But before it becomes possible to create mind-blowing artworks, we have to spend some time with the basics. We simply cannot expect to communicate our ideas through a drawing without basic technical skills in place.

That’s why so many beginners unfortunately quit drawing only after a dozen or so unsuccessful attempts to capture a subject they like, but are too complex for their level. However, there are a few things that are important enough no matter how simple or complicated the subject is.

With any skill, we have to practice and build up our abilities. Drawing is no different. Practice plays an important role in developing ourselves as artists and should be a regular part of our activities – no matter what our current skill level.

This article is dedicated to short, yet effective drawing exercises that you can perform in just a few minutes every day. Musicians regularly practice their scales. A basketball player practices layups. We can think of these exercises in the same way. If you practice them regularly, your drawing skill will improve greatly.

Even if you are confident in your lines and hatching and pleased with the results, these exercises are still a fun exercise to practice. They provide a chance to focus your mind on a simple concrete action, which makes it easy to enter a state of “flow” (or a meditative submergence into the process).

The results of a five or ten minute warm-up, before even touching the big project you’re working on, may be surprising. Vocalists do various warm-ups before the ‘actual’ performance. We can use these exercises in the same – warming up the technical side of our artistic brains.

The tool for practice is up to you. It may be a graphite pencil, an ink liner, a nib pen, or any other mark-making tool. (I used ink liners just because they are my favorites; they provide clear, contrasting, and controlled marks on the paper.)

The paper can be any you like – ordinary printer paper is great because it’s so affordable and you can use as many sheets as you like.

Distinguishing Regular Lines From Hatching

On the surface, there isn’t a significant difference between a regular line used as contour and a hatch. Both are lines after all but each serve a different purpose.

Let’s expand the musical theme and make some comparisons. I see a contour line as a solo singer and a hatch – as a member of a chorus. Again, they are both lines, but they play different roles.

The role of a line is to convey the character and mood and in some cases – help the viewer differentiate the foreground from the background. They may communicate the light source in the scene. Lines become the contours in the drawing; they are a means of expression on their own.

A hatch is a part of a bigger system that acts as a whole. We may call this hatching (or cross-hatching, or contour hatching, depending on the character and the interaction of hatches).

To work together, hatches should be uniform. If some hatches break the visual pattern, attracting too much of the viewer’s attention, the final impression may be not as pleasant as we desired. Also, hatches are indispensable when it comes to working with values and creating an illusion of volume.

See also: Hatching and Cross Hatching

Working Your “Linear” Muscles

Drawing a line seems easy, but your mind and body work in a union to perform this task successfully. There is a difference in how we create shorter and longer marks and using the right muscles is crucial.

Take a sheet of paper and any tool you like. Draw a short line (something about 1 cm is enough) and observe how your fingers work together, moving slightly while holding your tool.

Then draw a longer line (4-5 cm). You’ll notice that your wrist becomes active to extend the line.

Now create an even longer mark (like 9-10 cm or more). This becomes possible thanks to your elbow muscles.

Below you’ll find an image with my lines (a – an “elbow” line, b – a “wrist” line, c – a “fingers” line): 

I’m sure that you’ve grasped the general idea of this exercise. Different lengths of line require slightly different movements. Keep that in mind and pay attention to the body’s behavior, especially if you feel like something goes wrong.

Using the right group of muscles provides the greatest control over your lines.

I’d say that the “wrist” or “elbow” lines are most commonly used for creating contours while the lines drawn by moving your fingers are better suited for adding hatching and refined details.

Another tip is to find out which direction of hand movement is most convenient for you: ‘away from yourself’ or ‘towards yourself’. This will vary from person to person, so I’d say that trying both ways and forming your own conclusion is important.

It’s great if you can make the marks appear the same, without any regard to the direction of the hand movement.

And the last tip for this section: check the surface that supports your paper. Any dents, bumps or a subtle texture may make consistent lines difficult, if not impossible.

“Hairy” Lines

It’s completely normal to be cautious when you’re trying to draw a line that reproduces a contour of the object you’re observing. Especially, if you’re a beginner in art. When you’re overly cautious, you may draw a short line, then add another indecisive line, and so on. The contour becomes somewhat “hairy” and messy. There are many marks, but they look confusing or heavy.

