How to get DARK backgrounds with pencil

[@jaysonphillips7946]

In the US, that product is drywall sanding screen . It was designed to smooth gypsum plaster .

[@lesliebirke1710]

jayson phillips Our local art store sells a set that has a screen with a box to collect the powder for grinding charcoal. After this video came out they started selling out🙂.

[@joyceauteri144]

Thanks for that, Jayson.

[@LeyLey41]

awesome! I had found the screen too. Might you know the grade or grit that would be perfect for this process as I wouldn't want something too rough?

[@jcatalan1496]

What grit is it?

[@jaysonphillips7946]

@@jcatalan1496 usually 80, 120 & 220 grit (coarse, medium, fine)

[@peggytoes99]

Am 61 y/o and am an artist and cannot wait to give your techniques a try! Thanks for sharing knowledge and techniques ... it is very much appreciate!

[@cmralph...]

The sandpaper with holes in it is a sanding screen commonly used in dry wall work and available in most hardware stores and online . What Jono calls "Cotton wool" is actually just cotton fiber - ie cotton balls you can find in most stores or online. Hope that helps.

[@101curlywurly]

Yep, it's just cotton wool, as in cotton wool balls. That's what's it's called in UK.

[@kathleenstoin671]

​@101curlywurly So...is it cotton or wool?

[@lastdays9163]

Keep up the videos, they are so helpful and inspiring. I'm moving into large formate drawing can you talk more about your process and approach to starting a large format drawing. Also, talk about your table. Do you always draw flat over the table? Do you ever use easels for large format? Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really love your work.

[@FireAngelOfLondon]

That stuff is known as cotton wool through most of the English speaking world. Thanks to you I have tried it and yes, it really can help to get smooth, dark, even tones.

[@nkosipapa1105]

The best Artist in my country 🇿🇦, u inspired me to push myself to be a great Artist . Keep on doing your drawing u really good man.

[@Kairav09]

Proud to be South African

[@amitkumarmahato8352]

The fact that he holds on to his pencil in each of his video, shows how much he loves his pencils.

[@JamieBoots]

Great video. Just found a really easy way to make the powder by putting a block in a plastic bag and then breaking it into smaller chunks with a hammer, then put it in a pepper grinder and this works well. Did the same thing using a Nutribullet and again produced a very fine powder. Both ways are quick plus no mess. Thanks again for the video😊

[@JonoDry]

Great tip!

[@yos8778]

Can't tell you how much inspiration you give, We would love to hear you talk about, 1) If you accidentally did something very dark, how do you get it back to white? 2) How do you make proportions in such size, 3) Where do you find such good pictures, 4) Why are you covering your face? 5) What is this spray and whether it is not scary to spray on the work,

[@justwondering22]

Jono takes his own reference photos -- he's talked about this before.

[@imotogin]

Which spray?

[@yos8778]

In his previous videos, you see him spraying the work after he finishes,

[@imotogin]

@@yos8778 I didn't catch it, no, but I had thought he had to use some kind of fixative, it's probably that.

[@isaacshingange3733]

Peter Stein 4. So as not to breathe in dust

[@MilliePat]

In the USA we have cotton shaped into small balls, squares, small tubes and sheets. I believe the cotton wool is sold in the USA as unbleached or bleached cotton. The medical (sterilized) cotton and sewing cotton can be purchased in a sheet that is usually packaged rolled up. The cotton comes from the cotton plant, not from a sheep or goat hair.

[@wretched_moon7162]

I was trying to find out where you're from for so long from your accent and it makes me so happy to find out that you're from SA

[@Joe-em2pg]

San Andreas?

[@wretched_moon7162]

@@Joe-em2pg South Africa

[@gertcloete8156]

Awe , fellow South African 😂💪

[@terryghinya]

Remember when I found out I was like whoa, someone this great is this close to me :0

[@SolaGratia.]

I was wondering the same thing! My last boyfriend grew up in England and SA, so I spotted the accent but couldn't be sure. It's really a lovely lilt they have there.

