Pencil Drawing - Blending and Shading - Learn to Blend and Shade your Drawings 

Make sure you check out the other tutorial subjects available. I’d love to help you learn to get the realism in your drawings you’ve been wanting. Visit: www.jdhillberrytutorials.com/tutorials.html

There isn't cheating in art, at least from what I've learned. Art is about expressing any idea or concept on a material. The process of the art is up to the artist's style, technique, and skill. So those who say that blending is cheating, like it's some kind of international Olympic sport should be ashamed to call themselves artists. After all if everyone used "correct" ways of art then every artwork would be relatively similar.

There is no cheating in art. Everything is permitted by...YOU! Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Definitely used every bit of this information. As I have really never took the time to test bends. Plus, I didn't know I was damaging the paper. Until you said something. -- Thanks for sharing!

Yes. Q-tips work well for certain types of textures. I like to use a variety of blending materials to easily create a variety of textures.

there is no cheating in art. there is no right or wrong only different methods.

great tutorial! you are the first person to do realism videos and not put me to sleep!

I hope you realize how much your generosity of knwoledge, time and talent are appreciated. Thanks you so much.

I've just now discovered that you have a RU-vid Channel - and don't know how I could miss that up to now. I use your book quite often and it has been helping me a lot; watching your videos is somehow "different", I enjoy it very much. Thank you!

Also known as Q-tips. I have used those as well. I try to impress on my students to try anything that doesn't leave a stain or damage the tooth of the paper. Each object you blend with can create a slightly different texture.

I was going to tell you that you've got those idea from a book, then I learned from your channel that you're the author of that book!

I like General's Pencils. They are a great quality and the only pencils made in the US.

There are several things you can do. First of all, I love dirty stumps and use the loaded stumps to add shading with no pencil lines. I keep a few handy that are loaded in various degrees. If you need to clean one, try erasing the tip with a kneeded eraser, rubbing on some sandpaper or shaving the tip with a razor blade.

Mother of Christ that intro scared me....

Hey JD! Normally I am averse to watching tutorials, on the basis I like to learn things myself, but a friend of mine refererred me to you and I have to say you are an amazing artist! I truly appreciate you taking the time to show us aspiring artists a few ropes. I learned a few new tricks I am definetly going to try and I look forward to watching the rest of your videos. You do fantastic work!

I haven't done quick life drawings for quite a few years. I wish I had time to do more. As for tips, keep in mind (or draw lightly on your paper) horizontal and vertical lines to help compare angles and also constantly compare common measurements.

So glad that I found you! I just ordered from your website. Can't wait to receive. Thanks for shipping so fast!

I also suggest using stumps and tortillians at an angle rather than the point. However, the reason I suggest softening the tip of stumps and tortillians is that it is much less likely to damage the paper. Many students push to hard with these blending tools and once the tooth of the paper is compromised it will react differently than the rest of your paper. For extremely realistic drawing, it's best to be "nicer" to your paper. Of course, the paper you use makes a difference also.

Isn't technology amazing! I'm glad I'm able to help with your drawings

Have just watched a number of your tutorials. What an impressive willingness to share real and important information. Large scale, freehand realist oil painter here who has shelved his passion for drawing for too long. You've really piqued my interest. I'm looking forward to adding drawings to my shows to flesh out the "texture" of the work. Cheers and grats.

I love cartoons, great line drawings and all sorts of artwork. It simply isn't what i do or teach.

The intro gave me a panic attack.

This is so helpful! Thank you for making these videos! Looking forward to more!

A thing that changed my art life is a dollar bag of makeup (foam, size of large bean) that makes the softest blend in the world. Thanks for taking the time too make this video.

This is an amazing tutorial! You corrected a lot of my blending mistakes. Thank you so much!!!

Thank you for sharing your wisdom to other artists, it really helps alot

Thx for Sharing,this is so helpful 😁😁

I love your book, it drastically change how I draw! God Bless you!

