#sorry about the little dotted line on top of the paper. composition is not my passion

[eurovisionart]

🇩🇪 Chris Kempers & Daniel Kovac - Frei Zu Leben

[fletchphoenix]

Families Are Overrated

Chapter 2 of the Varigo Coffee Shop AU! 

Wow, an update today and yesterday! I’m absolutely loving this story and writing it, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Unfortunately, I start school soon so the schedule will most likely have to change (as much as I don’t want it to.)

Word Count - 3,705 

TW - Panic Attacks, Strong Language

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Although it was only Wednesday, Thursday felt as though it was decades away. Up until now, the days had dragged on and on and on. In all honesty, Varian thought the universe itself was extending the length of each day just to taunt him. They all just seemed to merge together no matter what he did to take up his time, it never seemed to speed up. “Why can’t Thursday just hurry up…?” The raven haired boy thought as he picked up his backpack and headed out of the chemistry labs, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen into his face behind his ear and descending the stairs towards the town library.

  Corona was a rather large town, with most streets littered with stores, houses and parks. Oddly, it was almost always unbelievably sunny, the aforementioned rays of the blinding light burning his eyes as he remained on course to the building, causing him to be suddenly very interested in the floor. The town was rather peaceful and beautiful too in terms of crime and layout - though, he did live in the less beautiful, more run-down faction of the city called Old Corona, and ANY town would be better than Old Corona when it comes to crime rates or general beauty. 

  After around 10 minutes of walking, he found himself outside of the doors he knew so well - the doors to the Coronan Library. His mom used to joke, always calling it the “Eternal Library” because of its tremendous size. Before her and his dad split up. He missed her a lot. He let out a sigh at the unwanted memory and stepped forward. Instantly after he’d pushed open the heavy, oak doors, a tiny boy ran and wrapped his arms around his waist with a wide smile on his face. Varian let out a chuckle and leant down to ruffle his hair, prying the younger boy off him and heading to a 3 seating spruce table in the middle of the room. Various books, pens and stationary were littered about the surface with the wood underneath barely even visible at most points. Yong eagerly ran to take his seat, jittering in excitement. He could swear that kid was just a bundle of energy - somehow always able to run around or be doing something. 

  “Took you long enough. I was starting to think you bailed.” A voice rang out as he took his place at the table. He didn’t even have to look at her to know who it was, a distinct hair clip with a star on it made it very clear to him. Nuru looked at him, a smirk on her face and her eyebrow raised with her NASA shirt being covered by a violet bomber jacket. Her jeans were cuffed and little scribbles that were drawn in pen were dotted here and there. Sneakers that were the same colour as her jacket only just fell short of her ankle, black socks with stars peeking out of them only just visible from the top. He dramatically sighed and feigned annoyance, a mock expression of the emotion on his face while he flopped back into his chair.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry Nuru. I got sidetracked - that’s all. So, how are you today, Yong?” He questioned, finally taking time to look over at the boy sitting beside him. Covering him was a crimson hoodie - judging by the way it dwarfed him in size, it was his older brother’s that was given to him as a hand me down or some sort of gift. It was kind of cute - a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. On his feet were some worn, gold and red converse that were laced ridiculously tight, also a hand-me-down. A childish smile was on his face as he looked up at Varian.

  “I’m fine! We learnt about astronomy today and calculating percentage composition! We got assigned some questions though and I didn’t understand the equation…” He mumbled the last part and leant against the table, before pulling 2 notebooks out of his bag. “Is it okay if you two can help me with my homework though? Just so I can understand it better and stuff. You explain it really well.” 

  “Sure we can, buddy.” Varian replied and shuffled closer to him. “So the equation for percentage mass is the mass of the desired elements divided by the gram formula mass, and then multiply it by 100%, but you know that, right?” He paused, waiting for a nod of confirmation which he promptly got before continuing with his explanation. “So the question is to calculate the percentage composition of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Right? So, the first step is to write out the formula,” he paused once again to allow Yong to follow his instructions, the younger boy giving a thumbs up when he was done. “Great. So then you need to work out the gram formula mass which is…?” 