[@sebastiancarter9322]

I've been experimenting with trying to create that dark background ever since you touched on it in your last video, so this video is extremely helpful. Thank you!

[@RobynBArtist]

Thank you for sharing this! I've always wanted to know how you did it!! Great job love your work!

[@nitinpanchal8710]

Sir i am your biggest fan...i am watch your all videos. ..and lerning.........and improving my...sketching. ...

[@ns04402]

Nitin Panchal Too late, i'm his biggest fan.

[@nitinpanchal8710]

Iam watching ur artwork and I am impressed. ..please.teach me how to make realistic sketch? i am trying but can not do that..

[@ns04402]

Nitin Panchal Thank you! But it's all about practicing... Training the skill and training your eye: Being able to see different shades correctly. But don't go into the details too much too quickly. First get the proportions right. That'll make your drawing look more realistic

[@nitinpanchal8710]

@@ns04402 thanks😊

[@qamacenarts]

and here comes me...... jabra fan

[@FineArtTips]

Your drawings are amazing Jono and your tips are so helpful. Thank you so much, I look forward to the next one!

[@jacob_h_pggj5794]

As a high school art student your art helps me a lot right now with inspiration and techniques. Keep up with the videos if you enjoy making them!

[@ajgreen9614]

Your advice changed the quality of my art forever, thank you.

[@justwondering22]

Since drawing with the 9B doesn't get the same darkness as rubbing in the shavings, can you share how you get those deep blacks within the figures? Inspired and grateful from California!

[@sarthakshetty4260]

He sprinkles some powder and uses small used cotton ....best way is the watch certain of this timelapse in 0.25x I'll get to k

[@mrschanandlerbong787]

i use a powder puff instead of cotton wool, its easier to use coz it comes with handle thing, doesn't leave any remnant thread and can be washed and reused. its actually made to blend makeup so kinda works perfectly.

[@-davidolivares]

Gonna have to dip into my masculinity security pot and get my powder puff soon and try it, I think I’m an autumn, thx! Can you buy it separately?

[@YTuseraL2694]

I've never had the opportunity to work on some popular brands of paper (Arches, Fabriano, Strathmore etc), just some ordinary which I buy in nearby bookstore. Therefore quality is probably worse, so how I do my dark background, is that I usually first take 8B or 9B pencil and cover the entire surface with graphite. I do it very relaxed, trying to push it as easy as possible. Then I blend it with cotton wool but more often with dry sponge because I'm chronically impatient. After that paper gets grey color. Then I use a tiny bit of black pigment (which is usually used for making oil paint but for other things also). It is great for dark backgrounds, since one pinch of it can efficiently cover at least 30x30 cm surface. I push it around as hard as possible, with cotton wool exclusively, because sponge absorbs it more than paper itself. And quite frankly, I'm pretty happy with the results.

[@pastmasterdan4080]

The sandpaper is used for Sheetrock joints. The joint compound is a lot like plaster and you want smooth joints for painting and texturing.

[@anoopkumar8323]

Your videos inspire artistic people. Great talent

[@PurityKhosa]

You inspire me. Thank you Jono. In Mzansi we are blessed to have you.

[@monicahoeffelmurphy3823]

Thanks for all your great videos. I am wondering if you will share in a video : safety.. you seem to be protecting your airway. And also when you use fixative. Keep creating. Thank you so much

[@mariolaloboz6352]

Thank you for all videos, can’t wait to see more

[@trebuchetbeats]

Very informative and helpful as well. Thanks.

[@jeangonnella]

Oh here that dark value video I been looking for. Thank you Jono

[@leerenae313]

Ay you from the Mother land! Fly our South African flag high. Love your work Jono and your tutorials tag been helping me improve my craft thank you!

[@jayceecee8651]

I've found that patience is key. It's a hard thing to master at times. I get incredibly impatient after prolonged periods in the same area. But, my best work is when I take my time. It's not incredibly insightful, however, may be helpful for someone else.

