How to Draw Glass with Colored Pencils:
Erasing to Add Detail
by Derrick Bruno
Erasing to Add Detail
by Derrick Bruno
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First off the colors I chose for this lesson are as follows: Grey, Cool Grey, Dark Grey, Black and White. Also we will be using an eraser. Preferable a white one, or gum eraser.
Step 1: Using the Dark Grey draw out your light bulb. You can opt out the details in the middle if you like they are not necessary for this lesson. You do however want to get the bulb shape, and screw at the base. This lesson is more about coloring and texture than copying the image.
Hint: Any time you are drawing from a reference a good fun trick to do is draw the image upside down. It sounds funny but it tricks your brain into drawing what you see, and not what your brain knows.
Step 2: Using the Grey colored pencil you will fill in the lower area of the bulb using medium pressure. Once completed take your pencil and hold it at a slant so the point is flat against the paper. Lightly begin to shade in the rounded bulb area using rounded strokes back and forth. This will give you a smoother fill. Continue to crosshatch and fill in the top of the bulb, and the base of the bulb until you get a good smooth cover.
Hint: Practice, and do not rush. Remember you’re not in a race, and you won’t get a prize for finishing first. This is a technique that you are trying to learn. Take scratch paper and use the side of your pencil lead to make strokes of different lengths, and pressures.
Step 3: Here is where it gets fun. Find a good size eraser, preferably a gum eraser, or white art eraser. Now you can look at a light bulb for reference or visualize where you will see the shines. You can also use mine for reference. Start erasing away where you want to have the shines. Be sure to follow the shape of the bulb, and do not be afraid to erase the details of the center, that just gives it more character. This gives the illusion of a rounded shape that you can now view start viewing as glass.
Hint: We used grey in this lesson because our background is white. This is only to make the 2D object appear three dimensional. Now if you have the bulb in front of an object or let’s say a yellow wall, you would color the bulb the same color as the background, or slightly lighter color of the background depending on how thick you want the glass to appear.
Step 4: Now we have to make the glass shine more prominent. You can now use the Dark Grey color and start shading around the shines. We are going to add more pressure at the top of the bulb, the base of the glass, and around the erased shines. Be sure to blend the Dark Grey and Grey together by adding layers of color from dark to light. Also if you added the middle detail you will use the Dark Grey to define the glass on the inside as shown.
Step 5: In this step we are starting on the metal base. Simply use the Dark Grey again and fill in the areas as shown. It’s okay to make these areas dark as we are going to add black to it later. You want to show the light bending around the metal object. And this object is smooth.
Hint: When you draw metal objects be sure to pay attention to your light sources, and remember that light comes from behind too, as seen here.
Step 6: Using the Cool Grey color begin shading the base filling in the left side darker, and leaving the right side lighter. This shows where your light source is and keeps the color flowing across the object. You can even color up and down the screw base to ensure you get the same dark to light scale going from left to right. And remember this metal is also smooth so it’s a great way to practice your small smooth strokes.
Hint: A good tool to help you blend your pencil drawing is a “Blinding stump.” They are highly affordable, and easy to use. If not you can always use your fingers to smudge the colors together. I did before I know they existed.
Part 7: To add our finishing touches on this piece we are going to just define the light bulb, and highlight the shines. So let’s start off by grabbing the Black pencil. Start by outlining the bulb, and shading in areas of the bulb close to the base and around the top. Take a step back and look at your image and you can see where the shadows are coming from. Those are the areas you want to darken. Next you will use the Black to also darken the shadows on the metal base to really make the metal shine, and stand out from the glass. You can also add a layer of shading to make it darker from the glass bulb.
Finally we are going to use the White pencil to color over the middle of the glass and shines to really make the center pop. Almost like the light is starting to light up. And to finish the drawing off add white to the right side of the metal base, and around the sides to show where the light is coming from.
I hope you enjoyed this lesson. Please email any comments or suggestions to DerrickBruno@HalfEvil333.com. Find my new portfolio page at http://HalfEvil333.com
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