  Yong stared at the paper quietly, leaning forward and holding his pen before chewing the lid.  “So it’s 14 add 4 add 14 add 48, so that’s gonna be...80?” he questioned, looking over at Varian and his face lighting up when he gave a nod of approval. 

  “So then,” Varian added, “You need to do 14 divided by 2 multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of Nitrogen, then 4 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of hydrogen and finally 48 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of oxygen!” Varian concluded, smiling as Yong handed over his finished work. The older boy glanced over it, double checking before handing the worksheet back with a satisfied hum. “All correct! Well done, bud.”

  At that news, Yong gave a little cheer, moving over to Nuru and showing off his work, Varian sitting back as he watched the heartwarming scene from afar. He seemed so proud of himself, and he had every right to be. Still, after his little adrenaline rush, Nuru sat him down and listened attentively as Yong talked extensively about his astronomy homework. Satisfied that his job was done, Varian gazed out of the window. Hm. Still abnormally sunny - as per usual.

  A slight breeze made its way through the library as the door creaked open, prompting Varian to divert his attention towards it. He regretted it immediately. Standing in the doorway was none other than Hugo. He was wearing a green hoodie with jeans...god, he looked so good in green. Heat started to build in his face as he moved to look away from the older boy, his hands fidgeting in his lap and the tips of his ears turning red the longer he looked at him. He silently prayed Nuru and Yong hadn’t noticed...but the universe had other plans in its mission to screw him over.

  “Varian, are you okay? Your face is red. Are you too warm? Do you want me to ask the librarian to turn the fan on?” inquired Yong, already standing and beginning to walk away. Varian groaned and sunk back further into his chair, covering his still red face with his hands. Oh my god, why did he have to be here? He grimaced as the sound of Nuru’s laughter gradually got louder. “What.” he questioned, not daring to look up and betray just how flustered he was. This, however, only caused her to laugh even harder. 

    “Nothing! I just can’t believe Varian Ruddiger, my best friend, is simping for Hugo Atkinson aka one of the biggest playboys in human existence! It’s simply unbelievable!” Nuru cackled, Varian swiftly lunging and covering her mouth with his hand. 

  “Shut the fuck up, Nuru! If he even hears you!-” he flushed red as his eyes met Hugo’s from across the room. A smirk tugged at the corners of the blonde’s lips and he shot the younger boy a wink, bursting out into uncontrollable laughter as the other’s face went even redder (as if that was even possible) and he frantically tried to compose himself. Varian hurriedly stood up, shoving books into his bag and pushing the blue streak of hair out of his line of sight.

  “Oh would you look at the time! Eugene will be here to pick me up any minute now!” he declared rather loudly. The librarian looked up from her position behind the counter and shushed him, her eyes rolling as he repeatedly apologised. Cooling air hit his face as he dashed out of the library, passing Hugo at a speed he himself didn’t know he could reach. It was the relief he desperately needed - the flush of his face calming down and slowly retreating. Why was he so awkward? A blaring horn bought him back to reality, courtesy of his unofficial sister’s boyfriend. Involuntarily, he winced and stumbled back, bringing his hands up to cover his ears.

  “Hey Var! C’mon!” Eugene called out, a wide smile on his face as he waved him over. With a groan, Varian headed over and opened the door. He slumped into the passenger’s seat, fingers moving to roll down the window and allow the breeze to hit his face as Eugene drove. Varian silently observed the houses and stores as they sped past, steadily being swapped out with parks and fields leading up to his sister’s house.

  It always went like this ever since his mom left. On Wednesdays, Eugene would pick him up from his tutoring job and he’d go over to the couple’s house for dinner, before Eugene would drive him back home to Old Corona. Routine. A snug routine that no one disagreed with. They sat in a pleasant silence before the brunette decided to speak up.

  “So uh..how was your day, kiddo?” he implored, taking a second to glance over at the smaller boy as he stared out of the car window, charcoal locks blowing wildly in the wind, with the blue streaks still clearly defined. The response was a nod and faint hum as the boy kept his focus on the landscape beside them. The brunette bit his lip and relented on the questions. Clearly he wasn’t fine then.

