Hey All…finally doing something

Original and cropped and resize to golden rectangle…allot of chicken scratching on tracing paper then transfer to Strathmore velvet gray.

Also trying to see if I can draw a little smaller so I try some figure studys…well draw smaller or get bigger paper…probably both.

I usually use an Staedtler Lumograph 8b for all my graphite but I bought some heavy lead holders and wanted to try different grades…2h, hb and 4b…

Now I remember why I use the 8b…I have a shine in already…I must have pressed too hard…I should have practiced on another paper…if I fall back to charcoal it is harder for me to put charcoal over graphite…so if I do I will have to lift some graphite out for something the charcoal can hang on to…but onward.

I started adding some white and shading all over…for some reason the mouth didn’t look right…I measured and couldn’t figure it out…since it is not to far in and I have not used any black charcoal yet I erased it out and will try again...

Generals white charcoal is the darkest of the whites and harder to apply…what I usually do is start with it first and then I erase it and it leaves the paper brighter and you see no white.

Then the next lighter value I crosshatch with the generals or Faber-Castel pastel white and I blend with a stump or tissue or chamois…

The brightest is nupastel stick and a Stabilo-CarbOthello pastel pencil…they are a beautiful white.

I use the CarbOthello pencil for the highlights in eyes…I press it against my tongue, (its safe as it is really calcium carbonate) hold it straight up and down and twist…leaves a beautiful round highlight…sometimes takes several tries…I just scrape it off with a knife and do it again.

Hardest part with white and black charcoal when it mixes it turns a dirty blue.

And you can do even more by using a workable fixative and apply more...