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SaskiaDeKorte In reply to ??? [2012-01-14 22:12:21 +0000 UTC]

Oh god, it's penciiiil?! X'D So, erasers, what kind of erasers? I have never actually tried working with them like you do here. I guess you use a really soft pencil for the dark bits? WHERE DO YOU LIVE I want to come round your house and see for myself how you do it

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whimsycatcher In reply to SaskiaDeKorte [2012-03-16 02:41:34 +0000 UTC]

Oh, you, I'm so sorry for such a late reply! Anyway, yes, pencil! As for the erasers, it depends on what I want to achieve... I can give you a couple general tidbits, but I don't know much by the way of brand names. If they don't smudge or tear my work, I'm happy!

So, for the lines, showing white, I use the points or edges of a hard eraser. The newer the eraser, the thinner the lines, of course. I actually like to use the edge of a pencil eraser, because I feel more in control of my strokes. I can go through a pack of new pencils that way, because the rims of their nubby erasers only stay sharp for so long!

I also love using a knead-able eraser, which you can mold into whatever size or shape you need, and it gets a lot off of an area without having to really scrub at your paper. For example, for those round highlights on Mr. Cumberbatch's nose and eye, I rolled a bit of knead-able eraser into a ball and just dabbed and twisted at the spot a few times 'til enough graphite came off.

I started using erasers like this in one of my First Year Drawing classes. The instructor got us to cover a whole sheet in charcoal, and then use an eraser to try and block out an image she projected on the wall. She called the technique "substraction".

Now, as for the dark bits!

For this piece, I only used an HB mechanical pencil, because it's easier to erase. Also, this is something I only planned to scan and display online. I often use Photoshop to fix up the drawings I scan (scanners can be so annoying) and I'll take advantage of being able to push the contrast a bit, so that's why the darks here are so... dark. A bit of cheating for presentation's sake! ^^'

But, yes, if I wanted to get some nice blacks for something I'd put up on a wall, or gallery, I'd use a soft pencil, so something in the upper B's - or charcoal! Ah, but do keep in mind that those make it more difficult to erase!

Well, hope I make sense! Feel free to ask me anything else, or get me to clarify. I'm really happy you're interested in my process! I feel like I'm just "winging it" in a lot of my work, but I do hope to make a proper tutorial one day. And I live in Alberta, Canada, by the way! XD

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SaskiaDeKorte In reply to whimsycatcher [2012-03-16 18:04:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for the detailed information! This "substraction" you speak of sounds really interesting, I must try it some time.

Alberta's beautiful! I spent a month travelling through Alberta and BC in 2006 (gosh, six years ago already?). Sadly, it's a bit too far away for me to come over ;D

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ObsidianSerpent In reply to ??? [2012-01-13 18:34:34 +0000 UTC]

Very, very lovely. I love the crosshatch shading on the face.

(How did you get those glorious really dark, darks on the hair and the coat, was that some of the photoshop aspect?)

Love the weave on the coat fabric...

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whimsycatcher In reply to ObsidianSerpent [2012-01-14 21:57:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much! Glad you like how I handled the fabric - that gave me the most heck! XD

(Ah, yes, I did push the blacks in Photoshop. I never can get as dark with graphite as I can do with charcoal, so I just cheat a bit for presentation's sake, lol. ^^' )

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ObsidianSerpent In reply to whimsycatcher [2012-01-15 09:19:02 +0000 UTC]

The fabric came out beautifully, so it was well worth the effort.

As regards photoshop sometimes things need a bit of cosmetic tweaking anyway I think, otherwise they don't reproduce on the computer screen the same way they look in real life.

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whimsycatcher In reply to KaytlynES [2012-01-14 21:45:58 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you!

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KaytlynES In reply to whimsycatcher [2012-01-15 04:28:24 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome! Keep it up!

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CuilpantielIndilwen In reply to ??? [2012-01-13 11:29:27 +0000 UTC]

Oh my god... That coat is alive!!!!

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whimsycatcher In reply to CuilpantielIndilwen [2012-01-14 21:45:45 +0000 UTC]

Haha, now I can't stop imagining that the coat is eating up Sherlock! XD

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CuilpantielIndilwen In reply to whimsycatcher [2012-01-15 15:19:55 +0000 UTC]

LOL! I love that coat >w>

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whimsycatcher In reply to AnnaKarelina [2012-01-14 21:43:07 +0000 UTC]

This is more cross-hatching than I normally attempt in a realistic drawing, so I'm happy you like how it turned out. Thanks very much!

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whimsycatcher In reply to MissHayleyQuinn [2012-01-14 21:40:47 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much!

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MissHayleyQuinn In reply to whimsycatcher [2012-01-15 11:18:35 +0000 UTC]

Amazing and NP

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MoonbeamInTheSky In reply to ??? [2012-01-13 07:59:29 +0000 UTC]

You have a wonderful talent. This is great!

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whimsycatcher In reply to MoonbeamInTheSky [2012-01-14 21:40:30 +0000 UTC]

Well thank you!

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pocketwhale In reply to ??? [2012-01-13 03:06:31 +0000 UTC]

This is absolutely amazing
Your line work and shading and everything ugh it is so nice
It's a fantastic likeness
So gorgeous ♥

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whimsycatcher In reply to pocketwhale [2012-01-14 21:40:17 +0000 UTC]

I really appreciate your thoughts, thanks! ^^

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theMightyHeart In reply to ??? [2012-01-13 02:52:59 +0000 UTC]

Wow, simply breathtaking and the likeness is spot-on. Very VERY well done.

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whimsycatcher In reply to theMightyHeart [2012-01-14 21:39:42 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!

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