  The ivory car pulled in outside of the small, ivy-walled cottage, both boys exiting the car after it had been parked. “There we go, Maximus. Good job.” Eugene mumbled under his breath, giving the hood a gentle tap before striding towards the wooden door and opening it. “Blondie! We’re here!” he exclaimed as the blonde-haired woman bounded out into the hallway, sprinting outside to pull the younger boy into a rib-crushing hug as her fiancé watched on in amusement. 

  “Varian! Hey!” she beamed as she took his wrist in a vice-like grip and pulled him along into the cottage. “It’s so good to see you! Cass, Lance and the girls are in the living room if you want to go see them!” Huh. Cass? That was new. Last thing he heard was that she was travelling the world after finishing her course at university. He put on the widest smile he could and slid open the sitting room’s door.

  Cassandra, Lance, Keira and Catalina all looked up from where they were sitting and waved. Varian made his way over to Cass, settling down beside her and allowing her to pull him into a side hug. “Hey co lady-in-waiting.” she chuckled and ruffled his hair. “How are you? How long has it been- what, 4 years?” 

  “Yep. 4 years.” Lance chimed in from his perch on the matching lilac sofa, a wide grin on his face as Cass tossed a pillow at him. Much to her dismay, he caught it and threw it right back at them. It hit Cass square in the face, her letting out a gasp of surprise and falling back against the plush cushions dotted all over the couch. The black haired boy let out a snort of laughter, covering his mouth and trying to suppress the small giggles that kept leaving his mouth. “I’m-oh fuck hold on,” he barely managed to pass the words through his lips, still in a fit of laughter. He took a deep breath. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. “That’s better. I’m fine. Studying chemistry at Corona University now.” he replied with a grin and leant against her, letting her warmth engulf him once again. 

  “No fuckin’ way. You’re a uni kid now?” she sat bolt upright, turning to look at him with wide eyes before resuming her original position. “Shit..it's been way too long since I’ve been here.” she let out a breathy laugh and looked down.

  “DINNER’S READY!” Rapunzel’s voice cried out from the kitchen, summoning everyone to sit down at the table. The meal of choice was a simple spaghetti, served on a purple porcelain plate. After settling everyone down, Rapunzel distributed the food. It was all going well, in all honesty. Everyone was talking about various topics: Eugene and Lance’s promotions, Kiera and Catalina joining high school soon, where Cass was travelling..that was until that all important question was asked - the one Varian dreaded the most.

  “So Varian,” Catalina asked innocently, looking up at him. “Have you got a girlfriend yet?”

  Varian froze, spoon raised to his mouth before dropping it back onto the plate. “I-I’m sorry, what?” he stuttered out, an awkward, forced smile taking over his face. Oh god, why were they asking this?

  “Yeah V, do you have a girlfriend?” Kiera repeated her sister’s question, her interest seemingly peaked by his response.

  Oh. Oh. Of course this question would come up eventually. Fuck. He’d never had a girlfriend in his life! The only girl who he’d ever had a crush on was Cassandra! What did he even like about girls? He tried to think back on all of his previous crushes..Flynn Rider, Cassandra, Vex (for about 2 minutes), and finally...Hugo.

   His mind drifted to Hugo much to his displeasure. To the wink at the library, the extensive texting sessions, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about...his sharp and defined features..his lips. He wondered how they’d taste..probably like cherries. Oh, he’d do anything to kiss Hugo-wait what? His face, for the umpteenth time flushed bright red as he narrowed his eyes to stare at the table cloth. “Um-no. No I don’t-” he began to protest before the others interrupted him again.

  “Aw, really? Our lovable Varian Ruddiger hasn’t captured the hearts of all the ladies he’s ever laid eyes on? I don’t believe it!” Cass exclaimed, taking a sip of the lemonade Rapunzel had made earlier. “Beautiful lemonade, by the way Raps. Good stuff.”

