Drawing a Sky with Clouds in just
4 STEPS !
MATERIALS:
Pencils: F , 2H and 3H
A Kleenex,Tortillion or a Q-tips and Fine brush (for blending)
Kneaded eraser , Blu-Tack and Normal eraser
STEP 1 - CROSS-HATCHING
I use a loose-hold hand position when creating the cross-hatching. I find the just weight of the pencil on the paper will create pencil strokes that are light and consistent.
I cross-hatch 3 layers of graphite onto my paper using the F pencil. The first layer is placed horizontal on the surface, the next two layers are diagonal.
STEP 2 - BLENDING
Using a kleenex around my index finger, I blend the graphite smooth. Blend with a firm, and even pressure. It may take several passes with the kleenex to create a smooth even tone. Be sure to blend over the edges of the drawing area as well as overlapping the buildings, trees and horizon areas. It is much easier to erase than to add a missed section later.
Avoid touching the surface of the paper with your fingers. It is at this point in the blending process that blemishes or finger prints will magically appear. If they appear, it is very difficult to fix (unless they happen to be in a cloud formation) and many times I just have to start over!
I will add 2 more layers of crosshatching with 3H pencil and blend with the kleenex again. This creates a nice smooth finish.
STEP 3 – LIFTING OUT THE CLOUDS
I use a mars plastic eraser with a chisel edge and erase my clouds into the sky. For light wispy clouds I use blu-tak and just drag it across the surface.
STEP 4 – DETAILING
Use a 2H lead pencil to layer in darker areas next to the whitest tops of the clouds. A tortillion is used to blend in and work in the details. By blending, lifting, erasing and layering in more graphite, the clouds emerge on the paper.
I soften the clouds by using the blu-tack. To make more dramatic clouds darken the background sky. This allows white cottony clouds to be more fully formed. Keep in mind that unless your drawing’s emphasis is the clouds, they should not compete with the rest of the landscape. They should be subtle and gently lead the viewer’s eye through the scene.
Repeat the ''Detailing step'' until you get the perfect Sky with clouds!
This is my final result:
I'm sorry for the quality of the photos and the quality of the drawing , when I do drawings for tutorials I prefer to create little drawings (to finish them faster) and working on details is pretty difficult , but I hope you will get only the most important of this tutorial, like tips and advices and not the quality.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
Cloud Formations and Cloud Types:Stratus – Wispy light clouds
Cumulus – white puffy…cottony
Dramatic – rain clouds – thunderheads
Back lit clouds – sunsets
TIPS:
Skies are lighter at the horizon and go darker as you go up the sky.Clouds use perspective – smaller and tighter the farther
in the distance they are.
Unless the sky is the central part of the drawing, light wispy or
under-stated clouds work well.
Use clouds to lead the viewer through your landscape
Clouds have form and are 3 dimensional – they just don’t
have any lines are hard edges.
The more dramatic clouds – the darker the base tone should be
(this allows more range of tones)
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Here I will let you some helpful journals:
-> Helpful Drawing Tips and Hints
-> How to Paint With Acrylics
-> How to draw hair strands
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See you in the next one !
Have a great day .