"Security"

This work is attributed to the marine infantryman at the point of the operational spear, posting security for their fellow patriots, and ever so accurate in their execution of the mission.  

This is their profession.

 *This drawing was done from photographic reference and is laid out in steps.*

The challenge with much of this drawing was to make the equipment and weapons have straight, realistic edges.  Even with guidelines laid out, any wrong angle in your lines will be noticeable (as you can see with the two barrels - I correct this later in drawing).  This portion of the drawing was tedious as you could guess but a very encouraging start to this piece. 

A few hours later progress was made and a real sense of light from the security team's right is beginning to show.  Having contrast and accurate value are key for realistic pencil work and the results here are demonstrated.  Keeping a sharp pencil while you work allows you to create the proper value without applying too much pressure to your paper.  Both soft and hard edges of light are seen here.

The light is beginning to really have a presence in the drawing, especially since the most dramatic areas are on the marines and their uniforms.  The guidelines I put down prior to starting the drawing can also be seen.  I highly recommend some sort of sketch before starting.  It's the chance for you to edit any foundational errors. 

The shadowed side of the marine required me to work within a small range of values, and the well lit right sleeve helps to reinforce the dimension of this piece.  I quickly learned from my initial mistake and made sure to make this weapon appear with straight edges (and using a straight edge is not cheating). 

After finishing the maine and his M203, I started on the rock formation he was posting security behind. This was challenging, because though natural objects are more forgiving when you draw them (ie. a minor error in drawing a tree is less noticeable than an error in drawing a persons face.), I wanted to make sure I captured the light and show the extension of rock he is resting on.

Finishing the rest of the rock was a tedious process and took many hours.  Once the foreground was completed, less detail was required in the background to reinforce the depth and focus on the two marines.  I emphasized the dark area behind the marine of the left to increase the contrast on his sunlit side.  This is an overall tight knit drawing, consequently from too much focus on the photo and not allow myself to be a little creative.  This is not an 'artist sin', but I am personally trying to be less dependent on photos and more on real life subjects.  This of course was an exception for demonstration.  Below the finished details and corrections are shown.

The Finished Product

"Security"

Graphite 8x10in