Your first marks: lines, loops and pressure
Holding the pencil loosely, then pressing harder and softer until one pencil gives you six greys.
9 minArchive
All videos
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WatchA value scale in five boxes
From white paper to the darkest 6B, in five even steps, and why it matters for every drawing after.
11 min
WatchShading a sphere by the window
One orange, one window and the five values: light, half-tone, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow.
21 min
WatchDrawing outside: a five-minute sketch
A small sketch on a walk, with the pencil, the eraser and the sketchbook in a jacket pocket.
12 min
WatchA fern frond in fineliner
Drawing a frond from the stem out, one pair of leaves at a time, without a pencil first.
18 min- Watch
Hatching and cross-hatching
Lines close together for a mid-tone, lines across them for a dark one, all with one fineliner.
14 min 
WatchInk wash with a water brush
Three greys from one bottle of ink, and how to lay them down without a muddy edge.
16 min
WatchA tree root study in pencil and ink
Roots by the stream, blocked in with a 2B, darkened with a 6B, then lined and washed with ink.
24 min
WatchA tangle of roots from memory
Drawing the roots from last week again without looking, then checking the study for what I missed.
15 min
Newsletter
Sunday Sketchbook
A short letter every Sunday: this week's lesson, the one thing in the kit it needs, and a drawing to try before next week.