[@dafttool]

I’m curious about your subject matter, over-arching themes, symbolism, surrealism, intended messaging, etc. You’re fabulous, btw. 🙏

[@lauriekane4686]

Thanks so much for sharing your secrets and techniques through your gorgeous videos. Your pieces are awe inspiring! Greetings from the Pacific Northwest, USA.

[@mr_srufflesyes5021]

U hoy a new fan... It's kind of mind blowing the different values you get with just using graphite... Keep up the good work

[@DjaRodneyArt]

Thank you brother!!! i didn’t know about the cotton, I’ll try it out 👍🏾

[@Davidemosaurus]

Hello very nice video,and thx for helping people getting better in drawing with grafite!

[@Magnificent1393]

Hello Jono, Which side of the paper do you use? Also which method do you use to draw your outlines? Is it a grid method? Regards

[@greenc1088]

they use projectors

[@allangoncalves1453]

@Kedar Chande but he use grid method lol

[@daydreamer0057]

This is one of the underrated artist that i stan! He deserves more subscribers grr💙😭

[@gouthamkrishna340]

I will be a big fan for yours

[@agnieszka4925]

A video about pursuing art career would be very much appreciated 👌🏻

[@TheBRADLEYJAMES123]

U in SA, WOW. you are an inspiration indeed thank you

[@sophiamaldonado2489]

Novice in photo-realism practice! Working on a portrait of Anthony Bourdain using grey, grit paper as i thought the areas of white would pop amazingly... But i was wrong lol. Skin texture comes out great, but adding my white pens/charcoal for pop turns it a lil cartoony? Which isn't bad, just not what I'm going for... Gonna try your protocol, paper-wise, makes so much sense.. Thanks for making these vids!! Tremendous style, absolutely stunning work... Love from Northern Cali! 👊

[@alkanahcartwright9577]

Thanks man appreciate you sir. Your very talented an humble 👍

[@surfit.]

I've been waiting for this video for sooooo long. Thank you very much for sharing your technique. Someone mention below for you to do a Q&A. Sounded great. Can you do it live?

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

Very good quality sanding mesh by Abranet and Mirka, they’re basically made for vacuum sanding machines where the sanding dust gets sucked through them....

[@lesliebirke1710]

How wonderful is this?!! Thank you so much for making these videos. Keep them coming! I love hearing about your techniques and the background story behind your drawings.

[@hardy5288]

Cotton wool it is, Brilliant work .

[@warkingdark9460]

Incredible The tips you give are helpful from one artist to another I hope I can achieve the level of skill you have

[@UP-th2jk]

Tisk, tisk. Good luck!!!

[@yos8778]

We would love to hear you talk about the principles of taking pictures that fit for drawing, you are obviously really good at it,

[@JonoDry]

Thanks, Yeah I think if you are working from references its important to take your own pictures. I will look into putting something together explaining my process and thinking behind my shots.

[@yos8778]

Thanks so much, it would be great. and by the way, I searched in a lot of realistic drawing channels and nobody has done it yet, If you do this you will be the first.

[@ioan-sebastiansofiean3506]

You are my favorite thanks to you now i am in love with graphite !tnx for the lesson very helpful

[@tiffinimorgan1867]

Thank you. I enjoy your videos.

[@MissDianika]

The only 1 that I can say, it’s amazing how you made your 🖼

[@pstaehlin]

Thank you for sharing this insightful video, Jono. I enjoy and admire your talent. It's neat that you (the artist) shares this information to others.

[@-davidolivares]

I have some framing experience, maybe various ways to display graphite work. What you’ve tried and maybe didn’t quite work and successful treatments as well. Oooh, framing graphite or pastels on white mats is a challenge.

[@angshuroy8062]

You're an amazing amazing person and an artist

[@tatitheoverlord]

Thank you so much for your amazing tips. I was wondering how you avoid or work with wrist pain. I have been drawing a lot lately and it has taken a toll on my body. Any tips on this subject?

