The other day, while fixing stuff in my (chaotic) bedroom, I found old sketchbooks stacked along with my college notes. Don't ask me why those notes are still piled somewhere in my bedroom. Haha.
Beside the pile was a shoe box I haven't touched for a year now -- one that contained my colored pencils, watercolors, and brushes. Then I got reminded of the one time someone here on Hive asked me if I also draw using traditional media.
I suddenly got excited. But, er, to my disappointment, I was reminded of the fact that I am missing a lot of colored pencils, and what H and B I have of pencils were reduced to just 2H and HB, the moment I opened the box. I won't even make excuses and deny that I am a disorganized human being... because I am.
Last night, after work, I got to drawing with what I have left, anyway.
About the Sketchbook
Before I go and blabber about the portrait drawings, let me describe the Sketchbook first. I found it along with a watercolor pad that a good friend gave me as a Christmas gift in 2017.
I apparently bought the sketchbook in November 2017 (maybe a birthday gift to myself? I can't remember), along with the 2H pencil I used here in the drawings. The surface of each leaf is smooth, with just a little bit of texture.
I wonder why I don't use it much, as it's something I'd definitely love using; it is thick, perhaps thicker than 200 gsm (it felt thicker compared to the 200 gsm watercolor pad I had).
I already had drawings in it (and a few scraps), but the last one was from 2018. Wow, I just really love buying stuff like this but end up not using it.
Materials used
The materials used in this overnight project-ish are the following:
- 200 gsm Kyokuto sketch pad
- 2H, HB pencils
- Faber Castell Classic colour pencils
Drawing Portrait 1
It had been years since I last drew anything decent with colored pencils, so I thought I should try again this time. I was missing a lot of colors, but I can still get by if it's portraits I would be drawing.
The reference was a portrait of Alice Vink. I was definitely getting ahead of myself and thought this wouldn't take much time, but it did.
By the time I finished Portrait 1, my hand was numb. Still, I continued on to the next one.
Drawing Portrait 2
This next drawing was in reference to another Alice Vink portrait. As the colored pencils took so much time, I thought I should stick with pencils (2H and HB) from that point onward.
This was taken with my phone's camera at night, so it might be difficult to make out small details, but the shading here (and for the rest of the other drawings) was all over the place.
Drawing Portrait 3
This one, meanwhile, was based off one of Maarten Schr枚der's portfolio photos for the PhotoVogue Stories series. I already tried drawing it before with Samsung Note app (which was a little difficult to use), and so I decided to once again give it a shot on paper this time.
I messed up with the eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to fix them.
Drawing Portrait 4
Finally, the last one. It appears that 3 consecutive drawings was borderline my limit. And my limit turns out to be 4... ish. At this point, I cannot finish this Blackpink Jisoo portrait decently. LMAO.
I was getting her wrong at all places and I was starting to find it difficult to shade. And perhaps because it was getting late into the night, I was definitely feeling tired already.
Notes
I have been drawing with my Note 10+ for months now, that I completely forgot how exhilarating it is to draw on a much bigger canvas... on paper.
The pencils felt so wonderful in my hands. I missed drawing with them. Definitely more ergonomic than the S Pen. I missed the accidental smudges I'd make that would eternally frustrate me, or the pencil stains on the side of my palms (and for some reason, fingernails).
I realized that I may have improved from drawing so much in the past few months, and that excites me.
Soon, I might draw traditionally again and fill the sketchbook (finally). But for now, it had been an awesome 4 portraits, 1 night experience. :)
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