Polar Bear Pointillism

After seeing some really cool pointillism drawings, I thought I'd give it a try myself. Pointillism, also called stippling, is the creation of a drawing using only tiny dots. I decided my first attempt should be a white animal, as that would minimize the number of dots I'd need. I learned a few things about the technique.

First, it's not always possible to make an area darker just by adding more dots. You have to keep the dots fairly evenly spaced, so if you try to add more, the value may not be uniform and you could even end up with clusters of dots that look like lines or holes.

Second, it's best to know exactly what value you need for a given area before you start to stipple, so you can avoid the previously mentioned situation.

And third, give your eyes a break and don't do this for long periods at a time.

All in all, I like the technique and will probably use it again in the future. The original and prints are available.