  “Yeah, especially when his brother-in-law is the infamous playboy Flynn Rider!” Lance pointed out with a vast smile on his face. “And Cass is right, this lemonade is the best I’ve ever had, Rapunzel.”

  “Look guys, can we just-stop talking about my relationship status?” Varian pleaded, his hands resting on the table and his breathing quickening. Oh god, was the room getting smaller? He felt like it was getting smaller. Tears welled up in his eyes as the others continued their teasing at his expense. 

“Just can’t believe it!-”

“I know a lovely girl! She’s Leona’s daughter!-”

“Varian?”

Too hot. It was too hot. No air. Why couldn’t he breathe? Was he dying? What was going on? Why was he shaking so much? He struggled and his chest heaved as he tried to take in more air. It’s too much. Please stop. 

“What happened to Vex? Don’t you like her anymore?-” 

Please stop.

“Buddy, are you okay?”

Stop.

“Varian?”

“STOP!” he screamed out, standing up fast and knocking his chair to the floor. Wet trails ran down his face as he harshly wiped his eyes and headed to the door. “Thanks for dinner, it was great.” he growled and shoved past the mass of worried people, throwing open the front door and falling to his knees outside. He gasped for breath, the oxygen being his saviour as it finally felt like he was getting enough. He was free. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. His body jolted as a hand cautiously rested on his shoulder, squeezing it softly before the mystery comforter sat by him.

  “Rapunzel I…”

  “Don’t. I get it. Just get yourself together, okay? In for 7, hold for 7, out for 7. Just like I taught you.” she commented with a reassuring smile, holding out her arms for him to fall into. He closed his eyes in the embrace, his hands holding on tight to the fabric of her dress to ground himself. Her perfume had the scent of lavender, calming his nerves and helping him relax further. It reminded him of the old house before the accident. Before his mom left. The good times.

  “Varian..I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have pushed you so far. It isn’t fair.” she finally admitted as her hand weaved through his hair in a motherly kind of way. “I’m so sorry we didn’t stop sooner. But just know that-well, you can always tell us if you aren’t comfortable. We’ll respect your choices no matter what.” 

  Varian smiled to himself at what his sister said. She always wanted what was best for him - especially after his dad went into a coma. “Thank you so much.” he muttered against her shoulder. “You have..no idea what this means to me.” he sighed, content in the moment before moving back. “I should go home, it’s gonna be really awkward for me to go back.”

  Rapunzel looked as though she’d been slapped in the face. “I-are you sure? I doubt the others mind, and I made cupcakes to celebrate you and Cass coming over.”

  “Thanks Rapunzel but I just want to go home-” he began to say. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, leaning against it on her upper arm. Cass looked down at the scene, a sympathetic smile on her face as the wind blew her hair about and she held out her hand. “Relax Raps. I’ll take him. I was just leaving anyway. The little twerp just needs to let me know the directions. Oh, and he’ll need this.” she remarked, throwing a helmet towards Varian who, with fumbling hands, caught it. But-why would he need a-

  His question was answered as Cass walked away, swinging her leg over the motorbike and sitting down. The bike was..wow. Black was the base coat for the vehicle - red streaks ran across the main body intermingling with blue streaks. He was taken aback, swinging his leg over after placing the helmet on his head. His arms wrapped around Cass’ waist as she started to drive.

  It was exhilarating. Wind whistled past his ears, houses merging together at the speed they were moving and the fields became mere blurs in the background. Eyes widened with wonder as he held on, cheering and filled with adrenaline. Cass’ face lit up at the sound of Varian’s childlike enjoyment and wonder as he marvelled at his surroundings. She brought the bike to a stop, smoothing down her hair and helping Varian off. As he trudged up his driveway, she kept her eyes on him. 

  “Hey V?” she said, him turning around almost immediately to meet her eyes. “Uh..you should come meet my girlfriend sometime. Her name’s Irene. You’d love her.” she commented, pulling her helmet on as Varian frantically nodded. She silently waved and rode off into the night, leaving Varian on the doorstep of his admittedly shabby house.

