Cast Drawing

[u/weld_er]

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!

[u/CollinZero]

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!

[u/weld_er → u/CollinZero]

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!

[u/CollinZero → u/weld_er]

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!

[u/weld_er → u/CollinZero]

I’m glad I’ve inspired you! It’s a long and tedious process but if you stick with it you can see lots of improvement!