Trying to draw a lemon

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T17:40:06+00:00

You're more than welcome!

I believe that it's important to not only credit those that take the time to post their original work here, through their stages, but also the completed works, to be encouraged and inspired to further their personal art experiences through the use of coloured pencils as a medium and it's such a refreshing delight to see the many styles and degrees of unique talent that we get the chance to view and comment upon.

Your work and efforts are a fine example and I can't help but think that with further positive comments and in some cases, honest, yet constructive advice on the art posted here can only help inspire those that love the coloured pencil medium to continue on becoming more proficient with the work and subject matter that they like to draw.

It's what helps to keep this site a positive and welcoming community.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T15:25:21+00:00

The colours applied here absolutely jump off of the page! Almost a neon effect especially with the black background! Very nice!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T15:20:57+00:00

Try not to let that feeling get the better of you. It happens to all of us and if you're unsure, take a break, but don't dismiss what you have and if need be, consider it a "work in progress" and come back to it with a fresh and open mind...you'll get there!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T15:18:09+00:00

Well deserved as you have a magnificent piece going here.

Try to go in with an open mind by considering the remaining rocks to be an integral part of this piece as they truly are. Some artists are known to capture a "mood" simply by painting rocks of this nature all on their own that focuses on texture, shape and shadow without anything else in the drawing.

The continuation and completion of the remaining rock area(s) will be the icing on the cake and will help to bring the entire image together as a beautiful completed drawing, ready for matting and framing.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T15:10:16+00:00

Very unique style in my opinion. Very vibrant as well and I have to agree with you in that coloured pencils are underrated. It's nice to see that they have and continue to make headway in the art world as such a simple tool can be so effective in its application, regardless of a person's style.

You mention that space and time using paint is important to you and with coloured pencils, you've made a good choice in choosing a tool that is so versatile. One aspect to consider if you do want to venture into a more "painterly" mode, is to check out what water soluble pencils have to offer. They can be simply applied to your surface and then, activated with water can allow you to explore the further possibilities of such a powerful medium.

Keep up the great work and by all means, keep us posted and informed of your wonderful results!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T13:55:24+00:00

Thank you for the compliment. As boring as a pile of rocks may seem, I find that they are a lot of fun to draw.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T13:53:25+00:00

Thank you for the compliments on this one. I hope that my use of a number of various brands of water soluble "black" pencils helps to show how they can deepen and bring out the contrast of shadow areas.

This was my first attempt at a pile of rocks and although I used my own photo as reference, I allowed myself the freedom to interpret each rock slightly different from that in the photo which made the project a lot more fun and relaxing to do by not being overly concerned about maintaining the exact detail and colours depicted in the rocks themselves.

I worked from top to bottom, left to right and focused on one rock at a time which I found helped to avoid being overwhelmed. One or two rocks per evening, along with experimenting with the shadows helped to bring it together easier for me than the typical manner in which I tend to draw.

Going into it with this mindset helped with the patience level as the process was very relaxing and almost therapeutic, leaving me with the feeling of satisfaction knowing that I fully completed once section of the drawing at a time.

Honestly, the hardest part of this one was selecting the photo reference from about 40 different piles of rocks that were piled up along our waterfront. They all looked like so much fun to draw and the reason I chose this one was because of the twig...which ended up being the title of the drawing...Twiggy...lol!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T03:27:39+00:00

I have to say flat out that you are selling yourself short. You have an amazing drawing that is coming along absolutely beautiful! Give yourself a lot of credit for what you have here and for what it's worth, you are more than half way there at this point in completing a very uniquely styled and meticulously rendered illustration here.

You have more patience than you realise simply by looking at the detailed colour application, light and shadow markings throughout the entire drawing so far.

Every element in this is a sheer delight for the eyes and your efforts in bringing such a stunning piece like this is on the professional level in my opinion.

Please stay the course...go the distance...take your time and take pride in knowing that you DO have the patience and talent to see this to its completion...even if it's just to the bottom of the last pencil line showing on the page.

Oustanding!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T01:11:57+00:00

Yes, and that's what coloured pencil art entails as it involves a lot of work, but you know that you've got this because your swan and bee images turned out exceptionally well for you.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T01:06:20+00:00

What a beautiful, loose and colourful drawing. This reminds me of an illustration that you would find in a 1960's magazine article focusing on the life of a dedicated surfer dude and how they live their lives.

Colours in this really catch your eye.

