Subjects which I could do tutorials upon. I am obviously not a professional at any subject in art, therefore I will only be able to do a lesson or step by step, based upon a category/ subject or technique, of which I feel very confident in. I want the lessons to be as clear as possible, to not have any silly jargon, and to explain words which may have to be used, but are uncommon. Drawing: Equipment Pencils: Ok so this may seem very basic to talk about but I believe that setting a good solid foundation is a key to success. So... pencils. Pencils come is such massive varieties, the most common being a pigment contained within a wood encasement. This material inside can be either coloured, or various shades of grey, with various softness’, they can be pastels, conte’, graphite, charcoal ECT. Although for the tutorial a graphite pencil shall be used and therefore this is the one I shall put more focus on. A graphite pencil can be a tool used for writing, as it can be edited quite easily, or a tool which can be used in art. The pigment they contain usually consists of a mixture of graphite and clay, which therefore leaves an unlimited value of greys on a surface. It is also very common as I’m sure you know, it’s easy to rub out. They are available in several different grades, which range from hard to soft, with hardest being the higher number with the (H- Hardness)) symbol next to it and the softer using the same rule but on the other end of the spectrum and using (B- Blackness) as its symbol. 9B – 9H usually being the highest on the scales, though both of these grades are so uncommon, that it’s possible you may never come across any of these being used. If you haven’t already noticed while using these pencils, what the difference between the hard and soft, soft equals to a darker lead as the substance is softer, therefore leaving more pigment on the paper after abrasion, the that’s the same for the harder being so hard that they leave much less pigment down, making it a pencil which lasts much longer but with a fainter line. Right is a small visual depiction of the hardness/softness of a pencil. But believe me; this is much harder than it looks to take down as the lighter pencils can be so hard to pick up on a scanner. The brands of pencils are so insanely massive, think of the pencils at Poundland or your corner shop for example. But luckily, there are brands out there with universal reputations for being among the best. There is Staedtler, Derwent, Faber-Castell, Pentel and many more, all specializing in different areas. Pentel have a re- noun reputation in writing implements and Derwent and Faber-Castell art. However, none of these are set in stone. I use a mixture of Derwent, Staedtler and Pentel’s Mechanical Pencils. Mechanical Pencils are amazing! However there are many artists I talk too who despise the things. They are instruments which can be used for so many different processes; also still most of the rules for a normal wood-cased pencil apply. A mechanical pencil, holds very thin long pieces of ‘lead’, the same which is used within a normal pencil, however, this type of pencil is like a constant point, with a constant thickness, as when it wears down, you simply press the end (like a pen) for more of the same thinness ‘lead’ to appear. So [F] Stands for Fine Point
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Subjects which I could do tutorials upon.
I am obviously not a professional at any subject in art, therefore I will only be able to do a lesson or step by step, based upon a category/ subject or technique, of which I feel very confident in. I want the lessons to be as clear as possible, to not have any silly jargon, and to explain words which may have to be used, but are uncommon. Drawing: Equipment
Pencils: Ok so this may seem very basic to talk about but I believe that setting a good solid foundation
is a key to success. So... pencils. Pencils come is such massive varieties, the most common being a pigment contained within a wood encasement. This material inside can be either coloured, or various shades of grey, with various softness’, they can be pastels, conte’, graphite, charcoal ECT. Although for the tutorial a graphite pencil shall be used and therefore this is the one I shall put more focus on. A graphite pencil can be a tool used for writing, as it can be edited quite easily, or a tool which can be used in art. The pigment they contain usually consists of a mixture of graphite and clay, which therefore leaves an unlimited value of greys on a surface. It is also very common as I’m sure you know, it’s easy to rub out.
They are available in several different grades, which range from hard to soft, with hardest
being the higher number with the (H- Hardness)) symbol next to it and the softer using the same rule
but on the other end of the spectrum and using (B- Blackness) as its symbol. 9B – 9H usually being the
highest on the scales, though both of these grades are so uncommon, that it’s possible you may never
come across any of these being used. If you haven’t already noticed while using these pencils, what the
difference between the hard and soft, soft equals to a darker lead as the substance is softer, therefore
leaving more pigment on the paper after abrasion, the that’s the same for the harder being so hard that
they leave much less pigment down, making it a pencil which lasts much longer but with a fainter line.
Right is a small visual depiction of the
hardness/softness of a pencil. But believe me; this is
much harder than it looks to take down as the
lighter pencils can be so hard to pick up on a
scanner.
The brands of pencils are so insanely
massive, think of the pencils at Poundland or your
corner shop for example. But luckily, there are
brands out there with universal reputations for
being among the best. There is Staedtler, Derwent,
Faber-Castell, Pentel and many more, all
specializing in different areas. Pentel have a re-
noun reputation in writing implements and
Derwent and Faber-Castell art. However, none of
these are set in stone. I use a mixture of Derwent,
Staedtler and Pentel’s Mechanical Pencils.
