Tag: pencil

Learning To Draw: You Are Gonna Need a Pencil

If you’re going to be doing any pencil drawing you’re going to need a pencil. I know, I know, thank you captain obvious…. But, in this article I want to talk about some of the different options available.

Here are some of the options:
Mechanical Pencils, Lead Holders, Woodless Graphite, And ofcourse traditional wooden pencils

Mechanical Pencils: You’re probably familiar with these. They’re the ones that hold the lead (graphite actually) inside and when you push on the eraser more lead comes out. What you may not know is that, like traditional wooden pencils, the leads are available in various degrees of hardness which can be used to achieve lighter or darker tones as needed. We’ll talk more about that later.

Lead Holders: These are somewhat similar to mechanical pencils in that you can use various leads with them. But rather than push a button to release more lead, these pencils actually have sort of a claw that grabs onto and holds the lead. Hence the term “lead holder”.

Woodless Graphite: These pencils are basically a piece of graphite in the shape of a pencil. There are also some woodless graphite pencils that are encased in a laquer coating rather than wood.

Wooden Pencils: Okay. We all know what a wooden pencil is. It’s the yellow one with a pink eraser on top and a number 2 on it. You know, the ones we used to fill in the little circles on our multiple choice tests in school.

Well yes, those are pencils, but a set of good quality drawing pencils comes with a lot more variety than that. All of the pencil types mentioned above come in varying degrees of hardness and are labled with a number and the letter H or B. The pencils labled H are on the hard side and the ones labled with a B are the soft ones. I don’t know where the “B” comes from but that’s the way it is. Pencils range from 9H (the hardest) to 9B (the softest).

The number 2 pencils we’re so familiar with are right in the middle in terms of hardness. They’re equivalent to an HB pencil. If you’re just starting out drawing or you’re just doing some doodling or sketching an HB or #2 will work just fine for you. But, if you want to get a much more interesting drawing you’ll have to have some contrast between lights and darks. If all you’ve ever drawn with before is a number 2 pencil, the way you achieve your darker tones is simply to press down harder.

But there is a better way. That’s where the softer pencils come in. After #2 in terms of softness comes B then 2B, 3B ect. all the way up to 9B. Although many artists never use anything softer than a 6B. With a 6B you can get some very dark tones and it’s not going to be as soft and thus crumbly as a 9B.
For the harder pencils, I rarely use anything harder than a 2H and that’s usually just for the initial line drawing before any shading takes place. Doing the initial line drawing very lightly allows you to erase any mistakes you might have made. Once your line drawing is acurate, it’s time to get the softer pencils out and start shading.

So to wrap this up, if you’re planning on getting a little more serious with your drawing you’ll want to get a set of pencils. There are some sets out there that have just 4 pencils in them. So if you’re strapped for cash this is an option. Pencils are also available individually so you can pick and choose whichever number / letter combo you need.

I prefer traditional wooden pencils for my drawings and my brand of choice is Derwent. They make sets of 12 pencils that range from 4H to 6B or from H all the way up to 9B. And, you can get a set of 12 pencils for about $12 – $15 so it’s not terribly expensive to get into drawing.

So now go out, get yourself some good pencils, and start drawing….

Introduction to Pencil Drawing Supplies and Techniques

Drawing is a wonderful art form in itself, but it is also an excellent exercise for other forms of art, like painting for instance. Learning how to draw will truly open your mind to your surroundings enabling you to really see what is before you.

Choosing your drawing supplies there are a variety of different drawing tools available for today’s artists and what you choose to work with is based on your own preference. It comes to down to experimentation. You have to work with a number of different things before you find the tools that fit your style of drawing.

Don’t go out and spend a ton of money on your drawing supplies in the beginning. You can really get started with a beginner pencil set and some newsprint paper. When you become more experienced, you can then venture out and spend money on better supplies.

Graphite pencils – Graphite pencils range in hardness and are labeled from 9H to 9B. The H pencils are the hardest. The higher the number in front of the H the lighter the mark. The B pencils are softest. The higher the number in front of the B the darker the mark. The H pencils are generally used for detailed lines where the B pencils will produce rich dark lines great for bold expressive drawings.

