Scribble Drawings with Derwent Pencils

Scribble Drawings with Derwent Pencils

Scribble drawings are fundamentally enjoyable doodles that try for strength, movement & ambiance instead than precision and exactness. They are a wonderfully liberating, quite calming and a somewhat swift and straightforward way to draw. In this tutorial I will present you how to create your have scribble drawing with Graphic pencils which you can then embellish with colour.


Components essential for this tutorial

Image of finished drawing by Cherry Ferris with Graphic pencils

Optional Equipment to include color

What are scribble drawings?

Switching your mentality to creating atmosphere alternatively than stressing about a immediate likeness actually does choose the force off your drawing and frees you up to experiment and check out. Most drawings take concerning 15-30 mins and are terrific fun way to in shape mark-making into an every day doodle regime.

Scribbling provides the pleasurable and playfulness back again into drawing as we no extended will need to stress about ‘keeping in the lines’. As a consequence this design of mark making is a suitable training for any age group of every degree. Doodles can be done in so lots of diverse means and with a multitude of unique equipment ranging from biros & feather quills to colored pencils & line painters. The distance among the strains and the density of your scribbles will give you the texture and tone.

As you experiment and explore you will begin to come across what you like to use, marks that fascination and excite you, and methods that operate for you.  

Image of tones created with Derwent Graphic B pencil
A different vary of tones designed by scribbling with a Derwent Graphic pencil

Starting up this tutorial

For this demo we will be utilizing uncomplicated tools uncovered in each artists pencil circumstance to make a straightforward anxiety free of charge scribble portrait. The moment concluded, we will take into account embellishing your scribbles with accents of color. To get us likely with all the entertaining and interesting things I have supplied a fundamental line drawing as your start out place. If you come to feel self-assured with portraits then really feel free start off by scribbling in your own.

Scribble drawing is all about environment, vitality and tone. The reference picture is purely made use of as a visual device for the approximate facial dimensions and positions in addition and those all important lights and darks. 

In the 1st layer we will begin with the lightest pencil (HB) to start out doing work on people shadows and mapping out the darker areas of the deal with. Beginning with a light-weight pencil initial indicates that its a secure way to ease you into the sketch and get around those white paper nerves! 

Phase 1 – Start off to scribble

Step 1 - Begin to scribble

With the line drawing transferred to your very hot pressed paper, squint at the reference image and discover the darkest tones. These are the locations to start scribbling. Choose a HB pencil and hold it loosely. Move your hand away from the guide to about 50 % way up the barrel. Relax your wrist and begin scribbling in the darkest darks you see on your reference. Observe the condition of those people shadows.

Permit your pencil to freely transfer and pirouette above the webpage, skipping throughout the paper and gambolling in the shadows. The spacing of the strains inside of the scribbles will have a direct impact on tone. There is no proper or mistaken way to scribble, just check out to keep it random and free. Don’t push far too really hard, you don’t want to indent the paper.

When you’re satisfied that the key characteristics are beginning to choose form, get a make-up wipe (or identical). Gently smudge the traces producing a gentle tone and shadow, unifying and mixing out some, but not all, of your marks.

Normally try to follow the type of your deal with when smudging, and allow the cotton wool do the function for you. It is astounding just how fast all those shadows will acquire. For scaled-down or far more intricate regions these types of as the eyes, switch to a cotton bud or blending stump.

Step 2 – Re-build the darks

Step 2 - Image of dark tones being re-established

Change to a 2B pencil and re-create those people darks. Maintain that pencil whole of vitality and transferring on the paper. Quick little broken lines are so a great deal much more natural, forgiving, and much easier to draw than one particular extended line. Retain people marks dancing all-around the facial area creating desire and setting up on that tone. If you locate you are slowing down or acquiring also restricted, put down the pencil and shake out that rigidity. Then make a big daring liberating mark and provide it again to the drawing. You might usually detect huge crazy marks outdoors my sketches, this is me reminding myself to loosen up and stay unfastened.

Stage 3 – Cotton wool bud smudging

Step 3 - Image of drawing being smudged with cotton wool bud

Once you are happy with your pencil marks … grab a cotton bud and get started to gently smudge and mix out some of the marks close to the confront and critical spots (nose, eyes & mouth). Smudge in a free random manner.

Move 4 – Deepen the darks

Step 4 - Image of adding darker tones with 2B graphic pencil

Get your 2B pencil all over again and deepen those darks parts on the experience. She should be genuinely starting to consider condition now. Just take a deep breath and casually propose the condition and route of the hair with free expressive suggestive marks. This really should be enjoyment, give her any hairstyle you want! Include some common solid shadows all around the neck and temples. 

Stage 5 – Hair strategies and shadows

Step 5 - Hair suggestions & shadows

Grab your makeup wipe and give a minimal depth to the hair and drawing by mixing some of all those marks out. Really do not fall into mixing just in just an spot. Shift your hand freely. Though you are blending you are nonetheless mark making so preserve it expressive. Change to a cotton bud all over the eyes and nostrils.

