid method to lay down the basic line work with the HB.

Then I started shading with the hair and top hand. The hair in there reference image is really dark and I used the 6B for this, and the H for the basic skin tone.

At this stage it didn't take long to realise that the Derwent pencils are quite dark, though the 6B was really soft and broke a lot (unlink the previous 6B Faber-Castell).  In then end I used more than half of the 6B to finish this image. I also had to work in the skin tones before going over them again with the hair.

Moving on I then added tone across the face. I built this up in layers starting with the H to the 2B. I added the eyes with the 6B to keep them dark.

Adding the lips stopped the face looking so strange. At this stage the face was pretty light and didn't have enough depth, but I came back to address this in the end.

I then added as much of the rest of the hair as I could to give shape to the face. The ends of the hair had to wait still though until the skin tones on the shoulders had been added.

At this point I was realising that the Derwent pencils seemed to have quite a lot of grit in the hard pencils and the soft cores were leaving lots of dark spots on the paper, that I needed to remove with the kneaded eraser. The gritty hard pencils started making me a bit nervous about tearing the paper or leaving unexpected dark lines. Sometimes the 4H seemed darker than the 2H?

I added the right arm next to frame the other side of the face, I probably should have added this earlier to avoid having to lean on the work completed so far.

I stared then to focus on the shoulder as it has some darker tones that differed from the rest of the torso. Also this started to fill in the skin area that would be covered by hair.

Following the darker tones I added the under-arm and the edge of the breast.

Then I decided to add the rest of the skin tones in order to add the water with the electric eraser. I filled in most of the skin with a 2H then added darker tones with the H, B and 2B where needed. I also went back to balance the tone on the arm with the rest of the body. 

Finally I added the water with the electric eraser and darkened round the droplets with the 2H and H pencils. The nipples were build up with a B, 2B and 4B, erasing the small light areas with each additional layer.

I then also went back and added more tone to the face and lips where they are in shade.

Overall I mostly enjoyed drawing this image. I was initially unhappy with the Derwent pencils, though I think after working with them for a while one could benefit from familiarity. I did however find I was often going back to remove dark spots left by the soft pencils and I lost confidence in the hard pencils to the point I was starting to test them in on scrap paper before applying them to the drawing. They did give good dark tones though, and may provide a better outcome if blended, which I may try next on a smaller drawing.