Friday, November 22, 2013

Study of the head of a crow

Drawing by Kevin Gough

Ballpoint pen on cartridge 30 x 20cm

I have to admit I have a weakness for drawing crows, they are such a resilient and
intelligent bird. I have ample opportunity to study them also, living near a large 
roosting colony.

Thanks for looking :)

3 comments:

  1. A very nice study Kevin - Corvids are birds with lots of character. I mostly see Jackdaws and Magpies though,
    I'm curious about how you created the light tones on the beak with a ballpoint.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Robert, glad you like it. When I crosshatch in a drawing like this I usually use a very fine piece of emery cloth on the first layer and then remove it with a hard eraser. This leaves an underlying tone upon which I place another layer of hatching. The brightest area then, having never received any hatching at all will be devoid of an underlying tone and so will seem quite bright with the other highlighted areas receeding in illumination. Of course sanding a drawing can be a tricky procedure and can easily destroy the work but with most of these works just done with ball point pen on cartridge if an error occurs all I have lost is time.

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  2. Interesting technique Kevin. Went to a course recently on drawing with graphite - sticks and pencils. One method was to create graphite powder by rubbing a stick with fine sandpaper. Then apply the powder with a soft rag or rub it in for large areas. Use cut paper to mask edges. Method saves roughing up the paper. A putty rubber will lift off if necessary.

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Oh wow ! a comment, I just love comments :) thanks very much.

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