Figure Drawing Continued ...

I have been waiting for the sun to appear in order to have better lighting indoors, so that I could take a few photos of my drawing for this post.  Thus, it took me several days to take photos of the different stages of shading and finally complete the drawing.

I was becoming impatient but returning to my drawing provided me with a fresh eye and the opportunity to readjust if needed.  

I used my regular HB pencil to begin the contour drawing.  

The next stage was applying a layer of tone with my lightest pencil 4H, using diagonal lines and stopping the lines just at the space where a highlight supposed to be.  As you can see, even a simple layer of tone makes an impact.  I did end up finishing the shading of the head at the start.  For no particular reason. :)

Next, I used my 2B pencil to go over the areas in shadow.  Again I applied diagonal lines in the same direction (mostly) as before.  Also, adding the shadows on the floor helped keep the figure grounded.

The last stage was using my darkest pencil 6B to add another layer of dark only where needed.  For the background and the fabric, I added a minimal amount of shading to push them back and maintain the figure as the main area of interest.  

It is my preference to use lines for my tones.  Some use even tones such as blending.  I don't really like the look of "smudging".  But again, there is nothing wrong with it.  

I hope you find this post helpful.  Remember to keep it simple and enjoy the process!