Great video. Just found a really easy way to make the powder by putting a block in a plastic bag and then breaking it into smaller chunks with a hammer, then put it in a pepper grinder and this works well. Did the same thing using a Nutribullet and again produced a very fine powder. Both ways are quick plus no mess. Thanks again for the video😊
jayson phillips Our local art store sells a set that has a screen with a box to collect the powder for grinding charcoal. After this video came out they started selling out🙂.
How wonderful is this?!! Thank you so much for making these videos. Keep them coming! I love hearing about your techniques and the background story behind your drawings.
Hi Jono, please do a small video on how you get the human figures measured on your huge paper sheets, I am self tutoring myself into graphite sketching and I get the proportions wrong often. If it is only years of practice that is needed then it's fine, but I wonder if it is some technique that I might be missing on. Thanks
Your videos already helped a lot, so I wanna say thank you in the first place. Also, I would like to ask about how you get your proportions right especially in such a big format. I struggle a lot even with a basic sized paper and would be interested in hearing about your process or your tips.
Jono you my man I would love to be your student free of charge lol... I actually thought your American proudly south African brilliant artwork I'm an artist myself your drawings inspire me to take it to the next level love your work keep it up and thank you for the advise
Mind-blowingly beautiful work, Jono. I especially like your recent works, such as Discomposure, where you are exploring the psychological as well as the aesthetic. One question about achieving a dark background: I have tried using Arches Aquarelle 300g hot press paper, cotton wool, and making my own graphite powder by sanding 9B sticks, but I find that graphite brands such as Lyra come out as a shiny dark grey rather than a dark matte black. Would you mind telling us what brand of graphite stick you use? Again, thank you so much for all you have shared through your videos.
9b graphite powder...i am trying to get the really dark black areas without the shine from graphite and i was using a carbon pencil which I am not happy with the results (it seriously looks like crap even on arches watercolor paper). I will have to redo everything again lol. Round 4! I will try 9b graphite powder.
Do you use référence for your art, like photo or people, etc. ? And also, are you gonna make a Q&A ? I wondering if you make art exhibition in SA, if drawing in large paper is an issue to store your art etc. Thank you for the helpuful video :)
I haven't yet found a good way to work across two mediums (graphite and charcoal) so for the time being I'm sticking to one. But yes, charcoal would certainly give you a darker finish.
Hey! I use Arches Aquarelle 300 gsm hot pressed satin grain paper. I buy it from my local art supply shop. I recently uploaded my tools and materials list to my Patreon which I'll link here in case you are interested www.patreon.com/jonodryart 🙂
Hey Thomas, I don't have very much experience working in charcoal, but hopefully you can learn some tips and techniques for working in graphite on this channel.
Keep up the videos, they are so helpful and inspiring. I'm moving into large formate drawing can you talk more about your process and approach to starting a large format drawing. Also, talk about your table. Do you always draw flat over the table? Do you ever use easels for large format? Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really love your work.
Since drawing with the 9B doesn't get the same darkness as rubbing in the shavings, can you share how you get those deep blacks within the figures? Inspired and grateful from California!
I was wondering the same thing! My last boyfriend grew up in England and SA, so I spotted the accent but couldn't be sure. It's really a lovely lilt they have there.
The sandpaper with holes in it is a sanding screen commonly used in dry wall work and available in most hardware stores and online . What Jono calls "Cotton wool" is actually just cotton fiber - ie cotton balls you can find in most stores or online. Hope that helps.
I know I’m way late, and take everything I say with a grain of salt, buuuut. Yeah you will have the graphite shine, but not nearly as strong when your applying with a cotton ball (because it’s not compressing the paper like if you are pressing hard with a pencil). And yes, blending charcoal with pencils is incredibly hard and in my opinion usually looks ugly. So if you want a truly black background do charcoal for the entire drawing.
Nitin Panchal Thank you! But it's all about practicing... Training the skill and training your eye: Being able to see different shades correctly. But don't go into the details too much too quickly. First get the proportions right. That'll make your drawing look more realistic
Thanks for the info on the paper. And I admit I had to laugh on the "cotton wool" comment. Even this old woman knew that it was a roll of cotton that looks like wool! smh 🤦🏽♀️
@@pencildesigns. - He's using Arches Hot Press watercolor paper in rolls. You can get it at any local art supply, but the rolls are more easily available online. Good luck!
Only artist I have told my students, "you can become amazing young if you practice". His talent is of another level but his dedication is even more impressive. A worthy inspiration to the youngsters in this hard times of finding great young people.
Thank you so much for your amazing tips. I was wondering how you avoid or work with wrist pain. I have been drawing a lot lately and it has taken a toll on my body. Any tips on this subject?