  Varian stood in silence for a second before a grin split onto his face. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Cass..of course. He knew she’d understand. Thank god he wasn’t alone. Cass knew..she knew what he was dealing with. He turned his head to the direction that her bike went. He’d thank her later, somehow. 

  After a few seconds, he strode into the house and made a left to the kitchen, a pearl-white sheet of paper placed onto the counter wedged under the fruit bowl sat in plain sight. Varian read it aloud before throwing it into the trash. “Brilliant. Dad’s working late.” he rolled his eyes, moving towards the cupboard and pouring out some cat food into a bowl. Ruddiger, the fat bastard, came sauntering in, rubbing himself against the boy’s leg before starting to eat. He laughed and started to head upstairs.

  He sat on his bed and gazed at the time on his phone. 7:32pm. Hugo should be online. He couldn’t help the stupid smile that cursed his face at the mere thought of the boy in question, pressing his name under messages.

Varian : Still on for 1 tomorrow?

  He sent the text, still high on the adrenaline rush from the motorbike. Tomorrow was weighing on his mind as he sat up, hurrying to his closet to pick out his clothes for their date. Or at least that’s what Hugo called it and Varian desperately hoped that wasn’t a joke. Extensive searching left him with deciding upon a cyan sweater over a white dress shirt, along with some jeans and his black vans. The infamous chime went off, with Varian essentially jumping over the frame of his bed to read it.

Hugo : Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetie pie <3

Hugo : You looked good in the library by the way, short stuff ;)

   Varian rolled his eyes at Hugo’s comment. What else had he expected, honestly. He snuck a glance at his mirror, only to see the same lovestruck grin as every other night before that. God, he loved this boy so much. It wasn’t fair how one person could have this effect on him. How everything felt better when they were talking. Hell, even coffee tasted better when he was drinking it with Hugo. 

Varian : Better than you, beanpole

Hugo : Ouch. Really know how to wound my pride, dontcha?

Hugo: Anyway, I’ve gotta study tonight so I’ll see you tomorrow. Same table.

Varian :  Eye eye, Captain. See you tomorrow.

  Setting his phone aside, Varian watched as Ruddiger crawled to sit on the bed beside him, cuddling under his arm and purring. “Ruddiger, I think i’m in love.” the boy whispered to his companion. 

“I think I’m in love with Hugo Atkinson.”

[brendagilliam2]

How to make delicious textures with pencils

When learning how to draw a still life artwork, it’s important to create interest and engage the viewer with a variety of flavours. Colourful sprinkles on a doughnut like this will certainly catch the eye, but what makes someone stop and continue engaging with the piece?

If you’re working realistically like this, research and the process of acquiring the objects is a vital first step. In this case that meant a visit to the best doughnut shop in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Huron Bakery. 

Looking at the contrasts between your props should guide the still life set-up. If something is dark, put it against something light, and vice versa. Play pattern against solid areas and look for repetitions to move the eye across the composition.

Once the objects are organised, pick up a camera to look at viewpoint and cropping. Taking a photo is an alternative to sketching thumbnails, and does the double duty of providing a reference from which to work. You never know when a hungry kid will run into your studio and grab that carefully positioned doughnut!

Keep the still life set up in position as you draw it, allowing you to go between your photo and real life objects to observe and develop accuracy of colour and depth.

Watch the (rather long, sorry) video above to see how this doughnut still life was created, or follow the steps below to help you create your own deliciously textured pencil art.

To create this artwork I used Prismacolor Premier (wax-based) coloured pencils on 100lb Vellum Bristol paper. My X-ACTO knife also came in useful for lightening areas of the waxy pencils.

01. Sketch your preliminary drawing 

Develop a contour drawing using a pencil, not graphite

With a coloured pencil that will blend into the form, develop a contour drawing of the subject on Vellum Bristol or similarly heavyweight paper. I avoid using graphite as it can show through the transparency of the coloured pencils and overly grey or darken tones.

If you worry about mistakes, or naturally use a sketchier line, consider working out the drawing on separate paper and transferring it to the final Bristol surface with a light box.

