[ender.m]

i'm interested in some pencil drawing techniques...i don't have the money to buy a graphic tablet yet...i'm especially interested in some shading tips....

[Trance-R]

Uh.. shading? I just... color in the parts that need the dark value with my 2B pencil tilted, so that the side of the lead touch the paper. Then I use my dirty fingers to smudge it, giving it a nice smooth look. =^) what's all I know.

[4s]

you could practice doing value studies by taking a black&white photho (from magazine, whatever) draw a grid on it, draw the same grid on your paper. lightly draw the main outlines.. [or you could skip this if you can draw it freehand]

then start shading in, start with light tones, and gradually going to dark tones, and try to reproduce the photo.
..what i did in high school art classes, i think it was helpful.

[Affected]

I prefer not to smudge at all, it tends to turn out messy and bland... So, try to learn to follow the curves on the surface of whatever you're trying to do, changing the angle of your strokes as the curvature changes. Well, it's one technique anyway.

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Affected

Knowledge is belief and belief is knowledge
http://affected.xs.mw

[Oscar Alexander]

I bought this 'smudger' a while ago... It looks like a thick pencil, but it's made out of 100% paper instead. They cost jack shit and are really useful when smoothing areas smaller then the tips of your fingers

[Affected]

Hm.. Has anyone here tried something called a 'colour shaper'? It's sort of a rubber brush. It's not too good for paint, but it can work wonders on pencil.

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Affected

Knowledge is belief and belief is knowledge
http://affected.xs.mw

[Danny]

for smudging graphite pencil-shades I always used a standard tissue. (make sure you haven't blown your nose in it already as things will get messy real quickly.. Wrap the tissue around your fingertip and smudge away. Couldn't be any clearer....
For a while I used a propelling pencil (dictionary translation, hope it comes across) with a very thin graphite filling for shading. The great thing about these pens is that when used correctly, the graphite gets a flat tapered edge on one side which is great for very subtle shading, and a very sharp point which is great for very small/sharp details. The tip kinda looks like the needle of a syringe.

Give it a try..

Danny...

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[Pigeon]

Personally, I don't advocate smudging. It can make a picture look dull. What can make a picture look vibrant is the specks of white (or whatever papercolor) that show through in the black areas. So preferably do what 4s was suggesting, building up the piece from light to dark. You'll also learn more about how the picture is contructed that way.

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-Pigeon
http://members.aol.com/dndunakin

[blup]

The best investment I ever made for my drawings was a mouldable eraser. It's so easy to do glows and soft highlights with it.

As for general drawing technique, I start an outline sketch with a 6h graphite pencil, not pressing too hard otherwise you'd end up with those ugly scratches when you go to draw over them with a softer pencil. When done, I outline the dark areas with a mechanical pencil containing 2b lead. Then I finish the drawing off by shading with a range of pencils from 4b to 6h.

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Blup.Acid Productions
www.acid.org

[tanis]

Blup: woha! 6h pencil! I can barely see what I'm drawing while using 6h leads.. I find hb sufficient for sketching with a light touch.

[Affected]

I kind of like 2b...

[Affected]

Ah, well, Lately my pencilwork has mainly been shading without much lines for guidance. Maybe that's why I've moved towards the softer brushes.

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Affected

Knowledge is belief and belief is knowledge
http://affected.xs.mw

[tanis]

I usually use 2b for shading and such.