Ballpoint Pen Drawing

Since the outline is such a sensitive thing to mess up, I don't want to mess up. I really, really don't.

So, in order to get all the proportions right, I started out with a light pencil. I just want to make sure that everything is in the right place, before I start adding values and shadows.

Just adding the first shadows, starting on the left side, because I'm right-handed. Aren't you glad I broke it up into smaller videos, so you don't lose track of where you are? I mean, I considered just doing a 2-hour video, but I decided not to do it that way. Ha!

Finally a feature where I can press the ballpoint pen a little harder! Well, everything around it is just the same: Touch the paper, just a little bit, not too hard. Just kiss the paper. (Imagine a kissing sound effect when I put my ballpoint on the paper).

The hair needs to get done. And the hair on the left is the best place to start when you're right-handed. Some shadows, like the neck area and the area left of the nose and around the eyes, need to get some light touches with the ballpoint pen.

Is your heart in the right place? Are you a true artist? Ask yourself these serious questions. Otherwise, I am not so sure about your future. Vincent from France knows how to say it.

Drawing the right eye (her left) is as challenging as the left eye (her right). Go figure. We also have to be careful with the nose. Just very light lines. Don't press very hard on the ballpoint pen.

The upper lip is darker than the lower lip. The shadows around it are telling of her face's shapes. Put them all in there, but be careful. Veeeeery lightly, please.

The neck, the shirt, the left side of the shirt, and the beginning of the hair on the right side... these are some of my favorite things. Lalalalala... (imagine music notes).

I'm carefully planning out the light and dark areas in the hair. Squinting your eyes can help you see those things better.

Let's analyze the light and dark areas in the hair a bit. Hair... a lot of lines... a lot of work, as always.

We are finally finishing the hair. Thank goodness. As always, try to identify darker and lighter areas, squint your eyes, and try to fill them in as accurately as possible. Take your time, but don't overdo it, if you know what I mean. it's not worth staring at every single hair, but it will be worth SOME of your time to create some contrast, direction, etc.

No. I am not spending my valuable time (and yours) going over each and every single dot on the complicated shirt she is wearing. What I will do, however, in this video and the next, is simplifying those patterns and creating at least somewhat of a detailed contrast between the dark background and the little blocks that are lighter.

It's all about whether you think it's worth it. Too much detail may distract from the detail in the face, which should be the main focal point. Not enough may make it look like you just became sloppy at the end. It's a matter of choice. There is no one right answer for this, I would say.

Let's take a look at how I did. Never assume it's perfect, even after having so much experience (like me). There is always room for improvement.

Let's see what happens when you hook up Vincent and Vincent to a lie detector. Will they tell the truth?

In the next videos, I will show you how you can create a beautiful drawing with a simple, blue ballpoint pen. In the first module, we will also go over some ways to make better choices as an artist, as well as creating certain details.

As always, enjoy the rest of the course! Get a nice drink, sit back, and relax. Oh, and don't forget to do the assignments! You're not going to get away with just watching. You didn't think I would let you off the hook, did you? Haha! (Just kidding. Do whatever you want).

As artists, you don't just waste your time drawing or painting anything. Your reference image or model needs to be worth your time. It's hard to create beautiful art out of ugly references or examples. In this video, you will get some pointers of how to choose better.

Focal points draw the viewer's attention to a certain area or point in artwork. If you become better at creating or choosing focal points, you will be able to create art that draws attention. And we all LOVE attention, don't we?

If you want to create the illusion of texture, there are certain mark making techniques you can use. Lines in a specific direction, stippling, shadow, smudging, etc. are good ways to create depth and a sense of what a surface feels like.

Some artists focus more on detail, others more on shadows. What you exaggerate is what your result will be like. Both can be good. Both can look professional, but they have a different effect.

As always, we start with the outline. Correct proportions form the basis of any drawing. Light lines are used so that mistakes can easily be covered up or undone. And, as usual, I check whether they are correct by putting the reference over it, just as a precaution that my visual interpretation isn't going to lead me to more problems down the road.

Since the hair is on the left side, and since I don't want to smudge the paper with my right hand, I'm starting with that: The hair.

Some people make faster progress than others. And some might need 100 years to get there.

As you continue with the hair when drawing such an image (assuming that you are... you are, aren't you?), it helps to see the highlights and dark areas by squinting your eyes. Also, it helps to make it look like hair if you care and dare to see the direction of the hair. That's all I wanted to share.

There is more hair to draw. The ear plays a big part of it too.

When you're putting shadows in the neck, remember to go into a different direction than the hair with your lines. This separates the two in the eyes of the beholder. They will then automatically make the connection that the neck is something other than hair.

Again, by squinting your eyes, you can find the highlights in the hair. Make sure you go around them a bit, and then you can add more lines later if the gap is too big.

Finally, the hair is almost done. We get to do draw the eyes. Remember, it is not just black and white. The eyes have some grey areas. The pupil and iris are really dark, which makes sense considering her ethnicity, but there is a bright light reflecting in her eyes. Draw around it and then close in on it, adding more dark until you have the correct shape.

The nose is not so much lines as it is shadows. This makes it challenging. Make sure you touch the paper very lightly. Don't press too hard. And then in the nostrils, you can press a little harder to make them dark. Small lines, light lines... work from light to dark.

The mouth is a little tricky. The teeth are showing but not much. The area in the mouth is fairly dark. The upper lip is a little darker than the bottom lip. And the areas around the mouth show some shadows.

The ballpoint pen can only go so light. In order to get some of those shadows in the face, the entire face needs to be darker. Otherwise, the contrast between the white and the shadows will be too stark. It will look like she has wrinkles or looks too old, or something like that. I'm using light lines and stippling techniques, and squinting my eyes (as always), to identify the shadow areas.

When you make everything a little darker, the dark areas stand out less. I don't need them to stand out too much, or they would look like wrinkles. Or the image would look too cartoonish. So, making everything a little darker, as we are putting in grey tones (but blue, with ballpoint) is what we're doing.

The neck area is a lot easier, because it is more forgiving. If you mess something up there, it won't change her whole appearance. Plus, the contrast is starker. So, it's easier to show that.

The hair needs to be really, really dark. And when you do that, the face will stand out. The contrast will work its magic.

In this video, we will reflect on some of the challenges you typically face with ballpoint pens.

Vincent from the Netherlands is going to try to draw with his left hand. The results are questionable at best.