ArtPlantae Today

The moment you open Fundamental Graphite Techniques by Katie Lee, you know you are holding something different in your hands. Something you’ve never seen before. Something you know you need.

Whether you view a graphite pencil as a mere stepping stone to a watercolor painting or you view a graphite pencil as the specialized tool of your preferred medium, by the time you finish this book, you will have fresh new insight into what can be accomplished with a simple pencil.

Katie leads artists carefully through thirty-three exercises. Each exercise is presented as a worksheet. Katie provides detailed instruction, helpful visual aids, and encouragement every step of the way. Through very patient instruction, Katie instructs artists how to think about their subject, how to see their subject, and emphasizes the importance of using both written words and illustrations during the preliminary stages of a drawing. Without much effort, Katie demonstrates how simple geometric shapes are really simplified natural forms. She makes it easy for artists to see how cones can be flower buds and apical meristems; how cylinders can be petioles, pedicels, branches, and stems; how spheres can be fruit; how cubes can be square stems; and how multiple cylinders, when viewed above and below eye level, can serve as the foundation for florets in an inflorescence.

What will you be able to do upon completing the exercises in this book?

• Worksheet 1 – Draw lines
• Worksheet 2 – Draw outlines & contour lines
• Worksheet 3 – Create expressive lines
• Worksheet 4 – Create continuous tone
• Worksheet 5 – Create value scales in continuous tone
• Worksheet 6 – Create hatched tone
• Worksheet 7 – Create value scales in hatched tone
• Worksheet 8 – Create continuous tone on a cylinder
• Worksheet 9 – Create continuous tone on multiple cylinders
• Worksheet 10 – Create continuous tone on cylinders both above and below eye level
• Worksheet 11 – Create continuous tone on a sphere
• Worksheet 12 – Create continuous tone on multiple spheres
• Worksheet 13 – Create continuous tone on a cone
• Worksheet 14 – Create continuous tone on multiple cones
• Worksheet 15 – Create three-dimensional cubes
• Worksheet 16 – Render convex and concave surfaces on a single subject
• Worksheet 17 – Create continuous tone on a subject composed of connected surface areas
• Worksheet 18 – Use line to create surface contours
• Worksheet 19 – Create convex and concave contour lines
• Worksheet 20 – Draw a sphere using contour lines
• Worksheet 21 – Draw folds
• Worksheet 22 – Draw the twisting/folding features of plants
• Worksheet 23 – Draw the twisting and graceful features of grass
• Worksheet 24 – Draw a pumpkin
• Worksheet 25 – Draw a raspberry
• Worksheet 26 – Draw grapes
• Worksheet 27 – Draw a pinto bean and its pigment pattern
• Worksheet 28 – Sketch using different sketching techniques
• Worksheet 29 – Measure a specimen with your eye
• Worksheet 30 – Create a line drawing of a folded leaf
• Worksheet 31 – Draw a stem with leaves
• Worksheet 32 – Draw a head of garlic and its roots
• Worksheet 33 – Draw a flower

Order Fundamental Graphite Techniques from Katie Lee at www.katieleeartist.com.

Updated November 2013

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