[@stephaniemitchell8509]

I've had this issue too, mostly with colored pencils. I had to switch to painting in order to give my wrists a break at times. I'm always impressed that he can use his wrists for so long!

[@noki9041]

We call it cotton wool up in Ireland too. Thanks for sharing your videos and knowledge with us. I wish I had more time to draw; do you carry sketch books when you travel or just stick to large scale?

[@suzannea6040]

We also call it cotton wool in Australia :)

[@10AntsTapDancing]

It's called cottonwool in NZ too. I think it's originally a medical product but we use it for all sorts of things. I laughed at the comment, it's a particular mindset :) anyway love your work and thank you for sharing, your work is stunning.

[@KevinStock12]

Curious if the 9B graphite will have a "graphite shine" with light reflection (and if so is there a reason not to use charcoal for the background?)

[@morplagro1545]

I know I’m way late, and take everything I say with a grain of salt, buuuut. Yeah you will have the graphite shine, but not nearly as strong when your applying with a cotton ball (because it’s not compressing the paper like if you are pressing hard with a pencil). And yes, blending charcoal with pencils is incredibly hard and in my opinion usually looks ugly. So if you want a truly black background do charcoal for the entire drawing.

[@dominikweil1485]

Your art work is so thoughtful and amazing, your talent is out of this world. Just wish I had enough money to purchase one. Keep up the great work.

[@vegasrenie]

Thanks for the info on the paper. And I admit I had to laugh on the "cotton wool" comment. Even this old woman knew that it was a roll of cotton that looks like wool! smh 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@pencildesigns.]

What is the name of The Paper? Can you please Tell me

[@vegasrenie]

@@pencildesigns. - He's using Arches Hot Press watercolor paper in rolls. You can get it at any local art supply, but the rolls are more easily available online. Good luck!

[@zdenkabenova4738]

Ahoj, sledujem tvoju tvorbu je to inšpirujúce .Prajem veĺa trpezlivosti a veĺa dobrých nápadov.Pozdravujem zo Slovenska

[@praveedartisan5109]

I love ur sketchs ✏✏✏✏✏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏✍✍from 🇮🇳 India

[@cmralph...]

Your art is simply fantastic. So loving your videos!

[@honeybarapatre]

Thank you! Just learning to create so this was helpful 😄

[@lalboikuki4362]

this video is very helpful to me. bro u are awesome,u are great, i really like u. thanks bro..👌👌👌👍👍👍👍

[@sintusing1255]

Hi, JONO...great work and really loved your creations!

[@abhipatel2100]

Sir, Big fan of yours I would love to meet u once before dieing, u just true artist ,once painting use to be my passion but some condition laid to work and fulfil family.

[@ShamilaArt]

Thank you so much!!

[@katywuste9054]

It’s cottonwool in the UK and thanks for the video. It was informative

[@gartomack1]

Awesome video!! thanks bru.

[@JonoDry]

Thanks man, Always a pleasure!

[@overbeefineart2974]

Great video! Thanks for the info. I love your work. It’s very inspiring. 💕

[@neshiah4747]

Great video. Informative and to the point. Thanks.

[@jeramieivy6032]

The video's are very helpful love your work

[@Lordtro]

Always love your vids Jono!!!!! Keep it up man, your channel is growing so much and you are helping so many people with this!!! Much love🙌🏼🙏🏼

[@artinerary3156]

I would love to know what kind of pencils you use, and what brands. This was amazing, thank you

[@rafaelmacias3131]

Tu trabajo es hermoso a mi vista

[@rushveltronaldoiawphniaw3126]

can't wait till the next video comes out....

[@krlosthor]

Desde Colombia te doy las gracias por excelente consejo. Tenía la inquietud

[@alishbasohail8761]

Thank you for this video!! I have one question though, do you use any fixative? If yes, which one?

