Now it is time for you to put your knowledge and skill to work and create a beautiful park scene. It has all of the elements of scenery we have covered so far. The extreme contrast of light and dark makes it very dramatic. A clear sense of sunlight and shadow can be created with your erasers and firm pressure on your pencil.
.5mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead
kneaded eraser
ruler
smooth bristol paper
tortillion
Draw the horizon line across the paper. In this case, it is a little bit above center.
Using my example as a guide, block the shapes in loosely with your pencil. At this stage we are creating the placement of the trees and the major shadow patterns.
Deepen the patterns with firm pressure on your pencil, and fill in the tree trunks until they are very dark.
Make the pencil lines in the background vertical to represent trees, and the ones in the foreground horizontal to represent the flat ground.
To start the look of foliage above, use small circular strokes. The direction of your pencil strokes is important since it creates the surface you are drawing. Blend the tones out with the tortillion to create a gray tone throughout.
Summer Park Scene
Graphite on smooth bristol
6” × 9” (15cm × 23cm)
Start with the foliage of the trees. With firm pressure and small circular strokes with your pencil, deepen the tones to create the illusion of clumps. To create the look of the sunlit areas, draw the light out with a Tuff Stuff eraser. Use the same circular marks you did when using the pencil. You may need to use pressure on the eraser to get the graphite to come off. Go back and forth, adding dark and lifting light until it looks realistic.
Deepen the contrasts in the foreground. Use firm pressure on your pencil to create horizontal strokes. Use the Tuff Stuff eraser for the brightest highlights. Use a kneaded eraser for the smaller, more subtle highlights. Create the subtle look of bushes in the background with the kneaded eraser.
When creating very dark tones, hold your pencil more perpendicular to the paper to prevent your lead from breaking.
Different erasers create different looks. The Tuff Stuff eraser will lift out large areas of white with more distinct shapes. The kneaded eraser will gently lift out subtle highlights that are not as distinct.