Graphite Drawing "Mouth"

Hello steemit.

This is my new drawing for a contest sponsored by Hive account@beforandafter. The contest this time is about drawing a mouth, it may sound simple but it took me more than 10 hours to create this drawing!

Unfortunately, I don't draw regularly, so participating in these steemit art contests is actually a great way to practice, learn more and share my art with you.

Graphite drawing is kinda a tool to meditate, I like the fact that it takes time and patience to draw these details and be able to create a drawing that looks almost realistic.

I always start with drawing the outlines with a 2H graphite pencil, I also use it to lay down a foundation for the drawing, the skin in this example, then I start building the tones, first by using a 2B, I blind it with a q-tip or a tissue, then the 4B and finally a 6B for the darkest areas in the shadows, after that I used the kneaded and plastic erasers to create the highlights, finally I added as many details possible using a 2B mechanical pencil.

Here's some pictures, to give you an ideas about the drawing process, enjoy!