Rocking horse cluster

[Mr Flibble]

My first attempt at sketching. I chose an open cluster to try and keep it simple. The moon washed out much of the sky last night so I tried an object as far away as possible which was the rocking horse in cygnus. I can just about make it out with a bit of imagination

[Mike73]

Thats an excellent first sketch, you've really got the star intensity right by plotting the brighter stars.

Did you use normal pencils and scanned or something else?

[Mr Flibble]

Thanks Mike. I used pastel pencils, a white for the brighter stars and a grey for the dimmer stars. I had trouble getting nice sharp points because they are so brittle when sharpened to a fine point so the nib kept breaking when I was trying to plot them. Not sure whether to try a harder pencil next time......any tips you have would be welcome

I wasn't sure whether it would be safe to scan it because of its chalky nature so I photographed it instead which was tricky because I had to avoid getting shadows on it. But the photo made it washed out and bright so I used PS to darken the image and boost up the contrast. I'm not sure what the normal procedure is to get an uploadable image of a sketch? I have wondered if using a matt spray finisher would make it safe to scan? Again any tips would be welcome

[Mike73]

Dal

I'II get back to you tomorrow on this....the skies have just cleared so I've got to set up. 

[Mike73]

Ok scope out cooling so...

I thought it was pastels but the added contrast threw me.

I've tried various brands of pastel pencils but settled on using Conte for the pencils and pastel sticks, Conte seem a little more oily and not as dusty so I just found them easier to use in the dark. They do two types of pastel pencils though, I use these ones as they don't seem as brittle and don't break all the time!

This may sound completely daft but I found sharpening pastel pencils was a complete PIA! I tried all sorts of pencil sharpeners and stanley knifes but none of them worked but someone recommended one of these which is expensive but works very well, lots of cheaper alternatives that you could try but if none of them work for you get the Dahle.

Really look after the pastel pencils aswell, if you drop them or they roll around in a box then you'll be pulling your hair out next time you try and sharpen them!

I just take a photo of my finished sketch and as you did just give it a few tweaks to the contrast and brightness. Best take the photo in daylight with roughly the same amount of light on it as the last time, so inside and out of direct light is best.

I do you a fixative spray but as I use a sketch pad and not sheets the pastels still rub off and fade after a while.

I'm really no artist, just been learning this stuff through trial and error but its all good.

Any questions just ask and if I can help I will.

[rory]

Nice. I've not heard of this cluster before .

Thanks for showing .

[Mr Flibble]

Thanks for the tips Mike. I'll try one of those pencils for plotting stars and keep the softer pastel pencils for drawing objects. Hopefully I'll then be able to get some nice fine points. I'm going to have a play around with the scanner and try and figure out a way to do it without getting pastel everywhere, maybe try using a thin clear plastic cover over it.

[bodtwo]

Very good, i couldn't dream of anything like that, hence going the AP route.