My two cents @cheryl , you should look for oil based or wax based ones if you want to be able to layer, mixing, blending etc….Myself tried cheap ones but was very disappointed. So I went for Polychromos 36 set. So far so good. I’m doing the avocado 🥑 tutorial drawing and have enough of them to complete it.

Great question, Cheryl! 😊 A set of 60 Polychromos pencils is more than enough for almost every project. I always recommend investing in better quality over a larger number of lower quality pencils. You can always add individual colors later as your collection grows. Your Marco Raffine pencils are a great place to start, so there’s no rush…

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Very creative Cheryl. Your bubbles look so real and eye catching. Great color blending.🎶

Looks very great. Didn’t know neither that you could use color pencils on black. Tried once on grey and had a hell of a time. So I thought white charcoal is the way to go on black cardboard. Very nice. 👏

Very nice! I love it. I should try drawing one again—I did one some time ago. You always inspire me with the drawing tutorials you choose. In the meantime, my lantern drawing is driving me crazy. Maybe I should take a break. 😄

Can’t really help you @cheryl . I tried once gray toned paper from Clairefontaine 180gsm to color pencil draw a fried egg and turn out that I couldn’t handle the paper with standard colored pencils. Didn’t have the polychromos. Couldn’t build layers. Somebody here on the forum even suggested me to use POSCA pencils ( Acrylic) for more…

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Hi Cheryl 😊
Great questions! You can absolutely create beautiful graphite drawings on plain white paper, so don’t feel like you need toned paper to achieve realistic results. Toned paper is simply another option and is often used when artists want to work with both dark and white media. Between the two Neenah papers, I would choose the… Read more

Well done. I don’t know when i will get to this project, but it makes me nervous and excited at the same time. It looks real. I don’t know the reference pic, so i don’t know whether the difference in eye shading is on the reference, but as a complete novice that is the only part of the pic I was wondering about. Well done 👏🏼 I hope I will be…

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Cheryl, congratulations on finishing the entire course! 🎉😊
Looking through your progress photos is honestly one of my favorite parts. It’s amazing to see how the portrait gradually came to life, layer by layer. The final result is something you should be very proud of. The eyes are especially striking, and the values throughout the face create… Read more

Cheryl, this is exactly why I always encourage students to keep their old drawings.
The improvement over 85 days is very noticeable. The newer eye has cleaner values, better eyelash placement, stronger contrast, and a much more realistic iris. Even the overall form feels more confident and controlled.
It’s easy to miss our own progress when… Read more

Deze heb je super gedaan!👍🏼

@cheryl I love your drawing. You’re right it is something that is sometimes overlooked, the cost of drawig materials. Pencils, drawing paper, stumps, blenders, erasers,….. They aren’t cheap neither in my country and if you want branded ones you have to pay for it. I can”t always afford it to be honnest being on dissability income.… Read more

Hi Cheryl, your drawing is very very good. I do believe stronger values in contrast would really make your drawing stand out and shine.👍

Cheryl, I think you’re being a little harder on yourself than this drawing deserves. 😊
This is a very challenging still life because every object brings a different texture and set of problems to solve. Looking at the finished piece, I can clearly see the progress you’ve made throughout the course. The guitar, vase, flowers, butterfly, fruit,… Read more

Hi Cheryl, your tennis balls look great.The texture you gave them looks like real tennis balls. I think if you used a stump on the shadows it would make the texture disappear and make them a smooth shadow.👍