This is different from drawing lots of lines quickly to “find” the proportions of the subject. We are specifically addressing “finished” lines when we are calling them “hairy”. It is still perfectly acceptable to begin with looser, fluid lines in the beginning stages of a drawing and refine the contours as you go.

If you’d like to develop more control over your “finished” lines, I’d recommend trying to use as few lines as possible, making them as long and “streamy” as possible. Free yourself from the fear of failure, relax your mind and hands. Trusting yourself is also a skill that can be developed!

Maybe you won’t draw the contours correctly on your first attempt, but you’ll get better at this skill over time. The more you practice, the better you’ll become.

Below you’ll find an illustration of what I’m describing in this section. Now we’re ready to start practicing!

Exercise 1 – Drawing Straight Lines

Let’s focus on drawing straight lines freehand, without a ruler. Please note that the goal is to explore our abilities, and nothing more! We’re not trying to create “perfect” lines.

If you feel unsure about drawing a straight line, I’d recommend outlining a line in pencil with a ruler. This line should be barely visible as it will serve as a reference.

When you’re drawing a line, pay attention to the pressure on the tool and the speed of movement. Don’t push too hard. You’ll notice that the starting and ending points of your lines depend on how lightly you touch the paper and how quickly your tool moves.

In the image below, you’ll find several lines:

a – a line with cut (thick) starting and ending points. I call them “full stop” lines because you should slow down a bit to make the ends look like this.
b – a line with sharp starting and ending points. This character of the ends is achieved by a lighter, swifter movement.
c – a line with a dense start and a light, pointed end.
d – a line with a sharp start and a “full stop” at the end. 

To be fluent with your lines, I recommend repeating all four examples. Some will be more natural to you and some will require additional practice.

Please keep in mind that slowing your hand movements too much may cause unwanted effects, especially on thin paper. For example, if you leave an ink liner in one spot for several seconds, you can get a dark blob. So finding a balance is important! 

To make the exercise more interesting, you can try any tool that provides a variety of line width, depending on the pressure (like a nib pen or a brush pen). Play with your tool and see how it behaves. Some drawing tools allow you to create a dramatic change in the line width.

In the image below, you’ll find my lines made with a brush pen. I’ve created some continuous lines and also lines with gaps.

If you don’t have a brush pen or a nib pen, you could use various forms of the same tool. For example, you could use several ink liners or varying widths. Chances are, you’ll get to know your tools better and find out which one is the most comfortable to you.
Here are my lines created with the 0.1, 0.3 and 0.4 liners respectively…

Exercise 2 – Drawing Lines with Gaps

Now let’s draw some dashed lines. The intervals may have the same lengths or have a touch of spontaneity.

Exercise 3 – Control and Accuracy Practice

The next exercise is more advanced. First, draw a line with a vertical direction – it can be straight or whimsically curved.

Then, add hatches – they should be located at the side of this line, or adjacent to it.

If you want to add a bit more of a challenge to this task, you can keep your hatches at a small interval, equal distant from the contour line. Or, you can draw another contour line and make sure all your hatches are ending on it.

This exercise is good practice for developing greater control.

Exercise 4 – Drawing a Dotted Line

Now we’ll create a dotted line – it may seem a bit weird, but a line may consist of dots, too! And the ability to create nice dotted lines may be very helpful in your creative process.

The goal of this exercise is to find a comfortable rhythm. Observe how your hand moves, don’t rush, and make sure you pull your hand away swiftly enough after you’ve created each dot. Each dot should have a clear shape, without any smeared ‘tails’.

Your dotted line can be continuous (the intervals between the dots are approximately equal) or have some irregularity.

Exercise 5 – Drawing Wavy and Zigzag Lines

Let’s have some fun with some patterned lines, such as wavy and zigzag lines (but feel free to draw any other lines you like).

You can outline a couple of horizontal lines to create the borders, and add your lines within them. In the image below, you’ll notice how my lines are touching the borders.

Don’t strive for absolute perfection – the goal is the same as in the previous exercise; find a comfortable rhythm and a balance in the movements.

