The Supplies I Used to Create "Holding Hands"

">	15-Piece Drawing Set Merrill's Opinion: Faber-Castell makes the best drawing pencils. These pencils are mixed with graphite and clay and enhance an artists ability to create and layer dark tones. You will see me use this set in almost all of my videos.

Lyra Graphite Crayons Merrill's Opinion: Do you ever get TIRED of shading with a fine "tip" pencil? Get my "point"? This tool will save you time and money. Click "MORE" to see me use this product in a video-

Robert Simmons White Sable Brushes Merrill's Opinion: Robert Simmons brushes get better with age. These synthetic brushes collect particles of graphite as they are rubbed on a piece of paper. This enables me to softly move and blend tones. Most often I use the "Flat Size 10" brush but it helps to have a variety of sizes and shapes.

Loew-Cornell Blending Stumps Merrill's Opinion- INVALUBLE tools for blending! These will cost you LESS than a trip on the subway (Less than 2 dollars) and enhance your shading capacity substantially! I like Leow-Cornell because the stump is more compact and the tips do not wear as easily as other brands. I use these tools in almost every one of my videos.

Blick White Sulphite Drawing Paper Merrill's Opinion: Really, I DARE YOU, try to find a better value than this one! 500 sheets of 80LB (thick) drawing paper for $11.50. AMAZING DEAL!......If you use computer paper to create your drawings, you are ROBBING yourself from seeing what you can really do! This paper has more "tooth" (texture on the surface) than computer paper and your ability to shade will be enhanced.

0:31-The darkest part will be where the fingers bend down towards the bottom of the page. The light source comes from above.

0:41- The Paintbrush is GREAT for creating neutral tones on white paper......Think about it, if you draw on white paper, you are STARTING on one GIGANTIC HIGHLIGHT!

1:03- IMPORTANT- One way to make the lines GO AWAY is to darken the region next to it. Look at the area that my brush is working on now.

1:17 Fingernails DO NOT have dark lines around them...Look at your hands, YOU DO NOT have dark lines. If you DO have dark lines: 1.) Wash your hands with industrial strength antibacterial soap. 2.) Fabreze YO SELF 3.) See a Dermatologist- It would not be a "RASH" decision.

1:35- Notice the tonal (light and dark) differences between each of the fingernails.

2:17- Some Artists have great line quality in their drawings (I don't). But it is shading, NOT line quality which gives a drawing the three dimensional effect.

2:52- Yes, there are lines in between the fingers, but, notice the subtle differences in tone which happen; both to the line and the area around it (to round the fingers)

3:07- That is a 3B pencil that I am using.

4:12- Did you know that if our hands didn't move, we wouldn't have lines on them (I don't mean fingerprints). For instance, if someone is in a coma for four years (and doesn't move), when they wake up there will be less lines on their hand.

5:15- Notice that I do not hold the pencil at the tip. You get better control if you hold it further back. This will take a while to get used to.

5:41- I am only HINTING at the bone structure and musculature of the hand. As we get older, our skin thins, our muscle mass decreases and we can see the bones and what is left of the muscles more clearly. Younger hands need more blending and less variation of tone.

6:15- Now its starting to come together

6:33- At this point of the drawing, it is all about clarification (Strong, well placed highlights and shadows) and smoothness (use the brush and the eraser). Look at the subtleties of the bone structure. That was "sculpted" with 1.) cross hatching from the pencil tip 2.) smudging with the paintbrush 3.) the eraser..... Remember, this did not happen instantaneously. The tones were slowly developed.