A Daisy in Graphite

Completed: September 8, 2013
Time Spent: ?
Materials: Different pencil grades, tortillons, regular eraser, kneaded eraser,
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in

Brown Hawk

I used a workable fixative on a colored drawing for the first time with this one. It was interesting to see how it darkens the colors, and I was actually surprised to discover that the dark brown colors almost got lost in the black background. The feathers on the back of the hawk's head was quite bright before I applied the fixative. They became dull and flat with the fixative. However, I was able to make corrections as well, which was a lifesaver.

I'm quite unmethodical when applying colors. By that I mean, I don't think about how colors blend or how they affect each other when they're side by side. I just try to match, as much as possible, the colors I see on my reference image with the color pencils I have available to me.

At this stage, I just draw what I see. That is to say, there is no method in my madness, just intuition and desire to complete a drawing.

Completed: 26 July 2013
Time Spent: 8 hours
Materials: Blick Studio color pencils, regular eraser, Krylon workable fixative
Paper: Strathmore 400 black drawing paper, 9x12

NatGeo Turtle

I started this drawing in October 2012. This one took almost nine months from start to completion. It proved to be a huge challenge for me. I'd be lying if I said I had a lot of fun working on it, because I often felt overwhelmed and frustrated. I really didn't know what I was doing. I could draw shapes. Shading, I could figure out, although I did struggle with it a lot. It was figuring out how to draw the different textures that really kicked my ass, so much so that I had to walk away from the drawing so many times—sometimes for weeks at a time.

Of course, all the frustration and fear (yes, fear) was all worth it when I finally completed the drawing. I'm quite happy about how the turtle turned out. It's perfect in my eyes. :) I did my best with the seaweeds and the seafloor, and I know they could be done a lot better, but that's the whole point, isn't it? Take a challenge, not to achieve perfection, but to see how far you can go and where you need to improve on.

Nota bene:
Although shading is also still a weakness, I was able to cope with it relatively well. I knew I still had a long way to go in terms of seeing the interplay of light and shadow and rendering that on paper, so trying to get that right on this drawing was an enjoyable learning process for me.

Completed: 7 July 2013
Time Spent: Not sure. Lots of hours.
Materials: Different pencil grades, tortillons, regular eraser, kneaded eraser, workable fixative
Paper: Strathmore 300 Series Drawing Paper, 18in x 24in

Butterfly Doodle

Completed: 20 November 2012
Time Spent: 3 hours
Materials: Artist's Loft and Crayola color pencils
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in

Major Kusanagi Doodle

Completed: 18 November 2012
Time Spent: 2 hours
Materials: Artist's Loft and Crayola color pencils
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in

Black Rose

My success with the cat drawing and having another image to draw at the ready encouraged me to work on another drawing right away. I was quite happy how this turned out as well. I didn't realize that I drew the fingers much longer than they should be, but I thought it's a lucky mistake. Considering the black rose, a skeletal hand seemed apropos.

Completed: 22 October 2012
Time Spent: 6+ hours
Materials: Artist's Loft and Crayola color pencils
Paper: Strathmore 400 black drawing paper, 9x12

Curious Cat

This is one of my favorite drawings. It's the only drawing that I've done with genuine excitement and focus. I drew the cat as I saw it on paper, and I'm really happy how it turned out. 

Dare I say, I think it looks more adorable than the original!

I'm not really sure how long I worked on this drawing, but I think three hours is an accurate guess. An experienced artist would've completed this drawing in five minutes, but this is just my second drawing with color pencils.

Completed: 21 October 2012
Time Spent: 3 hours
Materials: Artist's Loft and Crayola color pencils
Paper: Strathmore 400 black drawing paper, 9x12

Pink Lotus

This is my first colored drawing.

I wanted very much to draw in color after seeing so many beautiful photos with vibrant colors. I became even more eager after looking at exquisite artworks in color pencils and pastels. Who wouldn't be, right? 

I chose a photo that I thought was beautiful but also doable. There were clear lines I could follow, and the number of colors were minimal. 

I worked on this piece with attention to detail and a careful attempt at reproducing the colors accurately as much as possible. However, typical of my work at this stage, I was more interested in finishing it and seeing the result of my efforts than using the exercise to learn techniques and applying what I learned from my readings. 

