Questions tagged [drawing]
For questions about the use of pens, pencils, chalk, etc. to create images or patterns on a 2-D surface.
27
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What's the difference between drawing paper and regular paper?
Supply stores sell drawing paper, sketching paper, and all sorts of bound pads and books of the same.
What makes this paper different than regular notebook or printer paper? How is it better suited ...
user24
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2
answers
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How do I get a blur (blended) effect in pencil drawings?
When drawing pictures with a pencil, I often want to create a more or less solid darker colour in some region. It's easy to shade an area so that it appears a solid dark colour from a distance, e.g. ...
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How can I avoid smudging my pencil drawings?
I'm very new at drawing. I'm not very good at pencil types yet, but it seems like whichever pencil I use (I have a set of 12 ranging from 6B to 5H), I end up with smudges.
Is there a way to reduce ...
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3
answers
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What does it mean to "push your values"?
When I used to frequent art-critique forums, I would often hear senior artists advise people to "push values", generally with little to no explanation beyond that. I gathered that in many cases it ...
user24
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7
answers
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How can I protect my pencil & charcoal drawings once complete?
I have now built up a small portfolio of pencil/charcoal drawings. Most of the time they are kept in my folders, but sometimes they are viewed by friends and relatives. And on the odd occasion ...
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7
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3
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How can I prevent my drawings and paper from yellowing over time?
Some paper just yellows over time, especially if left out somewhere where it sees sunlight.
Acid-free paper is a partial solution, but not terribly budget-friendly.
Is there something else I can do ...
user24
2
votes
2
answers
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Plastic eraser vs Rubber eraser
This is a plastic eraser and this is a rubber eraser.
What are the differences between the two and which one should be preferred for which kind of drawing?
Why is there such a huge price difference ...
- 3,721
12
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7
answers
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Which kind of pencils should be used by a beginner for drawing?
I am curious what people would consider a basic / standard pencil type to have in their toolbox for pencil sketching.
There are a ton of variants I see with different hardness/softness etc and I don'...
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3
answers
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How to draw human body in chest/collarbone area?
As I have found myself learning more about the human body anatomy, and less focused on the human anatomy of the face, I am struggling with the latter.
I am an expressionist. I do want accuracy, and ...
- 1,771
7
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1
answer
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What exactly are carbon pencils?
A recent question on What are the types of charcoal pencils and how do they differ from each other? had an answer that discussed the relationship of charcoal pencils and carbon. It got me doing a ...
- 11k
7
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5
answers
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How to stop or reduce graphite from reflecting light?
Drawings drawn with graphite shine a lot under even a little light. The paper needs to be held at certain angle for proper viewing. Anyway to reduce or stop this?
- 273
7
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1
answer
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What are the different kinds of erasers used in graphite drawing?
When you are drawing you inevitably make mistakes. Erasing therefore is a large part of drawing. Not just for mistakes either. They can aid in shading and detail work, like hair, and other fine ...
- 11k
6
votes
2
answers
847
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How do I draw a very short human without making them look like a child?
I don't have an extremely realistic artstyle, so I fear that whenever I try to draw my very short character, they'll just look like a toddler in comparison to the others. What can I do to prevent this?...
6
votes
2
answers
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What are the types of charcoal pencils and how do they differ from each other?
I noticed that in the following picture there are at least 3 kinds of charcoal pencils:
Wooden charcoal pencil with just the word soft written on it.
Paper wrapped charcoal pencil with 600-H ...
- 3,721
2
votes
2
answers
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How do I blend charcoal enough to make it look like a skin surface? [duplicate]
I've been drawing Wonder Woman for quite a long time. Since she has a lot of bare skin, it's kinda hard to draw it without pencils, using only charcoal.
Here's the reference image I'm using:
Artwork ...
- 701
31
votes
3
answers
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What is the advantage of having an angled drawing desk?
I grew up using normal desks in school and drawing in art class on tables. I have drawn on tables for most of my projects, but every artists desk has a lift to it.
What is the purpose of the varying ...
- 1,082
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2
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Do I need to hold the pencil in different ways for different kinds of shading methods?
There are different types of shading techniques like criss cross, straight lines, circular shading, blending, scribbling, and dot shading (drawing dots close to each other).
I draw and shade ...
- 3,721
9
votes
6
answers
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What are the key disciplines of realistic drawing?
I hear a lot of drawing instructors say to "focus on the fundamentals", but I am unclear as to what the fundamentals of drawing are. For many of the other arts, the fundamentals are clear, in music, ...
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9
votes
1
answer
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Do I need a non-photo blue pencil for scanning drawings?
I see the non-photo blue pencils in the pencil section all the time, and I'm wondering what their purpose is for modern artists.
Do I need one if I want to scan in drawings where I've sketched the ...
user24
7
votes
5
answers
4k
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How to start a pencil portrait without using an outline of features?
I enjoy drawing head portraits in pencil, but I've found that sketching an outline of the prominent features often lead me astray. For example, due to shadows my eye is sometimes approximating the ...
- 1,338
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2
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How to calculate the shadow direction, size, and transparency?
Suppose I want to draw a shadow of X. How do I know what should be the EXACT
size of the shadow
direction of the shadow
transparency of the shadow.
Of course, it all depends on the light source. ...
- 3,721
6
votes
3
answers
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What are the different pencil/pen holding techniques for drawing? Which should be followed in which case?
I have seen on Instagram that artists are able to draw curved lines which appear as if drawn by machines.
I have also observed artists holding their pen in different ways than what is taught in ...
- 3,721
5
votes
3
answers
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Shading dark scenes
I frequently find myself sketching scenes that have dark lighting, but I'm never quite sure how to go about shading the subjects of the drawing when it's supposed to look dark, especially things like ...
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3
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Do reference photos have to be the same size as my final drawing?
I’ve been teaching myself drawing for about 6 months and find reference photos very helpful, especially to get proportions and values right. I usually use my phone for the since I don’t have a printer,...
- 153
3
votes
3
answers
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How do I exaggerate without losing believability?
I want to make a bulky and wide character with the help of exaggeration. The problem is that it loses believably. How do I make a character resemble the upper portion of the gallery rather than the ...
3
votes
2
answers
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What exercises can I do to improve the line quality of my drawings?
I am learning to draw on my own by drawing and watching Youtube tutorials. I would like to improve the quality of the lines in my drawings. What drawing exercises would help me improve this?
2
votes
2
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How to tell a story through pencil drawings?
When sketching, I can usually visualize a comic strip containing multiple images that tell a story. I want to try merge the images of a comic strip into a single drawing that has a story. I don't know ...
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