Just found your videos on line and have watched 2 so far. I have only a basic 9 session drawing class that touched on still life, perspective and intro to portraits. I really enjoyed the portrait part of the class and have been practicing at home and expanding on what I was taught. I found "stumps" in the craft store and taught myself to use them for shading portraits. I found your blending video extremely helpful and I am inspired to get back to drawing.

Super helpful... I've never used blending before as it's not my style so this was really fascinating... I was always taught not to blend (art school) but at 44 I am starting my masters and I'm going to blend blend blend... I love mixed media so the fabrics is an interesting idea and i think I'll then integrated into the finished work... have subscribed as your work is so different to my own, it's great to keep learning new things. Thanks xx

Clever idea I usually use Qtips to blend and printer paper but I never thought of trying brawny paper towels and a shamo

Excellent video, thank you for posting it. Like others I've just tissue paper but you've given me a lot to think about and experiment with.

Great and clear explanation , thank you so much!!

Would you be so kind as to name examples of where you would use the four textures you demonstrated in the last half of the video (with those arcs made by different blending materials)? Would especially love to hear how the 3rd one could be used. The first one looks like it could be used for a sky gradient. The rest not so sure. Thanks for these videos, I'm learning so much! :)

you are so blessed with ur talent thanks for sharing knowledge god bless u w8ing for more videos

This is so helpful! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and inspiring others.

I kept getting chills cause the sound it was making .

Really good tips! Thank you!

wow...great blending tutorial. thank you. you're a great teacher. very thorough with so many unexpected tips and instruction. I'm very fortunate to have found you and will check out your other vids. thanks again.

Amazing art! Thanks for sharing with us.

Great tutorial, I have signed up for more :) Thank you!! I also use color shaper blenders for drawing :)

Thank you so much for all these great tips!

Thank you sooo much fot sharing you portrait drawing techniques these will help me so much in creating my own portraits. Thankd again!!

Your work is inspiring! I can improve my work immediately. Use to blend with my finger and didn't understand the differences in texture. Thank you.

I appreciate you taking the time to post this video.

I have been an pencil artist for most of my life. I have struggled to get the realism I so desperately wanted to show in my work.You explained everything so simply and brought to light some issues I have never even thought of such as graphite shine. Thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge.

Through your videos I improved so much - thank you for your videos!

FANTASTIC!!! Very valuable information.

Thank you for making a proper tutorial,yours are among the best on You Tube.I have made some of the mistakes you point out so I am very grateful for this excellent advice.

My gosh you have no idea how much this video has helped me. I had to subscribe. Thank you so so much. For the longest time I never knew the proper way to use certain tools. I'm so glad I came across your channel!

I use a fixative on some of the darker backgrounds to keep them from smudging into the subjects as I draw.

Thank you so much. I had a hard time learning how to shade correctly, and you answered all my questions. My main problem was using the stomp and tortillian too hard.

Very informative. That Shamy thing there looked great! Thank you so much for sharing!

This is awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing!

this is going to help me out so much for my upcoming anatomy projects. thank you. now i know some really great techniques that i never thought of.

thanxx awsm video and I use stump for blending and shading nd awsm eraser 😀

just came back to your video to tell you that even i dont received my stumps i tried learning on my current drawing the blending technices you showed with just a normal paper towel like you do it with the papers.. and my drawing looks so much better with the improve of your technic .. its suits my style.. thank you very much :)))

So Awesome! Thank you!

Excellent tutorial!. I've been using stumps for a couple of months now and your tutorial will help me get the best out of them. Greetings from Oz Thanks!

In Art, there are No Rules, how true.! Too many people tell us what not to do and a few tell us 'How To'. Thanks.!

I read your book ''Drawing realistic textures with pencil" and ur drawings were amazing

I only have time to ship orders out once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. It only only takes 2 days to arrive. You would most likely have your order by next Thursday or Friday.

Yes. Brushes make excellent blenders. And different kinds of brushes will create different results. As I said in the video, anything that doesn't leave a stain or damage the paper is worth experimenting with.