02. Capture patterns in the wood

Create the darker wood patterns with Burnt Ochre and Light Umber

Colours will vary for other varieties of wood, but here I start by creating the darker pattern of the wood grain with Burnt Ochre and Light Umber. Look for differences in edge and tone. The lower-right corner is darkened with a layer of Tuscan Red to begin establishing a reference point for the image.

03. Establish local colour

Add a gradient across the table surface

With normal pressure, apply beige and Yellow Ochre pencils over the entire table surface to create a gradient of light to midtone (left to right). I also add Clay Rose to the shadows and some of the stripes in the wood grain. To darken some of the cast shadows, I repeat step 2, while adding dark brown to the mixture. I layer dark green over the corner to increase its value range. 

04. Build dark tones

Avoid pure black for creating darker tones

A layer of Indigo Blue completes the dark values of the lower corner. Rather than using black, layers of Tuscan Red, dark green and Indigo Blue create a far more complex tone. The wood grain becomes more visible and the cast shadows darken through the application of Yellow Ochre or Burnt Ochre. A colourless blender helps smooth the shadow tones.

In the light areas of the wood, I burnish with cream and Yellow Ochre, solidifying the gradation of light on the table.

05. Draw white shadows

Burnishing the paper bag with white helps smooth the tones

Putting a layer of Cloud Blue down before the other shadow colours on the bag creates a barrier between the paper and the layers of Jade Green, Clay Rose and Greyed Lavender that I mix into the bag shadows. Reflected from the surrounding wood and orange juice tones, light applications of peach, light peach and cream warm up the grey side plane of the bag.

Burnishing the bag with white helps smooth the tones. I work with the cream and Greyed Lavender pencils to create depth inside the bag and reveal a little translucency as it rests on the wooden table.

The doughnut shadows on the napkin reach a darker contrast through layers of dark brown, Dahlia Purple, Clay Rose and Greyed Lavender.

06. Add paper textures

Treat each dot on the napkin as an illuminated bowl

Using 30% Cool Grey, Jade Green, Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and touches of cream, I develop the high key values and planar changes on top of the bag. Cream neutralises the lavender colour a little and warms up the halftones. 

With the napkin, I first look at the light affecting the whole surface. I create a gradient across the napkin (from top to bottom) with cream, Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and 30% Cool Grey. 

Using Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and 10% and 30% Cool Grey, I add dots to the napkin. View each as an illuminated bowl, working with dark on one side, drawing around the outside with grey and lavender, leaving a highlight opposite the dark.

07. Shape the glass

Cover the highlights in white in case you need to scrape off excess dark tones later

Focusing on the darkest shapes in the base of the glass, I draw with Dark Umber, 50% Warm Grey and a touch of Blue Indigo. To save the white highlights, I outline their shapes with 20% Warm Grey and add a layer of Goldenrod around them, which becomes an undertone for the base. Mixtures of Jade Green and 20% Warm Grey can dull the Goldenrod slightly as needed. Increase the pressure and burnish with white to finalise the smoothness of the tones. 

I place small moments of higher saturation colours (Light Cerulean Blue, orange and Light Aqua) along the edges of the bright highlights to capture the prism effect of the glass.

Moving to the rim of the glass, I outline the contours with dark green and Light Umber. Follow the inner edge to the outer edge and watch your contours twist across the rim. 

The highlights are covered in white to aid in removing any dark tones that encroach on the shape too much. This is done with an X-ACTO knife if necessary, by lightly scraping the wax from the surface of the paper. The white pencil creates a barrier between the paper and the dark colours. Be sensitive to the quality of the edge. Sharp, firm, soft, or lost edges can all happen along the rim. I do not want a uniform colouring book outline and try to let the line stay responsive to the subject.

08. Create the juice surface

Take care to capture the various tones in the juice surface

The rim is darkened with more pressure and the green neutralised with Steel Grey, Jade Green and Light Umber. Goldenrod and Sand is used to develop the yellow tones seen in the rim. 

With the orange juice, I note that the surface layer has a ring of cooler temperature surrounding a slightly more saturated middle. To develop that subtle contrast, I use light pressure with 10% Cool Grey blending with Yellow Ochre around a middle of Sunburst Yellow.