I've had this issue too, mostly with colored pencils. I had to switch to painting in order to give my wrists a break at times. I'm always impressed that he can use his wrists for so long!
I've found that patience is key. It's a hard thing to master at times. I get incredibly impatient after prolonged periods in the same area. But, my best work is when I take my time. It's not incredibly insightful, however, may be helpful for someone else.
We call it cotton wool up in Ireland too. Thanks for sharing your videos and knowledge with us. I wish I had more time to draw; do you carry sketch books when you travel or just stick to large scale?
I've been experimenting with trying to create that dark background ever since you touched on it in your last video, so this video is extremely helpful. Thank you!
I honestly envy you. I have been an artist since I know myself as a person, but ended up going into a healthcare career on which I am also happy but working with art i do only in my leisure time which it means I was never able to fully develop and live off of my talent. Could I do it now? Yes and no because I am almost retiring. Cant move. If God grants me a healthy body when i finish and retire, then I will dedicate entirely to it. Meanwhile I work on weekends in whatever I feel like it. I want you to be very successful (you already are) and continue doing the beautiful things you do.
That stuff is known as cotton wool through most of the English speaking world. Thanks to you I have tried it and yes, it really can help to get smooth, dark, even tones.
Where do you get those references. I am currently drawing an elephant and my reference isn't really good quality, although it is a beautiful photography Also, can you make a Q&A video
Woa, it's a great question for a video :0 I also constantly struggle with it This method only helped me few cases but: You can try mapping the textures of better quality photos with steps. Like "for the skin around the eyes I'll first draw the lines, then blend, then add this texture, etc, etc..." And so you don't need to change your main reference and depending on you medium it can work well I think he will come up with the best (and somehow simplest) advice. But till then you can still try
I believe he takes his own reference images. You will notice that a few of his pieces use models that appear to be from a single photo shoot which is a great use of resources
Sir, Big fan of yours I would love to meet u once before dieing, u just true artist ,once painting use to be my passion but some condition laid to work and fulfil family.
I got so bored with all the mess and work of using graphite for dark backgrounds that I switched to white pencil on black paper. Never once thought about turning back.
Can't tell you how much inspiration you give, We would love to hear you talk about, 1) If you accidentally did something very dark, how do you get it back to white? 2) How do you make proportions in such size, 3) Where do you find such good pictures, 4) Why are you covering your face? 5) What is this spray and whether it is not scary to spray on the work,
Thanks for all your great videos. I am wondering if you will share in a video : safety.. you seem to be protecting your airway. And also when you use fixative. Keep creating. Thank you so much
I've never had the opportunity to work on some popular brands of paper (Arches, Fabriano, Strathmore etc), just some ordinary which I buy in nearby bookstore. Therefore quality is probably worse, so how I do my dark background, is that I usually first take 8B or 9B pencil and cover the entire surface with graphite. I do it very relaxed, trying to push it as easy as possible. Then I blend it with cotton wool but more often with dry sponge because I'm chronically impatient. After that paper gets grey color. Then I use a tiny bit of black pigment (which is usually used for making oil paint but for other things also). It is great for dark backgrounds, since one pinch of it can efficiently cover at least 30x30 cm surface. I push it around as hard as possible, with cotton wool exclusively, because sponge absorbs it more than paper itself. And quite frankly, I'm pretty happy with the results.
When I sand down 8b graphite there is a silver reflection from light, is there away to avoid this or a certain kind of graphite that reduces the silver reflection? Looking for black tones similar to your work. Thanks!
Real question brother, how do you avoid smearing graphite all over your work by accident? I have seen sometimes where you place a transparent sheet of paper under your hand to prevent smearing, but in my experience it always still smears even just a little when I do that. Thx for the videos, your work is top notch.
I really love your work. I am watching how you get those dark backgrounds. I do have a question. you have indicated you use a B9 graphite that is ground to powder. doesn't appear that you are having the problem with reflections that using graphite often has. I have used Charcoal in the past in a similar manor. is there something that you are doing to avoid that reflection gloss of Graphite? Generally I use coal FIRST because it can be laid over with Graphite but not the other way. I really don't like the reflection any hints or clues would be most appreciated.
Hey, Mike! Graphite can be tricky when it comes to shine. I’ve learnt a few techniques to help, but the main way I get around this is by being really careful with my lighting when I photograph my work.
Thanks, Yeah I think if you are working from references its important to take your own pictures. I will look into putting something together explaining my process and thinking behind my shots.
Thanks so much, it would be great. and by the way, I searched in a lot of realistic drawing channels and nobody has done it yet, If you do this you will be the first.
I've been waiting for this video for sooooo long. Thank you very much for sharing your technique. Someone mention below for you to do a Q&A. Sounded great. Can you do it live?
