Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Graphite Baby Portrait

In response to all the requests I get for information about drawing on drafting film, I have put together a series of step by step tutorials which are available as a PDF for purchase either directly from my website, or from My Ebay or Etsy Stores. Your tutorial will then be sent via email within 24 hours, (but usually much earlier), allowing for time differences.

This first tutorial is 10 pages long and guides you, with step by step images, on how to do a graphite portrait of an infant using graphite pencil on drafting film. One of the advantages of working with the film is the ability to create very soft shading with an almost seamless result. However, the drafting film is quite different to any other surface I have worked on, and is not without it's challenges. This tutorials provides tips and hints that I hope will make the process a little easier.

My aim is to produce further tutorials down the track and I would love to hear from any bloggers who have suggestions about what they would like to see covered in a tutorial.

Step by step Tutorial - Graphite Portrait of a Dog

Volume 18 No.2 edition of Fine Art and Decorative Painting includes my step by step tutorial on doing a dog portrait in graphite pencil on drafting film and is now available from most newsagents. The subject for this tutorial is a stunning dog called Burton and the client kindly gave her permission for me to use him for the article.

Latest Commission - Harriet

Harriet

8x10 inch

Coloured pencil on drafting film

It has been a long while since I have been asked to do a horse portrait, and since I always welcome a new challenge, I really enjoyed drawing this beautiful horse.

On a different note, we recently had a tornedo hit one of our small coastal towns Lennox Head, and whilst it caused a lot of structural damage, thankfully no lives were lost. Tornedos are a fairly rare event, here in Australia. It hits home then, when listening to the news this morning, and hearing of the devastating twisters in the US in the last few days that have caused both loss of life and structural damage - what a challenge it must be to live with the constant threat of these tornoados all the time. My heart goes out to those who have lost either homes or loved ones, and hope that anyone reading my blog is not affected.

Tutorial now available in Fine Art and Decorative Painting

Some of you may recall that I mentioned a few months ago that I had written a Step by Step Tutorial on doing graphite pencil portraits on drafting film for the educational art magazine Fine Art & Decorative Painting, featuring my nephew Jack. That particular edition is now available (Vol 17 No. 9), and if interested, you should be able to pick it up from most newsagents (they may be able to order it even if they don't regularly stock it). It is available on-line as well, although at this stage it is only for sale at isubscribe where you have to purchase it as part of a magazine subscription. It will be available on-line from other sites once it has been in circulation for a while. I have three more tutorials to follow over the next few months and hope that they might answer some of the questions artists often ask with regard to working with drafting film in particular.

Miniature Commission - The Brothers

The Brothers

2.5 x 3.5 inches

Graphite and black pencil on drafting film

This was one of my more challenging commissions. Not only was it small at 2.5 x 3.5 inches but because the upper bodies were to be included too, it meant the faces had to be very small. This is fine, if you are working on a piece such as A Life Well Spent, where it isn't a commission, and so there is no pressure to create a true likeness. In this size commission, you can't afford to be out be even a fraction of an inch, so I feel like I'm going to bed a little cross eyed tonight. (I still love working tiny though, and always love a challenge!!!!)

Some of my Christmas commissions

Athena

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Sophia

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Zahara

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Rhiannon

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Kerry and Craig

8x10 inches

Graphite and black pencil on drafting film

These were some of the commissions that kept me busy between Christmas and New Year. There were a couple more completed in the the week leading up to Christmas, but the clients requested that they not be posted on any websites, and of course I always respect these wishes. The commissions continue to roll in, for which I am very grateful, but I have had to put all the prices up slightly to prevent getting too overloaded with work. My preference this year is to work on quality, rather than quantity so that the customer feels they are getting something they will treasure for many years to come!!!

The Process of Creating Burton

This gives you a bit of an idea of the process of drawing Burton :)