I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I do continue to read books on art and drawing tutorials online. I also watch video demos and tutorials. At this point, however, I'm a lot more interested in exploring what I can do and how far I can go with whatever natural talent I have for art. I know I need to get that out of my system first before I will be ready for a more disciplined learning. 

Completed: 19 October 2012
Time Spent: 12+ hours
Paper: Canson Bristol, 11in x 14in
Materials: Artist's Loft and Crayola color pencils, rubber eraser, tortillons, ruler


Reference Image:

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My Smurf

I started working on this before the Smiling Korean Girl drawing. This is the final version. I first "released" the version below.

Completed: 30 July 2012
Time Spent: 6 hours
Paper: Strathmore 300 Series Drawing Paper, 18in x 24in
Materials: Different pencil grades, vine charcoal, tortillons, regular eraser,
kneaded eraser

Pretty Korean Smile

This was a huge challenge for me. I'd be lying if I told you I had a lot of fun with it, especially because I never attempted to draw a human face before. However, I loved the original work so much, I just couldn't resist trying my hand at copying it. I'm glad I didn't give up on it.  It's one of my favorite pieces now.

Completed: 7 July 2012
Time Spent: 20+ hours
Paper: Strathmore 300 Series Drawing Paper, 18in x 24in
Materials: Different pencil grades, tortillons, regular eraser, kneaded eraser,

First Flower Drawing

This was my first attempt at drawing from a photograph. The flower is beautiful and it had clear lines that I could follow. Through this exercise, I discovered how useful tortillons could be in making light, subtle shades.

Completed: 2 July 2012
Time Spent: 8+ hours
Paper: Multipurpose paper, 8.5in x 11in
Materials: Different pencil grades, pink eraser, tortillons

Lion Fish

I apologize for all the pencil smudges on the page. I debated for a momemt if I should remove them digitally and decided it's better to leave it as it is. This is a record of my progress after all.

I loved the drawing when I first saw it on Facebook, and I was excited to try drawing it. The experience was both fun and frustrating at the same time. Using grids to help me draw the outline, I was excited to see the fish take form without a lot of mistakes. However, the shading process was a different story. I struggled with it quite a bit. I think I erased the stripes in different spots a few times. I realized too late that the stripes weren't random. It was a good lesson about paying attention to details.

Needless to say, I was quite happy to learn my lesson and felt proud that I did it!

Completed: 17 June 2012
Time Spent: 15+ hours
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in
Materials: Different pencil grades, regular eraser

Harajuku Girl

This is a tag from a cute Harajuku purse that my sister gave me. The characters looked like fun to draw, so I did and this is my mix 'n' match version. It took me forever to shade the hair. I remember wishing I made a smaller drawing. Talk about big hair!

Completed: 12 November 2011
Time Spent: 6+ hours
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in
Materials: Pencils, regular eraser

My Aladdin Insulated Tumbler

After my self-portrait exercise fiasco, I was determined to test my skills without the time pressure. It took forever, but I managed to produce a drawing that I'm quite proud of this time. Not bad for a first attempt at freehand drawing in ages.

Working on this drawing allowed me to try and discover the different grades of lead pencils.

Completed: 11 Nov 2011
Time Spent: 8+ hours
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in
Materials: 8H, 9H, HB, 2B pencils, pink eraser

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First Self-Portrait

This is my first attempt at drawing my self-portrait. I know. I know. It's pretty scary. If I remember correctly, it's the first exercise in Betty Edwards's very popular book, Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain. The exercise is meant as a record of our current skills and to be used as a measure of our progress over time.

I have a mixed feeling about this drawing. It doesn't excite me, because I could've done better; but I'm also kinda proud of it, because I know I have improved much since I drew it. However, I'm steering clear from portraits for now. Yikes.

Lesson learned: Don't doubt yourself. I started this drawing already fully convinced that I would fail. Not good.

Completed: 5 Nov 2011
Time Spent: 20 minutes
Paper: Strathmore recycled sketch paper, 9in x 12in
Materials: 2H Pencil, pink eraser

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