Comet drawn in black and gray marker on pale cream textured sketchbook paper, with a complete silhouette and open margins.
Drawing referenceAbout reference use

Comet marker study

One comet with a rounded rocky nucleus, short luminous coma and a broad sweeping tail, no star field. Practice form, overlap and selective shading in black and gray marker.

Space & skyMediumMarker40 min, at your pace
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A way into the drawing

  1. Establish the main shapes

    Place the nucleus and overall tail curve.

  2. Connect the structure

    Wrap the coma around the nucleus and extend broad tail bands.

  3. Develop the drawing

    Use selective interior marks and local shadow groups to explain the overlaps. Keep the lighter planes open rather than shading every surface.

A small thing to tryKeep the tail bands flowing away from the nucleus together.