Exercise 6 – Scribbling

Drawing with precise control is important, but drawing looser and less precise lines is also an important skill to develop. So we’ll next take a break from drawing straight lines and loosen up with some scribbles.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Let your hand move and cast aside any expectations.

Exercise 7 – Developing The Skill of Accuracy

The next exercises are dedicated to hatching and cross-hatching.

It’s useful to train your eyes and hand to place the new hatches into the gaps between the existing ones, not on top of them. To practice this skill, we’ll create a swatch like in the image below: 

This image may seem confusing – so where should we start?

First, we need a rectangular shape divided into three parts (like three elongated rectangles adjacent to each other). I’ve drawn the three-part rectangular template with a graphite pencil and the hatching will be made with an ink liner.

The borders will help us differentiate the groups of hatches: the longest, medium length, and short. We start with the longest vertical hatches, filling the swatch with them. There should be some intervals between the hatches – don’t draw them too close to each other.

Then add the shorter hatches (the hatches of medium length).

Lastly, add the shortest hatches – they should occupy only one-third of the whole template.

Below you’ll find the step-by-step process of completing this exercise. 

To make the task slightly more complex, repeat this exercise with inclined lines. The order of adding hatches is the same (the longest marks are added first).

Exercise 8 – Basic Hatching Practice

To practice hatching, you can use small squares/circles/rectangles that become the borders for the hatches, or just go at it without any borders at all.

Each one of your hatching swatches should have a uniform look and all of the hatches should flow in the same direction.

The hatches can be horizontal, vertical, or inclined at any degree. You can start drawing slowly, then create a new series of lines, moving faster and faster. However, the speed of drawing isn’t the focus of this exercise.

Exercise 9 – Cross Hatching Practice

This exercise is an extension of the previous one. This time, we’ll create one layer of hatching and then cover it with another one with a different direction of marks. The hatches are crossing, and we get cross hatching.

If you like this exercise, I’d recommend inventing as many examples and combinations as you can. Moreover, you can try different tools (several liners that provide different line widths) and analyze the effects that you get.

Exercise 10 – Create a Value Scale With Cross Hatching

Value is the darkness or lightness of a color. Value is incredibly important in creating the illusion of light, volume, and texture in a drawing. It’s important to practice creating a full range of value with cross hatching. Fo our tenth exercise, we’ll create a value scale using cross hatching.

Having a rectangular shape as a temple is useful. There’s no need to make it too long (the length of 9-12 cm is enough). You can also think beforehand how much space you need to create each value. A small amount of space is sufficient.

My process of completing this exercise will be the following:

• Fill the whole shape with vertical hatches.
• Add a layer of inclined hatching.
• Add a layer of inclined hatching (this time, of a different direction).
• Add horizontal hatching.
• The vertical hatches again, trying to fill the gaps.
• Inclined hatching again.

You can see the repeating pattern.

The goal is to create a nice, smooth transition from a lighter value to a darker one.

However, if some of your hatches look slightly uneven, don’t be discouraged. We want the marks to look as though a human made them – not a machine.

Your cross hatching value scale may look like this: 

The Worksheet

I’ve compiled a worksheet to help you with your practice. You can download it and print it out so you can practice these exercises whenever you like.

A Creative Approach to the Line Practice

I hope you enjoyed the practice. These exercises are more powerful than they may seem. But don’t limit your practice to just these exercises. Let your imagination go wild and invent your own warm-ups and challenges.

Even just a small bit of practice will push your art skills much further! Many people like doodling when they’re talking on the phone or waiting. Take advantage of every spare moment.

Doodling counts! Here’s a couple of mine…

Deliberate Practice

Before wrapping this lesson up, I’d like to add one more point about the way you approach your daily drawing practice. It’s completely OK to love doing the things you’re good at. But sometimes we avoid activities that seem challenging or mundane.

We often become attached to our strengths, avoiding anything that makes us feel awkward or uncomfortable. On one hand, developing skills that we’re already skilled in may make us even stronger. But anything worthwhile in life sometimes requires being attentive to some weaknesses that prevent us from moving forward with our skills (and all the amazing projects we have in mind). Art is no exception.

