Back to Basics: Drawing with a Simple School Pencil | Speedpaint

Hello, dear creative community!!! 👽 I’ve finally found the perfect moment to share a new drawing with you all. Sometimes i get so caught up in my personal life and other everyday things that i forget about my blog and everything else.

I recently came across a drawing challenge that simply involved creating a drawing using the most basic technique we all know, a simple graphite pencil, the kind we all used in school. It was that simple. I thought it would be interesting to go back to those days when i just wanted to draw in grayscale and always stay in my comfort zone. Although i admit that grayscale and black-and-white drawings have a special energy that other techniques don’t have. I feel the same way about photography.

I don't always take part in challenges or contests, but sometimes i think it's a good idea to force myself to draw something specific or just to motivate myself when i'm not really in the mood to draw, and the pressure to finish it on time is a plus, so i decided to give it a try.

I admit it was a bit of a struggle at first; i had a vague idea of what i wanted to do but couldn’t see it clearly in my mind. I searched Pinterest for reference images of faces, owls, crows, etc... In the end, as always, i just went with the flow and that was that.

From the start, i began by drawing a filigree frame; sometimes this step helps me see the rest of the drawing more clearly.

I prepared my materials: an HB school pencil, blending stumps, a makeup sponge that i use as a blending tool, a pencil sharpener, and two identical pencils but with different tips, one sharper than the other for those more precise details.

Once i had everything sketched out, i decided it would be best to start with the darker parts of the drawing; beginning with the frame and all the background details and then move on to the main figure.

I admit i was really looking forward to this part, although there were moments when i didn’t find it very relaxing but that had nothing to do with the drawing itself; i suppose it was those inner demons that emerge from somewhere through the simple act of creating. I thought it would be a bit difficult, because sometimes a pencil isn’t that easy to use due to the type of tip, but it turned out to be easy and smooth.

I continued working on the wings that embraced her; i found this part relaxing as well, perhaps because it allows me to create repetitive patterns that i enjoy, even though i sometimes panic that something won’t turn out the way i hope.

Okay, this is where i hit a rough point. I didn't know whether to start with the hair or begin defining all the features on my creature's face.

I decided to start with the details of the face, then the hair, and finally the skin.

When i sketched the owl’s eye, it looked like a disaster to me; at that moment, i couldn’t get the lines to come out right. Sometimes i forget that’s just how sketches are, they don’t always look organized or concrete. Fortunately, after i’d warmed up with the rest of the drawing, when i got to this part, the lines and all the details came together smoothly and precisely, without any frustration.

It was the hair and skin parts that got a little complicated because i wasn’t sure how to draw them. There were many ways to do it, and sometimes that indecision makes everything more complicated.

Even though there were times when i felt like my head was going to explode, i took it all in calm, because i had to complete this challenge. It’s funny that before i only wanted to do pencil drawings, but after using other techniques that allowed me to create and draw “faster,” going back to the “simple” became emotionally, mentally, and technically complex. But in the end, i liked the result.

I don’t like to admit it, i think i love the other techniques more now. I can’t believe i’m saying that but the truth is i’ve changed a lot and i noticed it when i decided to cut my long hair.

I think that’s all for now, see you next time. Hope you have a great start of the week!!!💖