New Sketch for Charcoal Drawing

Today was the first day back for this quarter in my charcoal drawing class. My teacher gave me a new photo that she wanted me to draw. It looks too detailed for me to draw but one of my classmates told me that I would just have to take my time. My teacher said that I would not be able to finish the drawing in one or two class meetings which has been my practice.

I am still in the process of sketching the African woman with lots of beads and decorations around her neck. I was told not to get into shading as long as I was still using the graphite pencil.

I told my teacher that I might be satisfied with just a pencil drawing and she just smiled. I knew that meant that I would still have to ultimately use the charcoal pencils to complete the drawing.

Here is part of my process. I started off sketching the overall shape of the head, and then started adding some of the jewelry around her neck.

I was getting caught up in the jewelry when my teacher told me to work on her face. I did as I was instructed to do and before I knew it, the class was over. I'll have to wait until next week to continue because I want my teacher's feedback as I draw. If I make a big mistake while drawing on my own, then she'll make me correct it when I get back to class. I prefer to reach a point where it doesn't matter because I have all of the large areas done before I strike out on my own.

Enjoy your day.