Let me give you an example. If an artist feels that their drawings aren’t as strong as they could be because of indecisive lines and inaccurate hatching, avoiding this weak point won’t improve their skills. They should devote some time to deliberate practice – that’s really the only way to improve.

If you know what to improve and how to practice, your success is a matter of time and effort. All the magic happens while you’re working and enjoying the process, even if there are some challenges.

Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone.

I invite you to a new artistic journey. Today, we’ll dive into the world of sketching with tinted graphite pencils. Along the way, we’ll explore the advantages of textured paper and using toned paper instead of the customary white! We’ll also discuss ways to make your artwork more believable by including cooler and warmer colors.

Also, I’m going to show you some useful tips and tricks on transferring your sketch to your final drawing surface and dealing with any unexpected issues that may arise with this technique.

The main goal of this project is to capture the essence of the subject we’re drawing and creatively use our knowledge of color and light to create a fun drawing!

The Art Supplies for this Project

Let’s first take a quick look at the pencils.

I’ll be using pigmented graphite pencils made by Derwent – Graphitint pencils. I’ll be using several pencils from a set of 24 colors. These pencils are best described as a combination of colored pencils, watercolor pencils, and graphite drawing pencils.

Here are some of the unique characteristics of Graphitint pencils…

• As opposed to ordinary graphite pencils, which are various shades of grey, each pencil is pigmented with color.
• The colors are quite muted.
• The pencils are water soluble – in other words, they can be activated with water, so the colors become richer and more intense.

After applying water or “activating”, the mark becomes very difficult, almost impossible to erase (unless you use a rough eraser that removes the paper as well). We’ll need to keep this in mind moving forward.

Although erasing after activating with water is nearly impossible, you can soften the intensity of the covered area by applying water once again and dabbing it with a paper towel or a brush.

The choice of paper also affects the behavior of the pencils. Thin papers tend to soak too much and may create unpleasant wrinkles.

If you think that activating with water may add some charm and vibrancy to your artwork, but the paper you use is relatively thin, it’s still possible to intensify the colors with a slightly wet brush. The paper won’t get too much water and the colors will become more intense. You can wet your brush and then slightly dry it with a paper towel before applying to areas of color. A damp brush will still activate the color.

I personally admire the range of colors that Graphitint pencils provide. There are definitely some wonderful greens and browns to choose from! This palette is perfect for creating animal and nature-inspired illustrations.

By the way, this is one of the reasons why I decided to draw a frog for this project, but we’ll touch upon this topic later.

I’ve chosen just seven pencils from the set to limit myself and keep a sketchy appearance. The names of the colors we’ll use are:

• Meadow
• Ivy
• Ocean Blue
• Autumn Brown
• Juniper
• Cool Brown
• White

Of course, you can choose more pencils for your drawing, if you wish!

Please note that the indications of color on the body of Graphitint pencils may not correspond to the actual colors we get on paper. That’s why it’s useful to test all of your pencils before applying them to an actual drawing.

Below you’ll find a sample of strokes made with the selected pencils. The strokes demonstrate the changes in pressure (lighter at the bottom, heavier in the middle) and the effect created by this variation. The top parts of the color swatches are activated with water.

I didn’t show the White pencil because the strokes are almost invisible in the scanned image.

This sample (above) was created on a relatively thick, textured watercolor paper. This sheet had a creamy-colored tint. Just a moment ago, we were talking about the difference in how the strokes look on various types of paper, so I thought that I’d share another example.

The sample below is made on a sheet of thin drawing paper that is more suitable for ink liners, ordinary graphite pencils, or any other dry media. As you may notice, the colors are less intense after applying water (in the upper portions of the color swatches), compared to the samples created on a thicker watercolor paper.

The color of paper affects the perception of the color. In the image below, you’ll find samples made with the same Graphitint pencils but now on green paper.

Derwent pencils are soft and require frequent sharpening. That’s why I recommend keeping a mechanical or an electric sharpener at hand.

A kneaded eraser is an excellent tool for softening lines and removing excess graphite. It may be useful to lighten the general contour lines of our final artwork but we’ll discuss this in detail in a moment.

