Hey, friend!
I am guessing if you've made it this far, it's because you were either browsing my website, which I thank you for, OR you've seen my YouTube Video Emerge III Illustration Time Lapse.
However you got here, I'd like to welcome you to my first blog post. Here, you'll be able to find well-detailed descriptions of my art processes and how I do the things you see here on my website. I'm excited to share with you some of my tips and tricks on how to create strong and meaningful work, all the while becoming more confident in yourself and your limitless capabilities.
So, let's get into it.
EMERGE III
May 2021
Charcoal on toned-tan paper. 18"x24"
Duration: 6 hours
QUICK OVERVIEW
This piece is piece three of three of a series that began in 2013 called Emerge. You can find these pieces also posted on my Illustration page here on my website. The series is about feeling consumed by negative things in your life and having the will to overcome them, thus emerging from dark to light. The heaps of fire ants signify the weight of something mentally invasive that cloud your mind and make you unable to see the light in life. While being invaded by fire ants, the subject also emerges from sand; this signifies not only the concept of surviving darkness, but also the ability to break-through dark times and emerge as a stronger individual. The first two pieces of this series covered the subjects eyes, leaving them consumed and unable to see through the darkness that surrounds her, but in Emerge III, we are seeing the figures eyes for the first time in this series. With each new piece, I am illustrating the slow rising of a person who is overpowering their weaknesses with strength, and experiencing a slow rebirth of their new, resilient self.
SUPPLIES
First, I'm going to show you the supplies I used to create this piece, and how/why I used them so you know what to use and when.
• Kneaded eraser for when you make an oopsie.
• Artist chamois a blending cloth used for blending/erasing at larger scale.
• White charcoal pencil for highlights.
• 3B graphite pencil for initial sketching.
• 2B medium charcoal pencil a harder charcoal that is not so dark nor easy to blend. Use this for clean lifework and shading that is lighter.
• 4B Ex. Soft charcoal pencil use this for darker areas and sections that need a lot of blending. (example: I used this one for most of the fire ants because they needed to be dark and blended together.)
• Blending tortillion for basic blending, especially useful for blending small sections that require careful precision.
• 18"x24" Toned Tan Strathmore paper
• Drawing board (optional)
EXECUTION
In most cases, I begin with the eye because not only is it my strength but they are also important to every piece because they require accuracy and a lot of detail to achieve the style I aim for.
I begin with my graphite pencil, and lightly sketch out the basic shapes of the eye. I go in with my 2B medium charcoal pencil, and go over the graphite sketch, creating a vivid outline of the eye. I begin to shade in the pupil, the the outer edges of the iris, the eye lids, and the white sections of the eye(s).
NOTES:
• Always leave a white section in the middle of the pupil because there is always a highlight.
• Leave a lighter section all throughout the inner area of the iris, as this part is always lighter, and is capturing light.
• The white sections of the inner and outer corners of the eye need shading too! They are not pure white. These sections have a rather triangular form, and all you really need to do is some light shading around the edges. Don't forget this, otherwise the eye(s) will look flat.
• Darker shading on the inner and outer corners of the eye and upper eye-lid line.
Use blending tortillion to blend in a smooth gradience within the iris, pupil, and surrounding details. Leave lighter areas so we can go back in and put some highlights.
Once you've got your darks pretty well in, it's time to add some highlights, which is going to require us to use the white charcoal pencil.
Add some small sections of white on the inner corner of the eye(s), the pupil the iris, and the well of the eye. This small highlight on the bottom lid is a make or break! Don't forget this.
Now that the eye is done, begin some shading around the eye, bleeding out to the brow bone and cheek bone. These shades begin darker around the eye and usually lighten up once you start to reach the cheek and forehead area. Use the 2B charcoal pencil for this, and the blending tortillion to get a nice even gradience between features.
I applied darker shades around the edges of the face as I will need shadows beneath the heaps of fire ants. This will help connect the fire ants to the head and make it look like they are really sitting on top of the subject. Keep the cheekbone area lighter because the cheek bones catch light.
