Page:Pencil Sketching from Nature.djvu/25

 part the beginner will err in putting in too much rather than in leaving out too much.

Once the contrasts have been determined upon, and the forms "felt round" by the pencil tracing imaginary lines, the draftsman should proceed to block in the masses (Figure 6). So sure should he be of his drawing that it should be possible for him to begin above and work downward, changing his pencil from time to time as a harder or a softer lead is needed, but never remodeling any form or hatching one tone over another. Anything like the erasure of lines is, of course, not to be thought of. Light must be left out and darks must be put in of their full depth at the first drawing. From the center of interest, where they are found the sharpest contrasts, he will proceed to the masses which lead out in grayer tones until they break into line and spot. This direct drawing will require the use of the intermediate and harder pencils. When it is finished, careful thought must be given to the placing of the deep blacks which lie in the softest lead. These should be added with a firm but sparing hand.

Such, in brief, is a description of the making of a sketch. To it may be added a few suggestions to guide the beginner. Texture should be sought in the pencil line. When one is drawing stone, one should think in terms of stone, and seek to have the pencil convey a sense of hardness and solidity (Figure 7). When one is drawing wood, one should think wood and feel the splintered roughness of the old plank or the gnarled and seamed surface of the tree trunk. Direction of the pencil stroke will help strengthen the structural idea. The upward stroke suggests growth and support, the horizontal stroke a flat plane as of the earth, or the even tiers of brick work or of stone. One should seek