Ballpoint pen sketch (+STEPS)

Although I am pretty busy painting and teaching nowadays there are times when I want to draw with my pen, just do enjoy this feeling of flow when I hatch and slowly build the form. This sketch was inspired by Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water"

I start very carefully and I apply my strokes extremely light, my goal is to indicate shadow shapes and I just do it with outlines of the shapes, trying to combine smaller shapes into bigger ones

Next stage is filling the shadows to separate shadows from the lights. Since pen is non erasable it is very important to know to which value group shape belongs to lest I go too dark in halftones or in the lights

Final rendering starts from the head and goes down. I try to buils the form by hatching and cross-hatching very lighty in halftone areas

Last stages of this drawing are very relaxing, usually I can get lost in thoughts while hatching and filling large shapes and refining overal picture. Here is the final:

Hope you dig it fellas!