two-headed monster(From early drawing stage to the completed drawing. Black and white charcoal)
Here is the drawing at the earliest stage. I got carried away with my charcoal pencils. At this point, most of the paper is covered with charcoal. That is a good sign. The faces on the top left are nearly complete.There are some issues that need correction at this point. The "water vapor" from the monster's mouths appears to behave like ribbons... ugly cartoony ribbons. The skeleton on the right side is, well, a skeleton. The ribbons emanating from the skeleton are just too chaotic.
Now this is more like it! The skeleton is gone. Without the skeleton, it feels as the two related entities. With the skeleton, it felt as if two characters were glued by force to one another. After a dream, I decided that more faces needed to be on the top. Those little black figures sneaked in too. Yes. You, dear sketch, are nearing completion!
Here I focus harder as I add the details and textures. My 6B charcoal pencils have been substituted for 2B to add intricate details. I am still undecided for the vapor. I try two more styles. The charcoal is very forgiving when it comes to experimenting. The dark side of the monster is coming into existence very nice. The grey background is becoming featureless and consistent. Both of my hands are turning black and grey from blending.
My drawing is complete! I stand back and admire the finished textures and shades. My eye moves throughout the composition. No unfinished marks are to be found. The greys are as grey as they need to be. Smoky fuzzy glows are soft. Hard edges are nice and sharp. The off-white is as bright and cool as I imagined. Dark areas remain warm. This is one of my favorite characteristics of these drawings. I draw on an off-white paper that is slightly warm. As I add the white charcoal, it becomes cool. Black and white with temperature differences. It is time to wash my hands and sign the drawing.
