Touch of Change

Hello everyone! As promised I would do another big post with new art. Well I finished my pencil drawing today with the title "Touch of Change". I told there was a lot going on lately and I really had problems drawing digitally as I just got stuck with no drive. So I decided to work with pencils again as it feels a bit closer to how I feel and easier to flow into my inner world. I always find it difficult when lots of things change or when I try to change. Being in a comfort zone is nice and warm but that way you don't develop or improve. So I decided to draw off the feelings I had about all the changes.

It is made on A4 sized Canson paper with pencils. I use Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth pencils ranged from B to 6B. I always start with B pencil for setting up the lines and start with 2B for shading.

The process

In this blog I will try to explain a bit how I work. Everything I learned is autodidact and I never went to art school I even dropped drawing classes because back then I thought it was something I wouldn't use when I grow up.....But I used to draw a lot to get trough all the boring classes.

I started a few weeks ago and wanted to create a focus point so it wouldn't end up chaotic.

Here you see that I started with the main creature. I already had a title in mind so I needed some kind of methaphor creature that resembles change and trying to touch the main creature.

I created a situation where the main creature is looking at the creature that tries to enter his personal space.

Seems like the creature got company and also talks with consumption so some drops of spit flying around.

Somehow something happened to his stomach and a creature is coming from his insides. Didn't really plan doing that but a lot of what I draw comes from my subconscious mind and thinking about it made sense. I mean I felt a lot of stress in my stomach so I guess my drawing is telling me what's going on. But it isn't the first time creatures have stomachs opening up. ;)

The creature on his hand I'm not sure what it resembles yet but I really liked it. :)

I went on drawing and adding creatures and lines to balance it out and because I love transforming lines into creatures with some personality. Also starting to shade to create depth.

Adding more contrast to the drawing and make lines sharper and darker. Eventually I erase lines that I don't need anymore.

Extra paper

If you work with pencils it's important to have a paper between the drawing hand and the paper you draw on. That way you can lean on the paper with your hand and have more control while drawing. If you don't do it the drawing will get messy and you keep re-shading.

Creating smooth gradients

To create smooth gradients I use a "Tortillon". You can also use a paper towel, toilet paper or a cotton wool bud. Never use your hands/fingers for blending as it will get greasy.

I use a sandpaper to sharpen the tortillon (don't use a sharpener) so I can get smooth results. Below you can see a picture of me using a tortillon for creating a smooth shade.

After blending you can add more contrast with darker pencils to make a beautiful gradient. In the picture below you can see it's almost finished but still missing shades. I also like creating extra shapes while blending and shading to make it more dynamic.

Finished artwork

Eventually the drawing is finished and I started to scan it. After that I have to tweak a bit to let it look like the original drawing as the scanner makes the drawing to light. I often use the image > mode > levels option in Photoshop which is great for grayscale artworks.

Well that was about it. I really hope you liked the post and seeing my workflow. I learned a lot by just drawing and also by collaborating with other pencil artists.

I'm also on whaleshares: https://whaleshares.io/@sanderjansenart
Check out my website: https://www.sanderjansen.net