Onto the nose! I usually start at the eye and work my way down to the nose since they are right next to each other. I made sure to include the reference photo I was using to the left of the screen so you could see what I was using to ensure accuracy and sometimes it just nice to have something to work from in general.
Using the 2B medium charcoal pencil, shade some darker regions on the sides of the nose, and underneath where the nostrils are. Leave lighter sections on the bridge of the nose and the very tip of the nose, and the sides. Use the blending tortillion to blend evening from these darker areas to the highlights. Use your 4B ex soft charcoal for the darker areas, like the nostril shadow.
Once I've got the nose done, I move my way down to the mouth, and the section that connects the nose and mouth. There's a dip there that is always darker between the septum of the nose and the upper lip. Then, using your 2B medium pencil, outline the lips.
Using the 4B ex soft charcoal pencil, shade dark sections on the bottom of the top lip, and the top of the bottom lip. Include darker shading on the outer edges of each lip, leaving lighter sections on the middle of the bottom lip and top of the top lip, as those areas reflect light. You may want to include some cross hatching into the lips to show the wrinkles and creates texture. Use your white charcoal pencil to strengthen highlighted areas.
Now that we've got the prominent facial features finished, time to start adding some depth and detail to the face as a whole. You can use your reference photo to know where to place shaded areas and highlights, as each face is unique and requires different shading. Use your 2B charcoal to apply lighter shading and 4B for darker regions. You can also use your artist chamois to erase if you make some areas too dark! The chamois is really helpful at picking up loose charcoal and lightening areas when needed. Smaller mark-making, such as stippling, helps create texture since skin is not perfectly smooth. Using white and black stippling can really help bring skin to the next level!
Next up... hair! I started with creating a basic outline of the hair with my 2B charcoal pencil so I could see which way it was flowing, and start to see how much space I wanted the hair to take up. I'd say it probably occupies a third of the piece, so I wanted to know how it was going to look before I really started sharpening up the strands and shading/highlights within the hair. If you twist some of the lines together, it creates this illusion of curls and sections folding into/in front of/behind each other. Hair is not typically very organized, and so adding twists and curvy line work help add the sense of realness.
Sooooo... I totally messed up and the first eye was way too high up on the face. It really looked... not good to say in the least. It was a tough decision to go ahead and erase the first eye, because I was proud of it, but I knew that erasing the eye versus the rest of the piece would be a much smarter decision. I am happy with the second eye, and applied all of the same rules from before to drawing this one!
Finishing up some facial shading and framing the face with hair. I couldn't wait to start adding the ants to the figure, so I added a few because I was impatient and excited! Will delve deeper into the ants here in a moment.
Time to refine the hair. I used the 4B charcoal pencil mostly for this because a majority of the hair was darker and needed to be blended much more than any sections of the face. I blended in the same direction that the hair flowed, creating a smooth blend and strong sense of movement. Use your white charcoal for highlights! Highlights usually occur on several strands next to one another. Observe above.
Time for my favorite part! The ANTS. This technique is super duper simple but makes a world of a difference once I started adding these. It really brings the piece to life. All I do for the ants is draw three little black dots connecting to one another with my 4B charcoal pencil, add 6 legs and 2 antenna to each, gently blend with my finger, and then add a white dot on top of each black dot, which are the highlights on the ants, and that's it! Simple as pie once you do it a few times. It's truly addicting and I just wanted to add so many, but refrained. I place these all over the face, in the mouth, and throughout the hair. How invasive, and kinda unsettling?! ;)
Last but not least, the heap of fire ants. The most tedious and time-consuming part of the project. All it is is just hundreds of thousands of small black circles blended together. Yes, that's literally it. But the illusion that all of these small circles gives when you step back and look at the piece as a whole is so satisfying and haunting. The art of mark making, am I right? This part of the drawing took about two and a half hours, and really tests an individuals patience. I am the most impatient person I know, so I am shocked that I was able to finish this during only two sessions.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to view this blog/my video. Please comment below what you think or any questions and I'd love to chat.
Best,
Ashley
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