Drawing Better Plants: Preclass

Welcome to Drawing Better Plants! (It’s kind of a terrible name, isn’t it? But it’s clear, so there’s that…)

I’m excited to get down to brass tacks and start drawing with you, but first we need to chat about supplies. Watch the video and I’ll show you how some items are used – you can decide what you “need” and what’s a not-gonna-get-right-now kind of thing; also see the notes about each item in the list of links below the video, too.

Supplies

    Supplies

As with most courses here, I try to keep the supplies as limited as possible! Just know that if you substitute other brands, you may find you garner different results. Which might be just great!

Sketchbook

In this class as Moleskine 12″ x 16″ sketchbook is used; I can highly recommend it as a wonderful sketchbook for graphite pencil! It works well with all the tools used. And it’s large, and accomodates our 8-1/2 x 11″ drawing nicely with a border around it. (Leaning your hand on that border is easier than half on or off the page with a smaller sketchbook.)

 Protecting your work as you go

I can also recommend having some glassine on hand – it’s a smooth paper that you can put under your hand to protect graphite, which smudges easily. It comes in sheets or a ginormous expensive roll – or you might find some at a restaurant supply kind of place. I’ve used printer paper before, too – just don’t MOVE it as you lean on it so it won’t drag pigment – lift it and re-place it (I sometimes tape it down to the border of the drawing if I use that.)

Pencil, sharpener

One Grafwood 9B pencil will suffice for the entire drawing. You can certainly have other hardnesses on hand; my 9B is soft enough it gives me a good value range depending on the technique, but a harder pencil might be added to your supplies if you want more detail in a particular area. That’s up to you. 

The sharpener used during class is an AFMAT long point sharpener, sometimes with a handheld afterward to garner a fine point when needed. (Also a quick rub on a nail file does the same hypersharp point for fine detail!)

Erasers

Try out all your erasers on this drawing! I recommend having these:

1. Kneaded eraser – soft and pliable
2. Electric (battery operated) eraser – for sharp details

Dry Blending

1. Cotton balls
2. Sofft No.4 pointed blending tool 
3. Nail file OR  Tea Strainer to create powdered pigment
4. Anything else you like to blend with

Wet Blending

1. Cotton balls
2. Blending stumps: Blick / AMZ  
3. Blending stump sanding block  OR Nail file
4. Any solvents:
   1. Gamsol 
   2. US Art Supply Odorless Mineral Spirits
   3. Winsor and Newton Sansodor (I’m using this one)

5. Jar for solvent  – put a cotton ball in it and wet it with blending solution
6. Anything else you like to blend with

Miscellaneous

1. Dust Brush
2. White artist tape
3. Xacto knife or detail scissors for shaping erasers and blending stumps. Sharp blades!

Video 2: an overview!

This course came about because I put together a much shorter version on YouTube and thought to ask if anyone wanted a class. And YES was the answer from enough people to make this class worth it! You might like to watch this “highlights reel” before embarking on the drawing.

Before we start…a little housekeeping

I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means…

1. Do not sell or give away the concepts from my classes – you may not re-teach my instruction contained or created within these lessons.
2. Do not post a video tutorial or step by step photo tutorial of your own redraw of class content.
3. Do not repost any handouts you receive in class.

However…I love to see students making strides and taking this teaching and personalizing it with your own skills.

1. DO make your own designs and develop your own style! I love that!
2. DO gift your creations made with these techniques, of course!

At the bottom of each lesson you’ll see some ways to share your homework and ask questions, so that’ll be handy for you.