Silverpoint

Flat tone and the smooth gradient

An even field of tone compared with a streaky one, with the stroke pattern that produces eachWRONG · ROWS AND HARD STOPSRIGHT · OVERLAPPED, FEATHEREDrows with gaps, pencil stopsdeadfeathered ends, each passoverlaps the last by halfLift the pencil as it leaves the paper, like a plane taking off. Hard stops make dark ends.
FigureAn even field of tone
FoundationLine + Mass

Flat tone and the smooth gradient

A square that looks like grey paper, and a ramp built from layers

Lay an even field of tone with no rows or dark stroke-ends, then build a gradient from stacked flat layers.

Difficulty
Time
about 0.5 h
You draw with
2B, 4B
An even field of toneA smooth gradientLayering, not pressure

Why this one

  • Unit 1 of the program: Instrument Control.
  • A square you would believe was grey paper.
  • A gradient with no bands when squinted.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood 2B, 4B 2B, 4B for the darks. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
  2. 2Kneaded eraser and the Mono Zero press-and-lift corrections only; the Mono Zero for a single sharp light.
  3. 3Alpha sketchbook 9 x 6 draw at the book's size and keep the proportions; date the page.
In general, this study asks for
  • Drawing pad
  • 2B, 4B

Watch first

All videos →

All six mark families in one sitting.

YouTube
Cross-hatching drawing techniques: pen, ink, pencilArt Prof · Cross-hatching taught as a value system, which is how the etchers used it.Line quality: cross-hatchingLZM Studio · On the quality of each individual line inside a hatch, which is what separates Meryon from a beginner.

The plan

5 stages · ~45 min
  1. 1

    The two-inch square

    10 min

    Draw a two-inch square lightly with the 2H. Fill it with the 2B on its side: strokes that overlap by half, pencil lifting off at the end of each stroke like a plane taking off. Cover the whole square in one direction. Then a second layer at a different angle. Squint. If rows show, a third layer at a third angle. Aim for a square that could be a piece of grey paper glued on.

    An even field of tone compared with a streaky one, with the stroke pattern that produces eachWRONG · ROWS AND HARD STOPSRIGHT · OVERLAPPED, FEATHEREDrows with gaps, pencil stopsdeadfeathered ends, each passoverlaps the last by halfLift the pencil as it leaves the paper, like a plane taking off. Hard stops make dark ends.
    FigureOverlap by half, feather the ends, change direction.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Bigger, then with edges

    10 min

    A four-inch square the same way. Then a square with a hard edge on the left (tone goes right up to the line) and a soft edge on the right (tone fades out over half an inch). You will need both kinds of edge in every landscape.

    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    The layered gradient

    10 min

    A band two inches tall and eight long. Layer one, light 2B, covers all of it. Layer two starts a quarter of the way along. Layer three starts halfway. Layer four, 4B, covers the last quarter. Each layer in a different direction. Squint: a smooth ramp with no bands. This is how skies, cast shadows and every turning form are made.

    A smooth gradient built from overlapping circular scumble layers, compared with a streaky gradient made from single-direction strokesWRONG · BANDED, ONE DIRECTIONRIGHT · LAYERED, EACH PASS STARTS LATERlayer 1 covers all, layer 2 starts later, layer 3 later still...Change stroke direction between layers and the bands vanish. Blend with a stump only at the very end, if atall.
    FigureFour flat layers that start at different places.
    Checklist0 / 1
  4. 4

    Look at a master gradient

    10 min

    Piranesi's Pyramid of Cestius is one enormous gradient with texture laid on top of it. Follow the face of the pyramid from its lit edge into shadow and notice there is no band anywhere.

    The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Views of Rome, Piranesi, 1750/59, published 1800–07
    Art Institute of Chicago

    Piranesi, The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, from Views of Rome, 1750/59, published 1800–07. Etching on heavy ivory laid paper.

    Piranesi, The Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. One plane, one gradient, no bands.

    The Art Institute of Chicago · The Charles Deering Collection

    Checklist0 / 1
  5. 5

    Self-check

    5 min

    Tick each item honestly. If one is a no, the session is not finished; go back to that step.

    Checklist0 / 3

What it should look like

  • A square you would believe was grey paper.
  • A gradient with no bands when squinted.

Where it goes wrong

  • A dark line at the end of every stroke. The pencil stopped dead on the paper. Lift as you finish. Practise the take-off on scrap.
  • The gradient has four visible steps. Layers too dark and too sharply started. Lighter layers, and feather the start of each one over an inch.

Log this session

Start the clock when you pick up the pencil. Stop it when you put it down. Log it. Every session counts toward the box.

00:00of ~30 min

Status

How did it go?

Up nextThe nine-step scale, properly