Fundamental Graphite Techniques

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

Would you like to learn from Katie Lee yourself?

Katie Lee discusses the value of lines, the significance of tone, andher approach to drawing in a recording of her live presentation given on Tuesday November 9, 2010. This recording has been bundled with Katie's book. Customers purchasing this book wil receive instruction about how to view Katie's recording.