We’ll also need an ordinary graphite pencil for sketching and creating a preparatory drawing.

It’s a wonderful idea to have some drawing paper for sketching, just in case you choose to play around with a few ideas.

For our final drawing surface, I’ve chosen Daler-Rowney Murano A4 paper (“Apple”). It has a very pleasant green tint and a subtle texture.

This paper may be found at your local art supply store. You can buy sheets of various colors and try many different options. The possibilities are truly endless!

I’m going to use only a portion of the paper. The remaining areas can be cut off and be used for sample sheets.

The Idea

My goal was to find something that has a greenish, greyish or brownish color. I also wanted a subject that features an interesting texture and has a connection to the theme of summer and nature.

A frog isn’t the only subject fitting the requirements, but I find it especially promising. The combination of the tinted green surface and beautiful, muted colors of Graphitint pencils create a perfect color for the pattern of the frog’s skin.

In this case, we get a great ready-made green background. The tinted paper sets the basic tone, we’ll just add the darker and lighter values!

See also: Six Reasons to Draw On Toned Paper

The subtle texture of this paper produces a sketchy look which works well for this drawing. You can focus on other aspects other than just creating details and convincing textures. That’s why I recommend using this set of art supplies for drawing on location, directly from life. You may just find a real frog to draw!

I’ve already created a couple of drawings of a frog using the same tools – Graphitint pencils and tinted paper. Below you’ll find the examples…

The drawing we’ll create here will make a nice addition to the series that I’ve already begun.

Since I’ve already explored this subject in the past, I can choose the pencils with more confidence. One of the previous artworks was made on paper of this greenish tint (“Apple”), so I already know that warm browns work just fine.

The subtle inclusion of the reddish brown and purple should make this drawing more interesting and different from the existing artworks.

Exploring the Subject and Creating a Final Version of Your Sketch

I start the work with some abstract, conceptual sketching. This step is especially useful if you’re drawing an object that is not familiar to you. In these cases, reference photos may help greatly.

I create quick sketches of poses and anatomy studies using the HB graphite pencil. I’d like to find an interesting pose that is easily recognizable and not too complex. 

A frog is a relatively simple animal to draw. It has a large head with big round eyes, a bulky body, and relatively thin limbs. The best approach is to draw the rough shapes first while imagining each shape as a three-dimensional form.

Even if your drawing isn’t perfectly accurate, thinking in terms of three-dimensionality adds to the believability of your art.

When I have a general idea of how my frog should look, I start a final sketch that will be transformed into the tinted graphite artwork. 

After the general lines are drawn, I accentuate the significant contours and erase the marks that are no longer needed.

I also add a pattern of the frog’s skin. This allows me to consider where I should place the spots in advance. 

The final sketch is complete, but how do we transfer it to our green paper?

The first option is to redraw it from scratch. However, the lines should be light and limited. That’s why this method may not be the best for everybody.

In the next part of the tutorial, we’ll explore a couple of ways to overcome this obstacle.

Basic and Advanced Tracing Tips: How to Transfer the Sketch to a Clean Sheet of Paper

There are several ways to copy a line drawing if we need to duplicate, improve, or create a new artwork.

1) Use carbon paper – This is a special paper that you may be able to pick up at a local craft or stationery store.

Put this paper under your sketch and place your finial drawing paper underneath the carbon paper. Outline your sketch once again on top of the existing lines and you’ll get a nice transfer on the final paper.

Usually this kind of paper creates a print that consists of dark lines, but there are also colorful copying paper variations (yellow, red, green, etc.).

The main advantage of carbon paper is the ease of use. The main drawback is that sometimes it leaves unpleasant marks that are difficult to erase and conflict with the materials you’re applying.

2) Use a light board or window – Another great way to transfer your line drawing to another piece of paper is using a window pane during the day or a light table.

First, put a new sheet of paper above the sketch and place them on top of the plane that lets the light go through. This makes the lines visible and you can trace them.

This method works perfectly if the light is strong enough and the upper sheet of paper is not too dark or too thick. In my case, I have a great lighting but my green paper is quite thick and its tone makes the lines of the sketch barely visible. Alas, I have to find another solution!

