Artist Kelli Swan - Her Creative Drawing Process for Montage Images

How to Draw - Questions About Pencil Drawing

I am often asked what kind of pencils I use. Selecting pencils for drawing is a matter of personal perfence of course, though I have written an artile on the subject on my blog: the best pencils to use for pencil drawing.

Another important aspect to creating a top quality pencil drawing is the paper. There are many types of drawing paper, and choosing the one right for you will be important in yielding the desired effects. See another of my blog posts on: How to Draw - Selecting Your Drawing Paper.

For more about my creative process, please check out the samples below!

A Brief Overview of Creating a Montage Pencil Drawing

1. Once the topic for my drawing has been chosen, I proceed to create several sketches as studies of the subect(s). From these studies, I develop a line drawing that will be the basis of my final rendering. Design is everything here, as what makes a montage drawing a success is how the individual elements work together as a group. The drawing is then sketched onto acid-free drawing paper using an HB pencil.
2. After the line drawing is in place, the detail rendering begins on any lighter or background areas. These scenes are intended to fall back in value from the primary scene and therefore are rendered with the H and HB pencil leads.
3. Rendering of the primary image area now begins. Values of light and dark areas are relatively conservative at this point as it is important to monitor contrast between various subject matter. I am still using an HB pencil at this stage of drawing. The B pencil may come into play for a few shadow areas however.
4. As the piece develops, overall comparisons of grayscale values can be made. This is where important decisions are made as to how to get the group to behave as a whole. The detail areas and light/dark values are finalized. 2B-9B pencils are used for very dark values. Occasionally, a kneaded eraser is used to lift out lighter areas. Once finished, I set the drawing aside for several days and then re-evaluate the overall appearance before spraying the drawing with a fixative spray for permanency.