Ballpoint sketch with two colors (STEPS)

Hello Steemians! Today I would like to share with you one of my approaches to ballpoint drawing. We all know that ink can't be erased and the punishment for mistake is severe (there are few trick although ;) so one of the working methods for me is to draw from the inside outwards, without preliminary construction or gestural shapes etc.

• Here I just started with the nose. Using both red and blue colors I separate my dark values from the light values by temperature, it's very helpful because I will use red and blue to create more shifts and make subtle transitions

• Next step is to find the eyesocket and the eye.

• Gradually developing from the eye outwards - the goal here is do not jump into the values, concentrate only on the structure.

• Trying to establish structure of the lower part and marking areas which will be in the dark group

• Now it's time to find another eye and to start establishing relationships between dark and light value families.

• For the dark halftones I use mostly blue color and after add the red as lightest halftone in the shadows. It makes nice separation from the light halftones where red is darkest. Subtle additions of the blue to the reds can make accent on the form or create illusion of skin tone by shifting the temperature

• Finishing touches include filling the gaps, making shadows stronger, enforcing some structural marks and it's all.

This sketch was done in pocket-sized Leuchtturm1917 sketchbook, pen tip is 0.5 mm, it took about one hour.

Hope you dig it, folks! Cheers