3) Punching – Let’s talk about a way to trace a drawing called punching or denting (however, I feel like there may be other names for it).

Punching works best with thick textured paper; you put the paper under your sketch and outline the drawing once again, applying heavy pressure. It’s possible to use something like a stick with a sharp tip or a ball-point pen with an empty cartridge to trace the drawing.

After you’ve finished outlining, remove the sketch and study final surface. If the pressure on the tracing tool was heavy enough, you’ll see some dented lines. Most probably, they will be barely visible, which makes this method suitable for very demanding situations and creating a delicate copy (for example, if you need an extra clean outline with no graphite marks).

Please note that sometimes the dents you get by using this tip may cause some issues. For example, softer pencils may cover all the areas but not fill in the indentions.

If you prefer having a defined underdrawing before diving into the process, it’s possible to the redraw the drawing once again, following the pattern of dents. Or you can leave the dents as they are and proceed to creating applications of any medium you are going to use!

4) Graphite transfer – There is another method left. I’ll share my process of making a sort of copying paper with improvised means.

The first step is to turn over the paper with your final sketch; then, apply a layer of soft graphite to this side.

In the image below, you can see how I mimicked the contours of the frog, using the 4B pencil. Softer lines work better because they leave darker marks, but you can use any (preferably soft) graphite pencil you have.

I applied the graphite stokes only to the contours because they are visible through the back of the paper. If your sketch is drawn on thick paper, you can just cover the whole area.

Now flip your sketch once again. Your drawing (the frog) should be on top and the graphite strokes on the underside. Put the clean copy sheet (in my case, it’s the green paper) underneath and trace the necessary lines using any tool you like. I used a red pencil to make new lines that contrast so I know where I’ve already made the outline.

It works like magic! After you’ve finished tracing, you get a nice imprint on your clean copy paper.

The resulting outline isn’t as elaborate as the preparatory sketch. The lines are slightly rough, but that’s not a problem. We now have something to work with – without guessing where the contours should be!

I didn’t copy the pattern of the frog’s skin in order to avoid overloading the underdrawing with information. My sketch will be at hand, so I’ll be addressing it any time I need.

Let’s proceed to the fun part – drawing with tinted graphite pencils!

How to Draw a Frog with Graphitint Pencils

First, I soften the graphite marks with a kneaded eraser. If the lines are too dark, they may conflict with further applications and create a ‘muddy’ feel.

With the Meadow pencil, I create a base for our tinted graphite sketch. I accent the contours of the frog’s body and create the illusion of a three-dimensional form by varying the pressure placed on the pencil. Since the back of the frog catches more light, I apply less pressure here.

I keep the pencil covering relatively light and transparent. This preserves the tooth of paper for the further applications. I mix application techniques, combining light hatches and soft circles that accentuate the texture of the paper.

It should also be noted that my pencil is sharpened, but not to a precise, pointed tip. I allow it to be slightly dull to produce smooth, soft strokes and cover more surface with less effort. However, feel free to sharpen your pencils as often and as much as you find necessary.

Meadow works so well with this tint of paper – it feels like they are designed to be together!

Now I apply Ivy to make the frog appear more solid. I accentuate the darker areas of the frog’s body, making sure that the new strokes blend smoothly with the existing ones.

You don’t necessarily need any blending tools. Just make your pencil applications soft and keep the pressure from light to medium.

The texture of the paper becomes clearly visible and adds to the believability of the frog’s skin texture.

It’s time to add some highlights and reveal the lighter values. With White, I create a few highlights in the frog’s eye, on the head, and back. It’s also a great idea to add a few highlights to the limbs with this pencil.

I use both hatching and dots. Graphitint pencils are soft which makes creating dots (and short marks in general) an easy and enjoyable task.

I apply some dark blue strokes with Ocean Blue. This color will serve as the darkest pencil for this drawing.

I avoid using black lines. Dark blue, mixed with other colors, will be much more interesting than just plain black.

I draw the pupil with Ocean Blue, accent the contours of the body and create a hint at a drop shadow. It’s important to be flexible with the pressure you apply.

