A Drаwіng Lеssоn

Perhaps one of the most common mistakes beginners make when learning to draw is they use only one or two of the grey levels available to them in the tonal range from black to white.

But if realism in our drawings is our goal then we will have to learn to use all of them. Nature does not shy away from using all of the grey levels when she draws reality before our eyes, and neither should we.

It's an easy mistake to make. We concentrate so hard on what we are drawing, we forget about the how. Or else we tremble with trepidatious awe before our monotone masterpiece, afraid to make even the slightest alteration for fear of ruining its accidentally spectacular beauty.

In this case I'd suggest doing a copy of the orignal, only next time ADD MORE DARKS! You won't be disappointed. For example, hold the mouse pointer over the different boxes in the greyscale beside the drawing above to see the effect of using the entire tonal range instead of only part of it.

It may seem like there is too little difference between each successive grey level to warrant using them all, but I assure you, it's very important to do so. Indeed, it makes all the difference between a good drawing and a bad one.

It's the difference between black & white.