Chances are I will begin posting some of my work here and you can judge for yourself whether I have any business giving out advice but for the time being all I can do is pass on the techniques I have learned so far. One of the very most important things to include in any drawing is absolute black and absolute white. These two create the contrast that will dominate your piece. Its very important to take these two colors to their limits because the variations in tone is what determines how realistic your drawing will look. If you have a deep, deep black and an extremely light white then you have a lot more room for other shades in between. Inversely, if your black and white are both shades of gray then you don't have the necessary range. You might be thinking this makes sense but my reference don't have a dark black and bright white, well, if at all possible take it into photoshop and alter the levels to give the coloring you need. If you don't have access to photoshop then use your artistic license and take your drawing in a slightly different direction than your reference. The multiple levels of shading will benefit you most by providing a smooth transition from one level to another. If your drawing's changes in shading are very jumpy and jagged then it will not look as nice as another where the changes are gradual. Even where it seems the change is rapid, like when drawing veins, if you blend the values into each other it will look much better.

Great advice DHS. Highlights or darks only exist because of the contrast next to them.

In photorealism, the believability of the technique depends on very close observation and accurate rendering of what you see.

One of the best ways to acheive this is through negative drawing. I recently completed a drawing using this technique under the guidance of Mke Sibley. You establish the deepest tones first,then work towards your lightest,to allow yourself to adjust the tones and determine the focal points of your drawing. I've added an image of a partially completed drawing to show what I mean.

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that is a fantastic drawing jeanette

Thanks David, I'm glad you like it. Its the first of a series called 'Weeds' which I have turned into limited edition prints. The second image is about 1/3 complete right now. I must say that I enjoy the process of completing fine detail in this series.

Islander, first off thank you for the compliment, the proportions in your drawing are right on. Did you grid your paper off then put down you reference? Your drawing is coming along nicely, make sure you have black and pure white not only in your background but in the foreground as well. This will help produce a sense of 3-dimensionality. Please post another picture when you are done.

This is very nice work Islander. I sifted through that same class blog that you participated in. Mike Sibley is an amazing graphist and his work is simply astounding. His renditions of plants and grass in general simply blows my mind. He makes it all seem so simple.

Eric

Thanks DHS. YEs, that seems to be the trick to get the darkest values in then leave the white til last so you can adjust it accordingly. The technique works very well. No, I didn't grid it, its freehand. I tend not to grid unless I'm doing something where I need specific accuracy. I had a reference image but allowed it to be a guide only and let my pencil take me where it felt right to go.

I've completed that drawing and will post it when I dig it out - I had it professionally scanned when I had the prints done and its on cd that isn't near me right now.

Thank you Eric. Isn't Mike Sibley's work simply amazing? He's a wizard with the pencils. I was very lucky to have his guidance in this drawing. He taught me a lot about the process of negative drawing.

Here's another work in progess using the same technique. The scan isn't wonderful unfortunately. I hope to do a series of field, garden and wild vegetation.

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DHS... Yes I do agree that you need both pure black, and pure white to create true photo-realism (and beyond), but equally important IMO is to incorporate all the values of a complete value scale in the rendering. That to me is truely the key....all of them, in their place. I have seen too many done with white whites and dark enough darks, but no real concept of mid-tones, and subtle mid-tone shifts...which can ruin the piece. Good comments!

Now this is what I call drawing, the detail is stunning - and so accurate! You certainly are extremely talented IslanderNL.
Sylvia