The Two-Pencil Method

INTRODUCTION

My Two-Pencil Method is exactly what it sounds like: an approach to drawing that relies on just two different types of pencils—an ordinary graphite pencil and a black colored pencil. The graphite pencil allows you to get a drawing started and to fine-tune shading. The black colored pencil allows you to dramatically heighten the contrast. Using these two humble drawing tools, you can create pictures as beautiful as any you’ve ever seen. That’s not a grand promise. It’s a simple truth. 

I’m going to bet that you’ve already got a serviceable writing pencil nearby. That means the black colored  pencil may be the only pencil that you need to go out and acquire. As of this writing, that pencil shouldn’t cost you much more than a dollar. Let’s say $1.39. There you have it—Mark Crilley’s idea of what the barrier to entry ought to be for an aspiring artist.

In the lessons ahead, you’ll see how I use the Two-Pencil Method to complete a wide variety of drawing projects. I’ll start with simple projects designed for the absolute novice, then move toward subjects that are a little more ambitious: landscapes, travel sketches, portraits, and the like. I’ll show you what and how each pencil contributes to each drawing, and take special care to indicate when you should bring in the black colored pencil to work its magic. If you are patient and complete every lesson in the book, I have no doubt you can master this approach and make it your own.

You’ll need some moxie and determination, for sure. Those, sadly, can’t be bought. But I’m sure that you have a little of both already.

Even the people who adore their art supplies can agree with me on at least one point: those fancy materials won’t do you a lot of good if they’re collecting dust in a drawer. Whether my Two-Pencil Method becomes your technique of choice or not, promise me that you’ll draw. Keep at it. Draw every day if you can. Draw like crazy. If you draw, and draw, and draw, until your two pencils have been worn down to two little stumps, you will make progress. You will hone your skills. And one day, you will become the artist you were always meant to be.
And that is something you won’t want to trade for all the money in the world.

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