Mechanical Pencils are amazing! However
there are many artists I talk too who despise the things. They are instruments which can be used for so
many different processes; also still most of the rules for a normal wood-cased pencil apply.
A mechanical pencil, holds very thin long pieces of ‘lead’, the same which is used within a
normal pencil, however, this type of pencil is like a constant point, with a constant thickness, as when it
wears down, you simply press the end (like a pen) for more of the same thinness ‘lead’ to appear. So
[F] Stands for Fine Point
therefore, this kind of pencil doesn’t usually need sharpening, however I have found that if I run it
evenly all the way round, holding the pencil at an extremely steep angle, I can get a point as sharp as a
hair! This can be excellent for tiny details. Often the reason artists don’t like them as they claim that the
pencils restrict creativity, as rough, sketchy work can usually snap the lead, and with it always being
narrow, you can’t turn the pencil on its side for effective shading, and it’s kind of limited to one kind of
mark, where as with an ordinary pencil, there are masses of different marks which can be made!
I usually use only four different pencil grades for the type of art which I produce. These being:
4H, 2H, B and 2B. I find that they cover the entire spectrum of values usually, however I often may add
a softer B to my inventory for a darker black... however; there are strong disadvantages with softer
grade pencils in my opinion. They shine! Which can reflect light, and makes your work look ruined, if
you have large chunks of this pigment chucked on. There are ways to lower the reflection level which I
shall talk about later. The Harder the pencil can sometimes be so light that you really have to press on
to see, however this also has its major
disadvantages, as it flattens the fibres in
the paper and dents your surface.
For the mechanical pencil, I
have found 0.5mm to be perfect, I have
never used a 0.7mm pencil but have
occasionally used a 0.3mm for finer
details, however if you use the process
of rubbing around the end of your lead
on a .5mm pencil, you can get it as fine
anyway. Either way, the choice is up to you!
Paper:
Drawing paper can be as critical in the
process of making this type of art as a pencil. I
have been drawing for a few years now and have
drawn on many different kinds of paper from
many different brands. I have two favourite types
of paper: Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Smooth,
which is acid free weighing 100lb with UN
unbelievably smooth surface which is perfect for
grabbing and pulling out the most intricate
detail in a work. The second is Fabriano Artistico
Bright White Hot-pressed Watercolour Paper.
Again it is acid free and weighing 150lbs with
one side being smoother and the other with a
rough side. The paper is really tough and can
have much punishment without denting and
ripping which can sometimes happen when you
are trying to put in really dark, darks, or the
areas where you will be working a lot. I buy this
paper as a separate sheet in the local art store, it’s usually size A1 (59.4 × 84.1cm).
Both again have their advantages and disadvantages, I have found the Bristol can sometimes
be that smooth that it almost has no tooth to hold graphite, and the Fabriano is sometimes a little
too rough to capture the details as well, but in the end, it’s all up to you and I’m sure if you
experiment, you will eventually find what’s best for you.
More Information on Paper and Pencils:
Bristol Board on Wikipedia
Fabriano History
Paper Size Wikipedia
History and Shop for Mechanical Pencils
Derwent Homepage
Staedtler Homepage (UK)
Faber-Castell Homepage (UK)
Some good info on the history of pencils
Blending Equipment:
These are most certainly not essential and only really need to be used for extra effects, but
to honestly state that they just speed up a process but for me, in the meanwhile can ruin it also.
Blending can be excellent for a technique used to draw glass. For me I try to use them as little as
possible. Many artists use them for drawing women, as we all know, women love to be flattered and
especially if she is paying for you to make her look good. They often really don’t like the effects of
recreating all her little details, but in my opinion it makes them look glassy. However, in the past
when I have used blending techniques, the viewers of my work claim that it looks really painterly. I
am yet to notice this, but that’s ok.
Blending can usually be done with the very common blending stump which is usually a tool
associated with working with charcoal, however it’s not that limited, you can also use it for graphite
or pasted ect. This tool is a pencil shaped implement which consists of tightly wound paper, highly
compressed. So it’s basically a blender made from paper. You can use the end for something Brian
Duey calls Blended Circulism, which is the pointed part, or, like laying down your pencil for mass
shading; well the same can apply for this. I suppose, being creative, you could push the graphite
about on the paper in different directions to see what kind of effect you can create. However,
blending doesn’t just limit you to this paper stick; you can use a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g which is easy to apply to
the paper to rub. Obviously common sense applies, as using a liquid to blend would not work. In the
past I have used wood chippings, toilet tissue, my finger (not usually the best as it also rubs on your
grease which can be hard to get off and can make your wok look blotchy), a leather chamois, pieces
of leather (I have tried both sides), paper, cotton buds (good for details) and so on!! They all create
their own unique outcome, and often if you use graphite powder and blend with these things you
get some amazing effects. Graphite powder can be bought or as I do, when you sharpen your pencil,
either with sandpaper or your ordinary sharpener, just sweep the powder onto your paper.