Canary Yellow is the base layer and Burnt Ochre the darkening pencil as the juice in the lower half of the glass develops. Goldenrod, Yellow Ochre, Sunburst Yellow are laid over top to create the gradation down the glass. I burnish the juice with Yellowed Orange. Note the higher saturation between the liquid level and darker tones. Sand is used to create the translucent brighter tone at the liquid level.

09. Plan for reflections

Draw the doughnut reflection lightly to start off…

I draw the reflection of the doughnut in the glass very lightly with Goldenrod to ensure the contour edges blend into the darker ground. I lay down Goldenrod, Burnt Ochre and Sunburst Yellow to begin the rendering, 10% Cool Grey and Sand are used on the tall reflection to the left side of the glass.

10. Colour the reflection

…then work in the details, being careful not to overdo it

Filling in the reflection, I introduce small colour variation to the sprinkles. It is important to keep them all within the yellow-orange colour space of the orange juice. Too much hue contrast and the sprinkles will no longer read as reflections on the glass surface.

11. Create the doughnut undertone

Draw in your doughnuts’ undertone in Tuscan Red

Using Tuscan Red, I lay in an undertone that begins to establish the local colour and value contrast on the doughnuts. While I can render a little more form on the left doughnut, I opt for a flat two-value contrast on the more complex sprinkle doughnut.

12. Put the icing on top

Divide the highlights, midtones and shadow areas of the icing

To achieve the subtle variations of colour in the icing, divide the highlights, midtones and shadow areas. I use dark brown and Burnt Ochre pencils in the midtones, and Terra Cotta and orange when more warmth and saturation is needed for the form. Where it needs to go really dark, Indigo Blue and dark green fill out the last step or two of value range.

For the cooler temperature colours, I take a 30% Warm Grey to neutralise the saturation of the Tuscan Red. The warmer (more orange) halftones around the middle also have white applied to smooth over the texture. Greyed Lavender and Sienna Brown or Jade Green work well to dull the saturation of the Tuscan Red in the highlight areas.

Use a colourless blender to smooth the chocolate, especially when beginning to contrast with the cake texture. I also begin laying orange and Goldenrod over the cake part to establish an undertone that mixes with subsequent shading.

13. Use strong transitions for shine

Focus on making strong transitions from the midtones to the highlights

Like darker skin tones, there are fewer light halftones on the chocolate surface. I focus on making strong transitions from the midtones to the highlights, and finalise the rendering of the left doughnut.

The second doughnut is next in line to receive additional form and shading with the Tuscan Red pencil. For more contrast, I also darken the corner behind the glass with dark brown and Sienna Brown.

14. Finish off the icing

Finish off the icing before you start on the sprinkles

Referencing the colours and contrast on the completed doughnut, I bring the sprinkle doughnut’s chocolate icing to a conclusion with Tuscan Red, Sienna Brown, dark brown, Indigo Blue, Burnt Ochre, Clay Rose, Slate Grey and 20% Cool Grey.

15. Put the sprinkles on top 

Take plenty of breaks while working on those sprinkles

I develop the cake part of the doughnuts with orange, Sienna Brown, Burnt Ochre, Light Umber, Dark Umber and Goldenrod.

To create the sprinkles, I use Tuscan Red, Poppy Red, magenta, Deco Yellow, Canary Yellow, Clay Rose, 30% Warm Grey, True Green, Parrot Green, Indigo Blue, Hot Pink, Blush Pink, and Jade Green. 

Using a highlight or shadow tone on each sprinkle provides a cylindrical form, but can be mind-numbingly tedious. Be sure to take breaks and give each one some attention.

Scratching highlights out with an X-ACTO knife (sgraffito technique) is an option, or you can draw around the highlights and save the white of the paper. 

This article originally appeared in Paint & Draw issue 10. Buy it here.

Related articles:

How to blend coloured pencils

Sharpen your still life painting skills

Drawing techniques: 7 fundamentals of pencil drawing

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