I did "The Man Behind the Artwork" over 23 years ago so I don't remember the time it took. I'm guessing maybe 75 hours or so. I believe in viewing your work with fresh eyes often. Our minds can trick us into thinking things look okay when in reality it is just because we are used to seeing them a certain way. I recommend looking at your artwork in the mirror occasionally to see it with "fresh eyes".

Awesome info, as usual. I'd like to mention a couple of blenders I heard about from UK artist Mike Sibley. One is called a colour shaper. They were originally oil/acrylic blending tools but work well for pencil work. Unlike a tortillions or stumps, they don't pick up much of the graphite, so you can really control the movement of the graphite without lightening the tone. The second thing is good ol' adhesive putty. You can get some amazing and incredibly subtle results with it. And it doesn't require any kind of mechanical movement over the paper to work. Just press and lift. So it's great for tight spaces and won't damage the paper. You may have already heard of these Mr. Hillberry, but just in case the viewers haven't, I thought I'd mention them

Awesome!

Excellent tutorial. Thanx!

Thanks Mr. JD, My drawings have improved since I read your book. I really need you tutorials in videos for drawing rough skin, wood texture ...etc. It will be very useful.

Great work!

Many Thanks for this great tutorial, Sir! all the best! :)

Nice video please continue making tutorials you do a really nice job.

really nice tips ! Learning heaps! Thnxxxxxx

Thanks a lot! Very helpfu and well explained.l

I love your work... All ur videos are very helpful..

I use a napkin, or tissue for blending large areas, and used to use my fingers too. I liked the way that the small amount of moisture helped move the charcoal, or graphite. I have found though that after a few years, the oils from your fingers, turns the paper yellow

Very helpful! Thank you.

Really liked this well done video. Thank you.

thank you sooooo much for all this useful information!! ^^ I learned what to use for large-scale shading, and some! :3

Watched a lot of these videos , amazing

Awesome! thanks for sharing your talent and knowledge, I feel you have taught me more techniques than my fine arts professors. Thank you

Also no need to apologize for having a life outside youtube. :) Though i will most certainly keep a lookout for your new vids. Thanks for taking the time to do this stuff on youtube. Its really helpful to hear from an expert what one can do to get better, and not everyone has the cash to go get some expensive "how to" DVD's.

Ty for making this video..I'm not able to take art classes at the moment..it was very informative. I def enjoyed watching

Thank you so much شكرا جزيلا

You can scribble the graphite or charcoal on to another piece of scratch paper and load the blender from that, or even dip it into graphite and charcoal dust.

Thank you a lot !

You can load a blending stump with graphite or charcoal by just scribbling on another piece of paper and rubbing the stump over it. There are many other ways to use them as well.

This really helped my art as realistic as yours! thank u

Thank you for this tutorial , I just started drawing again,

I was literally just talking to my sister about how smudging to achieve a gradient was highly frowned upon, and that (in my opinion) it's the end result that matters. If that effect helps you achieve the feel you are looking for then why wouldn't you use it. I'm so glad that 5 minutes later I found this video where the first thing you did was agree with everything I said earlier :D

THIS IS MAGICAL IT HELPED SO MUCH

awesome!

wow that's amazing, i never heard about blending tool before

Thank you very much, your tips are very useful! Greetings from Italy

I would suggest you make the surrounding values very dark adjacent to the flame. That will make the flame look the brightest and give you more values to work within the flame.

You are my master most helpful your lessons 👌

Amazing and helpful.....thank u

sir , i just want to tell you that all your videos was help me to improve my drawing technique .. Thank you , i hope u will success in your carrier ..

I kept going back and forth while shading and going all over the place with my stomps . That caused the graphite to stain the paper and not only that but reduce or even deplete the value I was looking for . Thanks for the help, I can't wait to try this. I had never learned to use tortillions nor stomps and have been looking desperately for help to make my drawings look smooth.

Scribble some marks on a piece of scratch paper, then rub the stump on it to "load" the stump with the charcoal. Then you can draw with it. I hope that answers your question.

thank you!