Charcoal Pencils – Charcoal pencils also come in a range of hardness and are labeled either from H to B like graphite, or simply as “soft”, “medium” or “hard”. They have a noticeably different feel to them and produce a rich dark line. Charcoal pencils tend to wear pretty fast because of their softness.

Blending Tortillions – Tightly wound stumps of paper with a point used to blend in your drawings.

Erasers – You may want to have a few different types of erasers on hand to fit every occasion.

Kneaded Eraser – A soft pliable eraser that can be kneaded into any shape to pick up and remove pencil and charcoal. May not be the best for erasing smaller details. The SANFORD Kneaded Rubber Erasers are very popular.

Eraser Pencil – These are wonderful for getting into small areas of your drawings. They can also be sharpened like ordinary pencils.

Fixatives – Fixatives protect your drawings from being smudged or ruined. There are two types of fixatives: permanent and workable. Permanent fixatives are used on a finished drawing to protect, where a workable fixative is used during the drawing process as you are working. Use great care while working with fixatives by only using in a well ventilated area. When spraying the fixative, make sure you do not spray any one section for too long and only spray a light mist standing about 3 feet away from the drawing. You should probably experiment on a few practice drawings first to determine if a fixative is right for you. There appears to be a difference of opinion amongst artists when it comes to fixatives. Some artists love to work with them and swear by them, while others feel they may actually alter the quality of a drawing. Again, you have to experiment yourself to see if fixatives are a good choice for you.

Paper – In the beginning, for the purpose of practice, you may want to consider purchasing some inexpensive newsprint paper. You should be able to get this at any local art store or online. When you are ready to purchase a more expensive grade paper, choose something that will work best with the medium you use. Paper comes in a variety of different textures from smooth to rough, often referred to as its “tooth”. A really smooth paper may not work well for some mediums as the surface lacks texture, and will not grab certain drawing mediums very well. If the paper is too rough, the medium may simply slide across the surface. You have to experiment with different papers to find the one you are most comfortable with. Strathmore Brand makes excellent paper that is very popular amongst artists.

Horse Hair Drafting Brush – You should be able to purchase a horse hair drafting brush at any local art supply store or online store. This is a really helpful tool for brushing away unwanted eraser scraps from your drawing.

Basic Drawing Techniques:

There are two basic ways to approach a drawing: linear and tonal. The linear approach to a drawing focuses on line and outlines of shapes. In tonal drawing, you make use of gradations to indicate the various planes of your subject.

You should try to avoid smudging and blending in the beginning so that you force yourself to use your pencil more to achieve value in your drawings.

Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure you are constantly focusing on the subject and only glancing at your drawing. By doing so, you won’t constantly judge your drawing, or think something is
wrong or out of place. Focus on the subject and draw what you see.

Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat portfolio of everything you draw. This is an excellent way to see your progress over time.

Holding the pencil – Hold your pencil in a way that is most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. Others hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and index finger, with the rest of the pencil resting under the palm of your hand. Whichever method you use for holding your pencil, make certain that you do not hold the pencil too tightly.

Contour Drawing – This very basic technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without any shading to indicate form.

Blind Contour Drawing – Similar to contour drawing, only you do not look at the paper. The point of this exercise is to force you to better observe what it is you are drawing. You should have no concern over the outcome of your drawing so it is important not to peek.

Hatching – This drawing technique uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the same direction, which gives the appearance of value.

Crosshatching – Similar to hatching only you draw multiple layers of hatch lines at different angles that overlap one another.

Tonal or Value Drawing – In this approach to drawing we are indicating the various changes of light and shade in our picture without the use of strong edges and lines.

Upside Down Drawing – Drawing upside down is a wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are making it somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This forces you to draw what you see as opposed to relying on your memory to draw something.

Negative Drawing Technique – This technique teaches you how to properly see the “white” or “negative” space in your picture. This is the area that surrounds your subject or “positive” space. Instead of drawing out the positive part of the drawing with line, you draw in the shapes that surround the positive part of your drawing.

Dry Wash Technique – This technique works quite well if you want to cover large areas of your drawing. It creates a nice soft tone. You begin by adding marks with a pencil or apply some graphite powder to the desired area on your paper. Then using a tissue or soft cloth pick up some of the graphite and gently rub it across the paper, almost as if you were painting.