[@mariamllersrensen6572]

Thanks for sharing 😊👍🏻

[@flora1743]

Your videos already helped a lot, so I wanna say thank you in the first place. Also, I would like to ask about how you get your proportions right especially in such a big format. I struggle a lot even with a basic sized paper and would be interested in hearing about your process or your tips.

[@annopwichai]

Thank you to sharing your knowledge, I love your artwork...

[@Pencilshades]

Thanks jono

[@devianakurniawati3430]

Wondering if you can make a video about your sketching process before making your artwork ((Assuming you sketch everything first)) Love your videos as always!

[@wgalloPT]

I honestly envy you. I have been an artist since I know myself as a person, but ended up going into a healthcare career on which I am also happy but working with art i do only in my leisure time which it means I was never able to fully develop and live off of my talent. Could I do it now? Yes and no because I am almost retiring. Cant move. If God grants me a healthy body when i finish and retire, then I will dedicate entirely to it. Meanwhile I work on weekends in whatever I feel like it. I want you to be very successful (you already are) and continue doing the beautiful things you do.

[@mpk1111]

Mind-blowingly beautiful work, Jono. I especially like your recent works, such as Discomposure, where you are exploring the psychological as well as the aesthetic. One question about achieving a dark background: I have tried using Arches Aquarelle 300g hot press paper, cotton wool, and making my own graphite powder by sanding 9B sticks, but I find that graphite brands such as Lyra come out as a shiny dark grey rather than a dark matte black. Would you mind telling us what brand of graphite stick you use? Again, thank you so much for all you have shared through your videos.

[@Nanamo0n]

Your work is suburb. It’s difficult to see it and not confuse it with photography. So realistic. I’ve been watching your informational videos and am amazed how crisp and clean it turns out. I attempted to draw with graphite but I ran into accidental smudging while moving around my work. Even breathing when too close to the paper would create a small cloud and land on an area that I wanted white. I got so frustrated that I started using pen and ink instead. My question is how do you control the fine dust and when you use tissue (?) paper to protect the work while moving about it. This will be very helpful to learn since I have discovered Pan Pastels and am learning it’s beautiful smooth flow. Thank you.

[@joemama1132]

You sound like a younger Alan Rickman, it's awesome!

[@bewafaproduction2412]

Cpan you tell me about you motivation,I mean who or what thing motivated you. Love you bro❤❤❤

[@briannenagel6491]

Huge fan

[@askeletonsdaisy2440]

This is what I was looking for! Thank you

[@emmanuel2358]

Jono Dry, may I asks what advice can you give to a beginner like myself to start drawing like you. However, I don't have any experience in drawing. Please help me out, cos your work inspires me a LOT!!! & it's AMAZING!!👏

[@briannenagel6491]

Huge fan!

[@rohanreddy4049]

** Art with DARK BACKGROUND Exists ** ME : Lemme invert you on WHITE BACKGROUND

[@suhailhaq325]

Jono you my man I would love to be your student free of charge lol... I actually thought your American proudly south African brilliant artwork I'm an artist myself your drawings inspire me to take it to the next level love your work keep it up and thank you for the advise

[@kevinvarela6772]

Thank u so much

[@michaeldenesyk3195]

At what stage do you fix teh background, ort do you wait until completion for an overall spray to fix everything at once?

[@lucasgalea5906]

Hey thanks for the advice really helps

[@artgerminate]

I'm so glad I found your channel on KZbin. Your work is beautiful and the subject matter you choose is fascinating. I haven't watched all the previous videos, so I'm not sure whether you've covered this before... but it will be cool to hear how you decide on your subject matter before you begin to draw. Do you also prefer to work in series?

[@rohankanika]

Hi Jono, please do a small video on how you get the human figures measured on your huge paper sheets, I am self tutoring myself into graphite sketching and I get the proportions wrong often. If it is only years of practice that is needed then it's fine, but I wonder if it is some technique that I might be missing on. Thanks

[@spikeybunny6577]

The grid method works well