Course project

Hyperrealistic Graphite Back Study

by Jono Dry @jonodry

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Introduction

I had so much fun creating this project for my Hyperrealism with Graphite Pencil Domestika course. My journey with drawing has helped me develop a life enriching practice that focus's my mind in a meaningful way. This practice has allowed me to navigate challenges around anxiety, depression, ADHD and impostor syndrome. The subject matter that I chose for this piece reflects that, and I hope that this course helps others to use their creative practice and interests for their own personal development, too.

Supplies

In this course, I used a variety of traditional and modern drawing techniques, thought-tools for conceptualising, and digital creative tools, such as:

- Different approaches to manipulating graphite and other drawing tools - to achieve the fine and nuanced details required for hyperrealistic graphite drawing, my toolbox is filled with a range of different types of pencils, erasers, brushes, and other less traditional items.

- Photography and photo-editing techniques and tools, such as Photoshop and Procreate - these technological tools enable more creative control with reference images: photographing the individual elements and then using Photoshop to composite them together into a coherent concept that I was excited to draw.

- Watercolour paper - it took me years to find the perfect paper for my artistic practice, and many people are surprised that it's a paper not officially designed for graphite work at all. Now, it's the only kind I use and it plays a fundamental role in achieving the values of graphite we explore in this course.

- Time, patience, and a sense of humour - hyperrealistic graphite work takes a lot of time and patience to capture the intricate details that really bring a piece to life. My large-scale drawings can take up to 200 hours from start to finish, so I've learned to approach each piece with a sense of patience. Sometimes, the idea of "less is more" is appropriate, though - you might find that you add too much detail, which can make a work feel stilted - so it's important to take a step back every now then and decide when to leave a section up to the imagination of the viewer. Don't worry, I cover this delicate balancing act in my course!