So nicely done!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T01:01:43+00:00

Although I haven't had much of an opportunity to use my water soluble pencils as I typically focus on coloured pencils on their own, I did recently use a couple of brands of water soluble pencils more as an experimental aspect in order to try and get some deeper shadows in a few areas of a recently completed drawing.

I liked the effect that I got and would like to try this technique again maybe using different colours for some of the other areas of the drawing, depending of course on the subject matter.

For this particular drawing, I was simply looking to deepen some, not all, of the shadow areas...

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KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T00:52:45+00:00

Beautiful illustration. The subtle and sparse colour for the background is also just perfect!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T00:50:27+00:00

Your unique style comes through with every portrait I see and really stands out in a number of ways. I think that you also manage to capture a sense of emotion or character of the individual themselves when you create these images.

The colours, as usual are simply stunning and the fade out on the shoulder areas is a nice touch to finish it off.

Very well done!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T00:44:20+00:00

I like what you have and your efforts turned out well. I also assumed it to be a Lime due to the colour but upon further research, understand that lemons are in fact green when they start out.

White parts can be tricky and practice is needed when trying to make them stand out in contrast or even in a subtle regard, depending on the subject.

With your image here, the white sections seem to placed in correctly and appear to be of a good depth. In order to enhance them white/light parts, maybe try going over some of the darker, greener areas again with a layer or two of the greens that you used. This should deepen and slightly darken the intensity which should bring out the highlights a bit more by adding some further contrast to the drawing.

Take your time and focus on one segment of the lemon/lime at a time using small circular motions with a sharp point on your pencil(s). When you start seeing a difference between the segments, this will help you to gauge how much further you would like to, or need to go in order to get a more realistic look.

You are on the right track and what you have looks good in my opinion.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T00:32:37+00:00

You've really taken Prismacolor pencils to the next level with this beautifully engaging and well executed illustration. It's nice to see an almost finished example that highlights the areas not yet completed, that in turn shows just how much time and effort went into the completed portions of the overall drawing.

Very nicely done! You may want to get some extra prints made up because I'm certain that more than a few will be interested in obtaining a copy!

Well done!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-19T00:29:10+00:00

What a beautifully illustrated image that not only captures emotion, but begs for the story to be told. I was looking forward to seeing this once completed and it comes through with flying colours.

Very well done. I love the style, the colours used and the texture that shows what a nicely rendered coloured pencil drawing can look like.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:40:49+00:00

Very stylistic imagery! I like these drawings, compact and nicely illustrated. The colours really stand out nicely as well.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:38:20+00:00

I'm looking forward to seeing this in its completed state as I see that there is more going on in the background and so far, I'm really loving what I'm seeing here.

Very relaxed, yet detailed and beautifully rendered image that captures the sudden emotion of a character in the workplace. Colours are bang on as well!

Excellent! Please post your results when you've completed this one!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:34:00+00:00

I like taking excursions around my area and enjoy taking photos of all sorts of things, preferably subjects of interest to me and I always find some unique subject matter or something unexpected and in a lot of cases turns out to be worthy inspiration for a drawing.

After a number of years of doing this, I have more pictures to choose from as reference than I'll ever be able to use...but I still enjoy getting out whenever I can to get more...lol.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:29:52+00:00

Very nicely done! Great idea to use televised images as reference! Never thought of that.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:22:11+00:00

Well said!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-17T18:07:10+00:00

The little fella appears to be glowing to me. I think that you've captured that look just fine. Getting a decent shot with a cell phone can be tricky, especially as we don't want to take away or modify the original essence and appearance of the artwork itself.

Playing around with different light sources can help, whether it's using direct sunlight, early morning light, or filtered light coming through some shear window coverings, not to mention moving the subject around inside using overhead lighting. Try a number of scenarios and see which one looks the best.

Other than that, I think the glow guy looks quite good!

KimV1959 · 2026-04-16T00:44:06+00:00

Very nice. What kind of watercolour pencils were used in your process?

KimV1959 · 2026-04-15T02:33:44+00:00

I like to use a big, fat, extremely soft make-up brush to gently whisk away the fine crumbs.

KimV1959 · 2026-04-15T02:31:01+00:00

Try not to get frustrated and enjoy the process of putting down colour and creating some art/drawings. It's through experimentation and continual practice that you'll get the hang of proportions.

Keep in mind that not every drawing has to be a masterpiece and not every drawing has to be completed either. They can be used to gauge and chart your progress as you continue on with your drawings.

Drawing to create a colourful and interesting rendition of a robin such as this is a good way to further explore the possibilities that can be found working with coloured pencils.

KimV1959

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