You are being watched.

I use Mars pencils and erasers, and Sakura Pigma Micron plens (black 05 and 005).
Careful with the 05 Micron, it doesn't quite dry instantly because it's so thick.
Thu Mar 06 20:05:26 EST 2008

First, a simple pencil drawing of The Fetus of Tomorrow.
I try to keep the pencils really light, so that the ink above them won't smudge or shift.
Before I break out the ink, I try to figure out where the shading should happen. Sometimes I use photo references, other times I use a real object as a proxy, but mostly I just go from memory.
Thu Mar 06 20:35:56 EST 2008

Using the 05 Micron, I create an outline for the fetus.
I often go for the classic comic book inking style, where lines that touch dark areas are thickest. The idea it to create a slight sense of depth.
This is pretty much the only use I get out of the 05 Micron.
Thu Mar 06 20:54:50 EST 2008

I used the 005 Micron to bring out details in the drawing that I want to show through the shading that comes next.
I tried to immitate Yukito Kishiro's biomechanical style for the umbilical cord and mother biochip. If you're not familiar with Yukito Kishiro you should really look him up.
Thu Mar 06 21:03:28 EST 2008

Switching to macro mode for the next few shot.
Cross-hatching is all about overlaying orderly sets of lines to create even tones in a drawing area. You can vary the angle of the lines and the distance between them to create more or less density.
Thu Mar 06 21:20:27 EST 2008

The key thing that sets appart good hatching from bad hatching is that the good hatching doesn't have moir� patterns. Be sure to look those up.
Basically, only certain angles work well together. Too narrow or too wide, and you end up with mysterious swirling checkerboards on your art, and you lose the illusion of organic textures.
It's important to have good control of the spacing and angle of lines in a set. My technique involves keeping my wrist perpendicular to the drawing plane, and doing all the work with my finger, keeping wrist movements to a minimum.
Thu Mar 06 21:32:49 EST 2008

For a given area, I usually overlap three or four sets of hatchings. I try to give the image a good tonal range and interesting textures.
Some areas end up getting mini-hatchings or even dashes and dots that are almost ghost versions of bigger hatching sets.
If you're not familiar with Ansel Adams' Zone System, look it up, because that's really all there is to black and white art, be it illustration or photography.
Thu Mar 06 21:49:56 EST 2008

When I'm done with the hatching, I go back with the 005 Micron and put dots in between the lines.
This is where myopia and OCD really pay off for me. I can sit there for hours putting in a few dozen dots, moving back and squinting to get a sense of the tone and texture evenness, then going back to add a missing dot or two, and so on.
I can't say that I encourrage you to waste the better part of your youth and eyesight this way. It's just the way I like to draw =)
Thu Mar 06 22:39:08 EST 2008

Some stippling also happens outside the lines, to give white areas more texture and thus extending the overall tonal range of the image.
Sometimes I use an old, dryed out 005 Micron or a technical pen to get even finer dots, and even smoother gradients. This is ridiculously time consuming.
Thu Mar 06 22:40:05 EST 2008

Oh yeah, did I mention I work on miniatures?
My drawings are completely useless for reproduction ... but I just don't like working on big images.
Shot with a 580 EX II Speedlite on cable.
Thu Mar 06 22:41:17 EST 2008

A human embryo constructed by a biochip using advanced nanotechnology.
Fri Mar 07 19:09:37 EST 2008