Drawing A Seagull - Part 2 - Painting and Drawing Tips

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Welcome back
Today is the exciting part of drawing: Bringing that seagull to life by shading him in.  If you haven't drawn your seagull yet, follow along step by step in my last post here.

My Seagull - note my materials and the ipad screen for reference

To start, organize your materials:

(moving left to right) I have kneaded eraser, 5/8 inch blender, 1/4 inch blender, 3B pencil, soft watercolour round brush size 4 (dedicated to drawing), F pencil & 2B pencil, a paper to rest my hand on, a drawing chamois and my 1 inch brush to clean my work. And of course a value scale.  I keep my little 10 point scale in front of me. #10 the darkest and #1 the white of the paper.   (If you are making one, be sure and use the kind of paper you are drawing on as it will give you the right information for your paper)

When I return to a drawing I like to warm up a bit before heading to critical spots.

I like to lay in the darks first 

So I am going to start with my wing area. Every artist has their own method to start, I like to lay out my dark areas first and then fill in with my lights.  I am using my 2B and putting down a 5 Value for the darker areas on the wing.  Then very lightly, about a 3, I shaded in the whole area.  By doing the darks first you can just shade lightly over everything without worrying about stopping at edges.

Next take your blender and gently shade over everything.

Blend from dark to light to soften all the edges

 I use a circular motion so I don't end up with unwanted lines. Note the smooth texture as you flatten the tooth of the paper.  Also note how you drag the dark areas to the lighter areas as you go.  Now taking my kneaded eraser I lighten up the areas that are too dark. With my 3B I go in and touch up any of my darks bring some up to an 8 or 9.

Lighten and touch up time.  Keep that shoulder area soft and light

Now I head for the legs and feet.

The legs can be left unblended as their texture will contrast with the soft the feather area

You know how I love those knobbly little legs.  Using a 3B I pick out the darks. Then using my F pencil I lightly fill in the legs and feet.  Again picking out the lights with my kneaded eraser.

Finish up the tops of the legs and the underpart of the wing.

Take your smaller blender and load up with graphite.  See my scribble on my paper under my hand.  That is where I load my blender and then shade in the tops of the legs and under the wing.  Again, using small circular motions.

Now the head.

Go slow here, work in layers rather than hit the darkest dark right away

I feel warmed up and ready for precise work so I head for the face. Again first working on the darks of the eyes and the beak.  Note the beak is really only a 7 in the shadow area and the top part is about a 2.  I save that for my blender.  Once the eye and beak are done I take my blender and draw in the darker shadows. I follow that up with a soft brushing to blend the edges of my shadows.  At the lightest part of his head, really soften your line so the light can come into his head.  It really intensives the idea of the white.

Just the belly to go now. 

The light pencil area is only in the darkest part of  the belly.

The belly has some real darks in the shadow area.  I know, hard to believe when you are talking about white. But it will probably be an 8 or 9 in the darkest part by the time I am done.  It is important to think in layers and not rush to your darks.  I first laid a light pencil shading to the darkest area.

Sometimes it seems like nothing is happening but be patient and build up the layers

Then using my chamois I rubbed the graphite in.  It is important to get rid of all the pencil lines.  Now loading my chamois, just as I did the blender I build up layers on the belly.  You can add some more layers with your pencil but lightly as you do not want to leave any lines.

Final touches

Once I have the main belly area done, I take my blender to tidy up the edges.  With your finger in the chamois it is hard to do the small detailed areas and to finish up the edges.  Note that light shadow under his beak as it helps to convey the roundness of the belly.

The logs

Tidy up the belly and move on to the logs, the end is in sight!

As you probably guessed, I first drew in my dark areas with my 3B.  Then followed up with my 2B lightly shading over the logs, individually. Now I am using long strokes to shade as I want to simulate the grain on the logs.  Areas that I wanted to 'bump up' a little darker I glazed over with my F pencil.  Note: To really make your seagull 'stand' on the log, pay close attention to where the feet and log meet.

Your done!! 

 Looks good.  What is your favourite part of the drawing?  I love my little knees but I am particularly happy with how his face turned out and I love my logs.  I can really feel the smooth texture of those weathered logs.  (Remember, positive thoughts before that mean old critic gets in there.  See my post on 3 Ways to Turn Drawing Despair into Action here. )

 Take the Plunge and start drawing!  If you want some help I have several ways to help:

1. Zentangle Doodle Card Classes:
Thursday, Feb 16, 1:30 - 3:30pm & 6-8pm Expressions Art Gallery, Maple Ridge.
Saturday, Feb. 18, 10:30-12:30 (FULL) & 2-4pm. (1 Spot Left) Art by Wendy Studio, N. Surrey   $30 Supplies Included. We will be working with mice and owls on our Zentangle Doodle Cards  (you knew I would have animals somewhere) Contact Wendy to REGISTER

2. Buy a few of my Zentangle Doodle Cards and start  Colouring. See my collection here.   They are fabulous fun, just imagine how special your cards will be when you personalize them like that.  Those special people in your life will cherish your cards.

3. Private Drawing Lessons -  2.5 hr sessions in my studio, flexible scheduling to fit your schedule. 3 lesson package $225. Beginners to Adanced are welcome.  Adults, Teens and Younger Students. ( $35 for 1 hour sessions for younger students.) more info here

Special Note to Artists: 

February is Marketing Month for Artists, time to really work on your Business Plan. Join me for a full day of getting ready to make 2017 your Best Sales Year ever.  

All day Marketing Workshop - Let's Get Your Art Out There - Sunday, Feb 26 or March 5, 10-3pm.  This is an opportunity to work with a small group focusing on ways that work for you, to market your art.  Whether you are looking at full time or part Art Sales, there are effective, proven strategies that will get your work out the door. $70 Limited to 8 per session.  Art by Wendy Studio/Gallery, N. Surrey, BC.  REGISTER NOW  with Wendy.   Out of Towners  & Skytrainers give me a call and we can set something up.

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 Have a great artful day,
Wendy