Various pencil techniques

Here are some more drawings from my book DRAWING IN PENCIL. These show various techniques that can be employed when doing pencil drawings on various papers.





A portrait done with pencil strokes without any rubbing or blending with a paper stump.





Colored pencils, oil crayons, water and turpentine were used in this example. The water dissolved some of the water soluble pencil lines and oil crayons were blended with a rag dampened with turpentine. It's very interesting to mix mediums this way, you can achieve some exciting results.





An example of a pencil drawing done on a colored paper. I used a medium shade gray paper, drawing with gray and black pencils, adding just a few color accents. An effective technique using few colors.





Another mixed media example, using colored pencils and oil crayons on colored paper. I blended some of the tones with Bestine. You can also use pencil with other mediums such as watercolors or acrylics.

Random Favorites from CUSTO BARCELONA!

You saw the title. Self explanatory, right? Here we go.

Do you like any of these? Let me know!

By the way, I feel like the worst blogger in the world. This whole college thing is throwing my blogging grind WAY off. I'll get it together. Soon. So sorry!

Until next time...

Photos' citation: http://www.custo-barcelona.com/

Drawing with pencils

I enjoy experimenting with various art mediums. It gives one a new outlook when moving from one medium to a completely different one. After working with the ink medium for many years I began to work with pencils which eventually became a book titled DRAWING IN PENCIL.





A black and white drawing of MISTY done with a wax pencil, a quick, bold sketch.





A much tigher sketch of Mont St. Michel done in color on a textured paper. There are many interesting papers to utilize for pencil drawings.





This drawing was done using a photograph for reference. It was drawn on a sheet of regular surfaced bristol board. I blended some of the tones using a paper stump dampened with bestine. You can see that very tight renderings can be accomplished with colored pencils.





This drawing of Lucky was also done on a regular surfaced bristol board. Here I used simple, flat washes of color and drew with colored pencil over them.





These drawings are from a book published by Dover which is a reprint of two of my previous books, Drawing in Pencil and Drawing in Ink. It is available at most book stores including Amazon.com.

Creating a black and white magazine ad comp layout

I always begin an assignment like this by doing a few small idea sketches to evaluate for design and composition.





Then I pick out a version that I like and do a larger, more developed image.





I liked the larger head and drew a larger version for evaluation.





Another sketch with a large head. This is the version that I felt would work best.





Here is the final comprehensive rendering which was done using markers and a graphite pencil on high quality layout paper.

Gold Coast Trading Co.

I’ve had my eye onthis brand for quite some time now.

Whatinitially drew me to Gold Coast Trading the first time I came across them wastheir beautifully simple and refreshingly clean aesthetic. It was one of those situations when I could’t pull my eyes away from what I was seeingbecause it was just so perfect. The clothing this company creates manages tocapture the brilliance of both Africa's fashion and history in such a simple yet effective way.And as if having an aesthetic to die for and creating amazing clothing weren’tenough, Gold Coast Trading’s back-story gave me a million more reasons to love them. Thevision behind this brand is nothing short of exceptional. I feel that it is thesame vision that many Africans who find themselves living away from home have. EmekaAlams, the creator of Gold Coast Trading, takes us back to 1444 -the point intime when Africans were beginning to be taken from the Gold Coast and traded byEuropeans. As the Gold Coast Trading website reads:

“This trade has changed ourworld and reshaped our thoughts. Living by European standards throughout theAfrican Diaspora we have forgotten what makes our culture powerful, rich andunique. Here we strive for riches and neglect our families, we smile upon otherswhile wishing for their demise, all things associated with the mind frame ofthose who began this trade.”

Althoughthe people of Africa have been displaced and dejected, Africa itself is still aland overflowing with love and hope. It is this brand’s aim to take us back tothose days before 1444 when we weren’t so concerned with living by “Europeanstandards”. Emeka’s devotion to Africa is commendable; I admire how deeplyinvested he is in the continent’s past and how he is able to draw inspirationfrom moments in history such as the Soweto uprising. Although he is no longerliving in Africa, it is quite easy to see how much he still cares. Nomatter how far you travel from home, it should always have a place in yourheart. Gold Coast Trading is a testament to that.

Be sure to check out Gold Coast Trading’s website (here)to learn more about this incredible brand and follow them on twitteras well (@GCTC).

Pencil line drawing

Some years ago I did a pencil line illustration for Ketchum, McLeod and Grove, an ad agency in Pittsburgh, the art director was Jim Fox, a former student of mine when I taught in Detroit.





Here is the ad layout that was sent to me.





This is my rough sketch done to establish the composition.





Here is a tighter sketch to establish the gray tones.





The finished drawing was done using a Wolf BBB carbon pencil. The black areas were done with a brush and India ink. The gray tones were added using Instantex, a transfer sheet that is available in various patterns and textures. These examples are from my book, DRAWING IN INK that was published in 1977 and is still available in used book stores in case you are interested in obtaining a copy.

Book of Questions: Question 8

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! Expect a Fashion post real soon. =)

For now, here's another question.

For those of you not familiar with my The Book of Questions feature, I select a question from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D., write it up, give my answer, and ask for your answer. I select the not-too-personal questions, and hopefully questions that wouldn't offend anyone.

Let's go!

QUESTION 8:
Would you rather be a member of a world championship sports team or be the champion of an individual sport? Which sport would you choose?

