Drawing the Sky - Choosing Tonal Values

The intense colors of sunset can create a problem for the graphite pencil artist. Note in the colored image how the sunlight creates a warm glow on the clouds which is completely absent from the grayscale image. This also creates depth, emphasising perspective. You can compensate for the absense of this effect in graphite pencil drawing by heightening the contrast - using a broader range of light and dark than is actually visible. Note the radiating streaks of the sun's rays - create these by lightly lifting off with a kneaded eraser. When drawing a sunset, make sure that any blacks are really black - use a soft pencil and create a strong, dense area of tonal value.