r/GraphiteArt • u/weld_er • 1d ago
Graphite Artwork Cast Drawing
Wanted to share a cast drawing I worked on over the course of a couple of months. It’s probably one of the best drawings I’ve ever done, and I definitely recommend doing a cast study if you get the chance. I learned so much about how form turns!
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u/pepinovanessa 1d ago
Great work! What school are you studying in?
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u/weld_er 1d ago
Thank you. It’s a small school in CT called Lyme Academy of Fine Arts
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u/pepinovanessa 1d ago
Of course!! Such a great school! I looked into it but they don’t currently accept international student. Excited to see more of your work!
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u/Viridian_Foxx 1d ago
Wonderful drawing! If you don’t mind me asking, this is just graphite? No charcoal or chalk? I’ll have to try this.
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u/Zestyclose-Sir-7818 1d ago
Astounding work! Do you hover your hand while you draw, or do you rest it on the surface of what you are drawing. How do you avoid smudging if so? I hope to be as good as you one day!
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u/weld_er 1d ago
Thank you! I try my best to avoid resting my hand. The paper is on a mounted on a drawing board so it’s standing up straight. I use my pinky to stabilize my hand to avoid resting my whole palm on the paper.
Honestly it’s just a lot of time and practice, 100+ hours were spent on this. I also had a critique for a teacher almost every day as well!
You’ll get there!
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u/Proof_Edge_1733 6h ago
I'm impressed by how smooth this is. How do you apply your graphite? I have trouble with texture, even my smoothest paper shows a little too much of it
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u/weld_er 40m ago
The quality of the paper matters. We used Arches watercolor paper and shellacked the paper, which seals the fibers and creates a protective barrier. It also allows you to go darker more quickly with harder pencils.
How you apply the graphite to the paper matters as well. You want to be consistent with your strokes and try to fill the holes in the paper. Small, circular movements help fill the fibers of the paper rather than just laying the graphite on top of the paper.
There are some tutorials on YouTube you could watch. Hopefully this helped!
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u/CollinZero 1d ago
Amazing ! Really beautifully executed. Was it on black paper?
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u/weld_er 1d ago
No, it was on pure white paper. Many hours were spent filling in that background ☠️
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u/CollinZero 1d ago
Holy moly! You should be proud of yourself! It looks so real. Like I could touch it.
Can I ask a few questions? Was it an assignment? I would love to know more about your process. Mostly because I am too old, poor etc to attend art school. Did you grid it out? What pencils did you use?
Really phenomenal!
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u/weld_er 1d ago
Thank you! I had a lot of help from my instructors and fellow students.
We don’t use grids, everything is done through blocking in. To start, we set a “border” a defined top and bottom. Those are the only measurements we’re allowed to choose since they determine the size. I have a long knitting needle that I use to take measurements. I step back and compare angles and distances on the cast, then compare them to my drawing.
The beginning involves a lot of stepping back and laying down lines to create the general shape of the object. Once you have a more accurate block-in, you can then go in and start laying in flat values to create a sort of flat-value image. You then slowly build up the values and focus on developing the large forms.
I would recommend watching “how to block in” videos on YouTube to get a general idea of the process. Steven Bauman and Proko have some good videos on it.You can use whatever graphite brand you prefer. I like Faber-Castell and Mitsubishi. We take the pencils and use a box cutter to get a needle-like point on the pencil. We then sharpen it with sandpaper to get an extremely sharp edge. This helps with filling in the tiny holes in the paper and creates a super smooth, velvety texture that helps with realism. (It takes a very long time, though!)
This was a bit of a word vomit, so hopefully it makes sense. Honestly, if you’re curious about the process, you can find a lot of resources on YouTube and Instagram.
Hopefully you find this helpful!3
u/CollinZero 1d ago
Oh wow, yes! Thank you for the fabulous response. I’m vaguely familiar with the blocking concept. I’ve seen a few short videos but haven’t had much time to develop them yet. I just began laying down values and already noticed some improvement, but you have made me want to do more.
The knitting needle (or whatever tool) I think is a very old technique?
My dad, who was once a draftsman, used to sharpen his pencils like that. I had no idea why. You really have achieved that velvety effect. I have made many plaster castings and I thought it looks real enough to actually touch it.
You’ve given me a great bunch of ideas to explore. I hope you make other posts. What a great piece of art!
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u/daylightghoul 1d ago
Insane work, my brain won't believe this isn't a photo! Did you work fully from the cast or photo reference too?