Stage 6 – Putty rubber

Step 6 - Two images using a putty rubber to create highlights

Top rated tip – I frequently get asked how to cleanse off the close of a blending stump?  The easy solution is… I never ever do! I may often wipe them on an previous rag, even so a selection of different employed stumps and wipes make magnificent mark marking and mixing equipment all of their personal.

Time to bring back again some lights. Get your putty eraser and work it into a very little place. Use it to carry back the highlights in the eyes, nose and lips. Then insert some broader subtractive marks to the hair and surroundings to create curiosity and atmosphere. Knead in concerning marks to maintain the eraser clean.

Continue on as above with a further layer using a 4B pencil and actually operate on the darkest darks and shadows all-around the deal with, incorporating eyelashes and texture to the lips and hair. Continue to keep these marks clean and suggestive.

Phase 7 – Finished pencil drawing

Step 7 - Image of finished drawing in pencil

This is the level wherever I commonly halt as I like leaving areas unresolved. Having said that, there is nothing at all to say that you just cannot continue on to blend and make even further layers on your drawing. Its your sketch … do what ever feels proper!

Observe the online video

Levelling Up

Once you have finished with your sketch test introducing accents of color loosely on best of your scribbles to create even extra desire. Continue to keep the marks unfastened … no colouring in the strains, express your self and be free with your mark earning. You’re participating in, there’s no stress … so give by yourself authorization to have exciting and experiment. 

Include some coloured pencil marks

Not guaranteed what to use for some scribble colour? Then maybe contemplate the Procolour pencils range, they are both creamy & lively and lay down incredibly on smooth paper. Or perhaps, if you are feeling adventurous then why not try exploring the jewel like intensity of the Inktense pencil assortment. Inktense provide an infinite array of both equally wet and dry choices. 

Cherry Ferris - Turquoise Girl
Cherry Ferris – Turquoise Girl

If you feel hesitant to include color, probably mainly because you don’t want to destroy all your pretty scribbly marks, then try using get a photo of your perform and add it into Procreate (or very similar) and tinker with it digitally. It will give you an sign of what is attainable and is tension cost-free. As soon as pleased, save your image back and attempt replicating on your drawing … delight in!!

Scribble with paint pens

Scribbling and smudging with pencils is a enjoyable, forgiving and enjoyable way to start with this design of mark creating. If loved this demo then attempt having issues a stage more by scribble drawing with ‘Paint pens’ or a identical style ink pen (you can even use the humble biro). It’s an fascinating and liberating way to draw. Paint Pens are long term and so there is no smudging as at the time fully commited they can not be erased. Simply use the density of the random marks to make the tone. 

Tones created using paint pens; the tighter the lines between scribbles the darker the tone.
Tones designed utilizing paint pens the tighter the lines concerning scribbles the darker the tone.

Scribbling with ink will assist with self confidence building as you have to choose a deep breath and toss timid out the window. Experiment with other topics too these as fur and organic and natural textures … Feel empowered scribbly & bold! 

Add some charcoal

Cherry Ferris - Aubrie -The girl with the spirit of the Hare (Scribble & smudge completed with Derwent Charcoal Pencils)
Cherry FerrisAubrie -The lady with the spirit of the Hare (Scribble & smudge completed with Derwent Charcoal Pencils)

Use fineliners

Cherry Ferris - Scribble Bertie with Bee (Scribble drawing completed with Derwent paint pens)
Cherry Ferris – Scribble Bertie with Bee (Scribble drawing done with Derwent paint pens)

If you have appreciated producing your scribble drawing maintain an eye out for some much more of Cherry’s action by methods tutorials afterwards in the month. If you’d like uncover out more about the Derwent pencil vary you may discover this write-up handy.


Cherry Ferris is a self taught artist who is fascinated with colour, pigment, products and all matters sparkly. She is specially drawn to nature and the gorgeous creatures that inhabit our earth and she’s potty about hares, foxes and owls which is why they appear to pop up in so lots of pieces of her do the job. She likes to use a lot of kinds of media and is versed in pyrography, acrylics, colored pencils, watercolours and pastels. Cherry also enjoys the heightened element in botanical illustration and generally makes use of these approaches along with several many others elements and fusing them with each other inside a piece of artwork to create a thing enjoyable and new.

Cherry’s work has been revealed in Wildwood Gallery on Dartmoor, the Derwent Pencil Museum at Keswick, The Wildlife Artwork Modern society Intercontinental (TWASI), Powderham Castle, The South West Academy Wonderful & Applied Art Open Exhibition (SWAc) & at OXO Tower, London with the Explorers In opposition to Extinction. She is also released in various nationwide and worldwide magazines and is a contributing artist to the Earth Pathways diaries & calendars. 

Cherry also runs workshops for inexperienced persons to far more innovative artists and also enjoys developing inspirational & impressive neighborhood initiatives to deliver folks collectively from all walks of life to unite and create lovely art.

Cherry lives in Sidmouth, Devon, British isles. E-mail her at [email protected] or go to her web-site www.fairiewoodart.com or observe her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fairiewood_artwork/