demonstration pebbles and stones When drawing pebbles and stones, think of them abstractly. Small pebbles are a series of tiny circular marks, and wall stonework is a puzzle of interlocking shapes. Follow along with these exercises and see for yourself how simple it can be!
M AT E R I A L S paper Stonehenge
pebble colors Cool Grey 50%, Slate Grey, Greyed Lavender, Sand, Peach, Black
stone colors French Grey 30%, Cool Grey 50%, Beige, Clay Rose, Cool Grey 70%
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CREATE THE LINE DRAWING With Cool Grey 50%, hold the pencil slightly on the side and create tiny, circular marks. Render them elliptically, not in complete circles. Allow the tones to vary from dark to light. There is no need to draw all the pebbles in the line drawing. Since pebbles are small and overlap one another, you must build them in layers.
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OVERLAP MORE PEBBLES Alternating all the colors from the list, create the same small, oval marks with the side of the pencil. Overlap the marks and the colors for variety, creating the illusion that they are placed on top of one another. Add realism by varying each pebble’s size.
SKETCH THE BASIC PATTERNS AND BURNISH THE UNDERTONE With a mechanical pencil, lightly sketch in the patterns of the stones that form the stone wall. They should interlock like pieces of a mosaic. Once the shape of each stone is drawn, burnish them with French Grey 30% to create the undertone.
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FINISH THE DRAWING Use a variety of gray tones and Black, with a touch of Peach and Sand, to layer color on each pebble. The colors of the pebbles should vary depending on the shadows. Notice how they are darker when closest to the pot, and more colorful when they are closest to the viewer.
LAYER THE TEXTURE AND COLOR Layer Beige and Clay Rose on top of the burnished gray undertone to create the texture and color of each stone. Vary the colors, creating no two stones alike. You may choose to make some darker by using various Cool Grey tones. For the mortar around the stones, apply Cool Grey 50% using a light touch. Outline the edges of each of the stones with Cool Grey 70%.
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FINISH THE DRAWING Continue building the colors in the different stones. Some should appear beige, others darker and gray. Continue adding color until you are happy with the texture and tone of each stone.
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