I add some strokes with a very light pressure to the back of the frog. The back should reflect light from above (the sky) and it often has a blue nuance, especially in the late spring or summer.

I use both Autumn Brown and Juniper to create beautiful spots on the frog’s skin. Since we’re addressing the details, I sharpen the pencils to get a precise tip.

At this step, it is useful to use the preparatory sketch as a reference. We can use it to transfer the pattern of the spots.

I use Juniper, which is a purple shade, mostly in the bottom part of the body, and Autumn Brown, which is reddish brown, in the upper part. Bigger spots feature a combination of both colors. I apply soft, smooth strokes in a circling technique.

With Autumn Brown, I also add some dots and short hatches to the eye of the frog to make it more interesting. To add depth to the pupil, I cover the existing dark blue applications with this reddish brown hue.

To make the cast shadow more varied, I lightly touch it with Juniper.

I use Cool Brown to draw the stones under the frog. I don’t want the pattern of stones to be too stark, so I avoid single lines. Instead, I develop the shadows between the stones with soft pencil strokes.

I also add dots and short hatches to the belly and the limbs of the frog. The light that is reflecting from the ground or soil often leaves a warm, brownish tint on the objects. Having the stroke of the same color on the frog and in its environment helps to unite the artwork and make it more harmonious.

Our quick Graphitint sketch is complete!

The Conclusion

It was a wonderful adventure! We’ve covered a lot of topics: working with tinted graphite pencils, several options for transferring a drawing onto another sheet of paper, playing with colors to make the artwork more believable. I hope you’ve enjoyed the process and become inspired!

It is said that a quick sketch a day may make life a little happier. This tutorial is an example of how something can be easy, expressive, and fulfilling at the same time. You need just a sheet of paper and several pencils!

Thanks for your attention! Have fun and please share your creations!

Materials for this Drawing

For this lesson, we’ll use technical drawing pens by Staedtler. These pens are a little more expensive than the popular Micron pens by Sakura. However, they last a little longer and the tips are less likely to bend under pressure.

We’ll work on Bristol paper with the vellum surface. Smooth Bristol paper is also acceptable and some may find it a better surface to work on.

Using Line to Communicate Form and Value

As mentioned before, we’ll be using line to develop the light and form in the drawing. There are a variety of different techniques that can be used to accomplish this. In this case, we’ll stay consistent with our technique and use hatching and cross hatching to develop the image.

We can develop darker tones and values by crossing the lines and placing them closer together. This means that we’ll also need to leave some areas open, allowing the white of the paper to show through to create areas of lighter value.

To help communicate the form of the face, we’ll allow some of our lines to flow over the form of the face. This means that the lines may curve as the form of the face changes in space. These types of lines are called cross contour lines. It is essential to use them in a pen and ink drawing in order to fully communicate the form of the subject.

Here’s a look at the photo reference…

Since we’re creating a black and white drawing with black ink on white paper, the color has been removed from the photo reference. When creating any drawing or painting that is void of color, it’s a good idea to remove the color from the photo reference. This allows us to focus on the values and removes any distraction of color.

Create a Light Sketch of the Subject

We’ll begin with a light contour sketch of the subject with an “H” graphite pencil. Some pen and ink purists may frown upon starting with a graphite sketch. However, when accuracy is important, there’s nothing wrong with starting with a light sketch. Remember, the end result is what is most important.

If the thought of drawing the subject freehand (or with the aid of a grid) intimidates you, you may use a graphite transfer or light board to transfer the drawing.

Start with the Eyes

The eyes will naturally become the focal point in any portrait that you draw. In many cases, it is a good idea to start the development of a drawing with the focal points. For this reason, we’ll start with our ink applications with the eyes.

With a .05 mm pen, we’ll slowly begin the process of developing the relationships of dark and light value. The pupils are dark, but care is taken to preserve a strong highlight. Instead of filling in the pupil with a solid application of ink, we’ll use a bit of hatching and cross hatching to build up to a darker tone. This will ensure some consistency in the drawing.

For the iris, lines are drawn extending outward from the pupil. This will help to communicate the pattern of the iris while developing the necessary tone.

