LAYER and BURNISH with graphite pencil 

Oh, well... I'm not really YT material. I mean, I'm more interested in teaching than pleasing folk :) And I work slowly, so you're not going to get a video a week out of me. That said, I've got a long list of subjects to work through - as well as making regular videos for my DrawWithMike.net folk. Thanks again, Chris. Your comment makes all the work very worthwhile. I forgot to mention that you might find this useful too: DRAWING DARK VALUES ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EZ0oqyrr-Gw.html

Repeat after me: "Always HARD over SOFT". 😉 Because if you apply a hard grade first, you will fill the tooth with clay. Then there's insufficient tooth remaining to scrape off the softer grade, and result is often patchy, at best. And when you created your lovely strong darks, watch ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bsgwuRSkbJQ.html and see how a matt fixative can darken them even more.

I'm so pleased you're enjoying your book, Heather, and finding it useful. At the time that I wrote it, I had 25+ years of experience uselessly stored in my head, so I dumped everything I knew into the book. I intended to write a second book, but the videos do a much better job. They won't all be here on RU-vid. When I've time, I make a video just for RU-vid, but most are the "Intro" videos, and there are usually at least two other videos fully covering that subject. But they're only available to members at www.DrawWithMike.net. Or you can purchase them from my website. DWM isn't free, because it keeps the spammers and time-wasters away, but it is cheap - as are the videos. And it has its own Support Forum, where I can personally help you. I held a workshop in North Carolina (Hickory in 2013) and I'm so sorry I missed you! Will I be back? I don't know. Jenny and I found the travelling was beginning to become tiring. I'm not ruling it out, but DWM was partly created, so you could come to me instead - without travelling :)

Thanks! I'm just trying to help, but you made my day :) Rule of thumb: use a grade two grades harder to burnish. Works for me. But at the B end of the scale, burnish anything softer than 2B with a 2B, regardless of how far down the scale it is.

Thanks! I'll have another one for you over the weekend.

I'm making video for DrawWithMike (about 50 so far) and occasionally post one of them here. And I've made a few specifically for RU-vid, but DWM takes most of my time. I'll have another one for you soon, after I've worked on the next DWM video.

With graphite powder? I'd love to say Yes... but I don't know. Graphite powder is the one application method I've never used. I did experiment with it many years ago, but I found it to be too uncontrollable. I'm glad you found the video useful - there are more... some here, and all of them at DrawWithMike.net

Thanks! That makes all the work very worthwhile.

Thanks, Gary. I'm taking a short break but should have more for you soon.

Thanks, Toni-Marie... but you don't! You need to carry on making your beautiful artwork and marvellous videos. They're full of valuable teaching. I rarely draw now (my eyesight isn't what it was) so, outside of teaching, I have all my time available to be creative making videos 😊

Hmm.... I thought the same. What's the difference? And I wrote the script 😊 Technically, there is no difference. They are both layers of a hard grade over a softer grade. But I decided to go with the two descriptions because the INTENTION is different. I use LAYERING when the intention is to create a dark value with the smoothness of a hard grade. 2B under 2H, for example. So the result is a smooth 2H, but darker than a 2H usually produces. And BURNISHING when I mean the layering is specifically done to increase contrast and polish the result by breaking up the soft grade with the hard grade and filling the holes in the tooth. The holes that visually dilute the soft grade's value. And award yourself top marks for being sharp. I've been expecting someone to ask your question ever since I made that video - and you're the first, so far 😊

@@drawwithmike Thank you for explaining the difference. And thank you for taking the time to make these videos, they have really helped me.

Thanks, Melanie! On the Conqueror paper that I use (which has very little tooth) hard over soft is a necessity. I can't comment on other papers, but hard over soft is virtually guaranteed to succeed. Soft over hard can work, but you're taking a chance with that. I'll have another video for you by next weekend. Or, of course, you could join me at DrawWithMike.net and watch all of them... but it's not free. It's not expensive, either. :) Just £6 ($8 USD) a month. But that does keep the spam at bay. DWM has a Support Forum, too, and I had to manually remove 240,000 spam accounts from my previous (free) forum, and I sincerely don't want to have to do that again!

@@drawwithmike Thanks Mike that is something to consider.

Thank you! You got my day off to a lovely start :)

@@drawwithmike i ve been searching the very right solution to my flat and dirty drawing which i really put the best of my patience and my knowledge. Just other tips and tricks those shortcut stuff could never correct it. I feel so devastasted when i feel like all my endeavor is in vain when i want Drawing to be my career. Now i saw the light from this experienced and generous mentor! Nothing can hold me back now! I m gonna support u in my every possible extent even though my economy is poor currently. When i m rich and my country Myanmar is freed again from junta, i m gonna be your top fan and supporter, i promise.🥰

@@anthonysbliss Well, a promise is a promise :) But, in the meantime, I sense that you really do enjoy drawing and would welcome some assistance, so email me at mikesibleyart@gmail.com, because I have an idea in mind that can help you.

Thanks, Tyler. I'll have another video for you very soon, as I'm tied up with writing the next one.