A pencil walkthrough that’s quick on the draw

Timelapse tricks Miles Johnston’s latest video explores the tools, materials and sketching techniques that go into his art

Sometimes the written word just isn’t enough, especially when it comes to communicating a lot of artistic knowledge that’s come from years of study and practice. To make the task of drawing less daunting, English illustrator Miles Johnston has released a new tutorial video that reveals plenty of insights into his workflow.

Taking eight hours of footage and condensing it down into an hour and a half of video with commentary, Miles’ Pencil Drawing Walkthrough offers the sort of guidance that can’t be found in books.

“I think the best thing about video is that it enables you to watch and see how a piece unfolds from a blank page to a finished piece,” says Miles. “This way, it’s possible to see all the little awkward and ugly in-between stages behind finished work.”

With a portfolio that focuses on stunningly realistic and hauntingly surreal pencil drawings, watching how they’re built up, tweaked and improved will prove enlightening to his fans, who have been clamouring for such a tutorial from the illustrator. Perhaps a little surprisingly, Miles reveals that he’s taken a few things away from the video himself.

“Having to listen to so much of your own voice to record a voiceover is an easy way to develop some serious self-loathing!” he jokes. “Seriously though, I feel that watching yourself draw at timelapse speed is a great way to gain some insight into the broader methodology of how you work, and to spot mistakes and inefficiency in your workflow.”

Pencil Drawing Walkthrough with Miles Johnston is available for $5 by visiting

Viewers can expect more video tutorials from Miles, which will concentrate on the basics of drawing. Watching the video will give insight into how Miles builds up his work. Miles tends to focus on pencil art, so it made sense for the artist to produce...