How to Draw Glass with Colored Pencils: Erasing to Add Detail
by Derrick Rathgeber
Thank you for visiting. In this lesson I will teach you how
to draw a believable glass texture. Our subject will be a light bulb so we will
be using grey colors for this lesson. You’ll even have a small bonus lesson for
the metal texture at the base of the bulb. What you will be learning today is
how to use your pencils to color smoothly, and how to take away from your
drawing to add more depth and detail. Are you ready to get started?
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 would like to see your work. In fact if you share your results here on my Art Facebook page - HERE -, I will randomly select someone to give the original signed copy to. FREE of charge. I hope to see some of your work. (Feel free to add to it if you have any "bright ideas."
Again thank you for allowing me to share
these tips and tricks with you, and if you have something you would like to
learn feel free to suggest it to me anytime. Have a great day!