From the pupil and iris, we’ll progressively work our way outward, addressing the eyelids and the eyelashes.

The eyebrows are simply addressed with small marks that extend out in the manner that the hair grows. Each mark tapers as it extends outward from the head. Remember, we can always add additional marks if necessary so it’s best to add a few at first and slowly build up applications. You can always go back and add more if needed but removing lines is not really an option.

Addressing the Nose and Mouth

Next, we’ll work our way down the face and address the nose and the mouth. Broken lines are used to strengthen the contours of the nostrils and the lips. The shadowed areas are darkened with hatching and cross hatching.

Even though we think of teeth of being white, in most cases they are in shadow. This means we’ll need to create a slightly darker value with a bit hatching. The top lip is usually darker in tone since it protrudes outward from the face. The bottom lip usually features a highlight and is generally lighter in value than the top lip.

See also: Basic Facial Proportions – How to Draw a Face

Outlining the Hair

With the features of the face in place and outlined, we’ll turn our attention to the hair. Instead of drawing a million tiny lines for the hair, we’ll think of it in terms of form. This means that we’ll first establish groupings of hair and then add hatching and cross hatching to create the impression of form. This will lead to a more representational look.

We’ll start by first establishing the forms within the overall shape of the hair with contour lines.

Develop the Form of the Hair

With the collections of hair defined, we can go back and develop the value and texture. We’ll use mostly hatching to accomplish this. The lines that we create here should flow over the form of each collection of hair. These lines may not flow over the entire length of each collection. Instead, they should be concentrated at each end, indicating a bit of shadow.

In most cases, the values in the hair are darker around the sides of the face and in locations where the hair “parts” or changes direction.

See also: How to Draw Hair

Planning the Values on the Face

Now we’re ready to begin adding the tones on the face and neck. Before diving right into this step with the pen and ink, we’ll first plan the shapes of darker values with a graphite pencil. Using a light pencil (“H”), we’ll draw light shapes to indicate the areas of shadow.

In most cases, the areas that protrude outward are lighter in value while the areas that recede are darker. This means that the bridge of the nose, the cheeks, chin and forehead are typically lighter in tone. The sides of the face, areas underneath the nose, the recesses around the eyes, and underneath the chin are usually darker in tone.

Developing Values on the Face

With the shapes of darker value planned, we can begin developing these sections with the ink. We’ll start with loose diagonal strokes to begin the process.

We can then slowly begin crossing lines to make the value slightly darker. These additional lines that are added may curve and change direction based on the form of the face. Essentially, we are adding cross contour lines to further develop the tone but also to communicate the form of the face. Here again, we’ll keep in mind that additional lines are easily added, but removing marks is nearly impossible. It’s OK to be cautious as we develop the value.

Darkening the Shadows Under the Neck

Since the face protrudes, we’ll find some of the darkest tones on the neck under the chin. Here again, we’ll use a combination of diagonal lines and cross contour lines to develop the shadows. In this case, the cross contour lines begin downward before curving back up around the form of the neck.

The darkest tones in this area are found right below the chin and close to the edges of the clothing.

Instead of developing any of the shadows on the shirt, we’ll simply reinforce the contour line here. This is simply a “design decision”. If we were to develop all of the values of the shirt, it could take focus away from the face and hair.

Addressing the Bakground

We’ll now address the background and add a design element. We’ll first create a border around the area above the clothing that frames the face and head using the graphite pencil.

To add a bit of tone, we’ll use vertical, parallel lines to fill in the space. I’ve chosen not to use a ruler here to preserve an organic feeling. This is time consuming and requires quite a bit of patience and attention. However, this bit of tone helps to balance the values of the face, creates contrast with the white shirt, and makes the drawing more interesting.

Finishing the Portrait with Pen and Ink

Lastly, with the background tone in place, we can go back to the hair and face and darken any areas to increase contrast and balance the image.

The outer line of the framed background is also reinforced using a thicker pen and connected to the contour of the shirt.

Now our pen and ink portrait is complete. We can allow the ink to dry completely and erase any remaining graphite lines with a kneaded eraser.