My line drawing was done initially on plain printer paper. I do a lot of erasing and measuring and don't like to do this on my good drawing paper because it's expensive. Once I have my line drawing done and everything where I want it to be, I tape it to the back of my drawing paper and transfer the line drawing to my actual drawing paper. This way I don't have to worry about damaging my good paper during my measuring, planning, and erasing phase.
I call this initial phase the "ugly stage" of my drawing process. The lines are drawn quickly and look like a two year old did it. This is how I start all of my portraits. The line drawing helps me to map out everything, to get all the features placed properly. My line drawing is the foundation of the portrait, without a solid foundation, the likeness isn't going to be captured. Just like when a building is being built, the walls and windows won't go up until the foundation is laid out and is able to hold the walls and roof of the house, without a solid foundation, the house won't be able to stand - same with my line drawing. Now I can add tone and texture to bring Walter to life on paper.
More to come soon!