MY RESPONSE:
I'd probably want to be the champion of an individual sport. It kind of sounds selfish, but many humans seek glorification to a certain extent, and it's easier to be recognized when you're by yourself than with a team. Yeah. Selfish. Sorry?

I would pick tennis. I've always enjoyed tennis, and being involved with the National Junior Tennis League a few years back strengthened my love for the game. Plus, I'm good at it! So, I choose tennis.

All right. I want to know YOUR RESPONSE (or questions/comments on my response).

Auf wiedersehen!

Picture citation: http://www.thefrontloader.com/imagesforblogs/stuff/question_1.jpg

First Week of School: Day Two

THURSDAY

I only had one class today - Life Sciences 101 - that started at 11:30 AM and ended at 12:45 PM.

You know what that means? Sleeping in. YEEEESSSS! I set my alarm for 9:30 AM, so I would room for my morning routine and to get the continental breakfast at the cafeteria. Then I set it for 9:00...

My wonderful roommate has 8:00 classes every morning, so when her alarm went off, I was up for a few minutes...then went back to sleep.

Around 7:00, I woke up again. Waiting for my alarm to go off. I go back to sleep. I wake up again. I go back to sleep. And again...blah blah.

I finally just decide to get up at 8:00. I went to breakfast with a friend of mine, and this is what I wore today. My head is cut off. My bad.

I got so many compliments today. Most of them were on my shoes. Of course, I thanked anyone who had something nice to say, but every time, I'm thinking to myself, "This is super casual. Why am I getting so much praise?"

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm conceited. I'm not conceited. I was just taken off guard.

Anyway, my Life Sciences professor came ten minutes late. I thought we were just going to go over the syllabus and leave. But no. We took notes. He was something else!

After that, I did my homework. I have two classes tomorrow, and I am extremely tired.

Sorry if this post was dry. See you tomorrow!

Expanding your horizons as an artist

Even though I was a working commercial artist for many years I always was involved with the fine art business. I often took classes in woodblock and lithograph printing and it was a nice relief from the rigors of the commercial illustration and design business. It also got me interested in heading the Advertising Department and teaching classes at what is now the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.which I did for about five years. Below are a couple of my woodblock prints from that era, about 1964. I am running out of advertising material to post and hope to find more soon in my files. To all of you commercial artists out there, I recommend that you expand you talents into other areas, it is good for your development and it can be exciting as well.

First Week of School: Day One

Real quick. I am a freshman at Oakwood University as an English Professional Writing major, and I'll be giving you all daily posts regarding my first week of school. Let's start with today!

WEDNESDAY

I am an extremely precise when it comes to my schedule. During orientation and today, I got up at 5:45 AM. I would get up, take a shower, brush my teeth (and retainers -___-), get dressed, have worship, do my hair, and get to the cafeteria right at 7:00 AM, because I don't care for lines.

Today, I did the same thing. Except, I didn't wear what was in my outfit journal (that I plan in advance). I just put on some sweatpants - THREE CHEERS FOR SWEATPANTS - and a t-shirt, because my first class didn't start until 10:00 AM. Believe it or not, I am not a morning person.

So, I am at the cafeteria, getting my ID card swiped, and next thing you know, the lady says I'm not in the system.

Whaaaaat?! Not in the system? I've been eating at the cafeteria all week during orientation, and now all of a sudden, I'm not in the system?

I made some calls, but nothing was open at 7:00 AM, so I decided to make some oatmeal to hold me over.

This is what I wore today. I would just click on it, because Blogger is doing something weird to the quality.

My first class, Psychology - Honors, started at 10:00 AM. We pretty much just went over the syllabus.

My next class was Freshman Composition. We started at 11:00 AM and also went over the syllabus and other handouts. That professor made me laugh. You see, Oakwood is a private school that happens to have a dress code. No jewelry (-______-), no shorts/skirts that's higher than an inch above the knee, no cleavage, etc. This professor, like the other professors, abides by those rules, but she took it to a different. First, she pulled out of a bag, a "Bling Box". She had something to cover up your legs if too much is showing. Something to cover up your back if too much is showing. A big drape to cover up everything if your whole wardrobe is too much. But what still has me laughing is - I kid you not - the "Bosom Bib". My professor pulls out this bib with the words "Bosom Bib" on it. I was laughing so hard! She says to us, "Some of you ladies have been very well endowed, but we don't want to show all of our blessings." Mercy.

I had my Life and Teachings of Jesus class at 1:00 PM. Again, it was going over the handouts. Oh, and I bought two of the required textbooks from her for $1 and $3. Good deal!

At 2:30 PM, I went to my Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics class. We went over the syllabus. Getting kind of old, right? We got out really early though.

Finally, my Tennis I class started at 3:45 PM. The instructor is fifty-six years old, and he looks like he's in his forties...maybe late thirties. We went over some stuff. Again. I can't wait to start playing tennis again. It's been too long.

That's about it! I'll update you sometime tomorrow.

Your Vacation Planner

I received an email sometime ago with a PowerPoint called "Your Vacation Planner" or something of the sort. Anyway, I wanted to show you the pictures. Sorry for the picture quality. Here it goes.

There's that beach in Japan...

Or the "Skywalk" at the Grand Canyon

If you're not afraid of heights, there's "Tema Park" in Las Vegas.

Or tennis at Dubai...

Like hiking?

Or maybe you want something tamer...like a bike ride.

I hope you enjoyed this! I start my first day of class tomorrow. YAY!

Photos' citation: http://www.slideshare.net/caldwdo/vacation-planner-2009