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Old 01-05-2012, 09:03 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

mental4astro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,979
Groovy, Ivan. A lot happening there. Lovely details you've got.

Yep, charcoal is a very different beast. What I enjoy too is you don't need to totally smudge/blend the texture out, rather you can use the paper's texture to your advantage to give the sketch some lift.

You can also use a fixative to help control the "messiness". Hairspray is all that's needed, and far cheaper than the stuff sold in art stores. Much the same thing too. You need to learn how to spray it on too. Too much at once and you can lose a lot of your detail. You can spray as you go too if you like, but you'll need to let the thing dry for a couple of moments or you'll find the surface sticky.

No need to forget your graphite either. A good hard one like H6 is great for laying down faint outlines as you start to compose your sketch.
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