Art Design Web: Art Composition and Design

Your Frequently Answered Questions

We receive many emails with various questions which arise when budding artists are learning to paint and draw. Here are the most frequently asked questions and some answers from our consulting artists. You will also find some free ebooks covering figure drawing and parts of the body - some of our most commonly asked questions are answered in these books!

1. What is the correct way to hold a pencil when sketching?

When it comes to drawing and sketching, there's really no 'one right way' to hold a pencil, but some methods are better than others

Tripod Grip

The most common grip is called the basic tripod grip, and is the one you probably use for writing. The thumb and forefinger form a triangle with the middle finger, which is supported by the ring finger and pinkie (little finger). This grip allows the pencil to be finely controlled by the fingers, so is ideal for drawing and sketching. The upright position of the pencil allows for accurate shading with the tip, as opposed to using the side of the pencil. If more movement is required, the wrist or elbow can be rested against the edge of the drawing surface, used as a pivot.

How to increase lightness: The way to make something look lighter is to put something darker next to it. You can only get as light as the paper. So if you need to make something look lighter you can darken the values you already have, around it. You can build up darkness by gradually by adding a light coat of shading over the whole thing.

Working with large areas: If you are shading in a very dark and large area it is easier to use a soft pencil, such as a 4B or higher, and use a little more pressure, and larger strokes. You still may need to build up layers.

Softening: You can soften shading by smudging with a paper stump. If you don’t have a paper stump available, you can always use your finger.

Judging the value of a color: You can do this by comparing it to another part of the subject. If this is too difficult , try using a frame. Cut out a small piece of illustration board and use it to frame the values (so you are not distracted by the areas around it. You can then move your frame to another part of your subject and compare it. You can then judge whether it is lighter, darker or the same.

3. I’m doing oil painting and trying to paint flowers Georgia O’Keefe style. How do I get a long single flower petal shaded and avoid the mud without having it look like dark lines just laying on top.

Try deleting dark colours on your pallete, especially black. If painting a poppy (red) add different hues of red to keep the canvas fresh. You will notice on Georgia O'Keefe's poppy there aren't any dark areas on the petals, just deeper reds.