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Showing posts with label Art Supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Supplies. Show all posts
Monday, November 5, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Drawing Pencils
Visitors to my web site often ask me about art supplies, wondering about oil and acrylic paints, paint brushes, easels, drawing paper and the like. One recently asked: "What kind of pencils do you use?"
I'm pretty particular when it comes to drawing pencils, and over the years have tried just about everything available. I most often use compressed charcoal pencils, because charcoal provides the darkest black. This is important because it offers the highest possible contrast in my drawings; the widest tonal range. Compressed charcoal pencils typically come in varieties of soft, medium and hard. Some brands have a smooth texture, while others are more coarse—feeling as if tiny grains of sand are embedded within the charcoal. This isn't good, because the sand can actually scratch your drawing. The softer the pencil, the more easily you'll be able to lay down a really dark, black tone, while the harder the pencil, the more control you'll have while drawing. So there is a tradeoff between control and tonal range. This is why I usually prefer to use a "medium" range compressed charcoal pencil, which gives me the best balance between control and tonal range. There are exceptions, of course—as when I wish to achieve a certain effect—but by-and-large a medium pencil is what I use. For the past several years I prefer Berol brand medium compressed charcoal pencils, which are long-lasting and smoother in texture than other brands I've tried.
I'm pretty particular when it comes to drawing pencils, and over the years have tried just about everything available. I most often use compressed charcoal pencils, because charcoal provides the darkest black. This is important because it offers the highest possible contrast in my drawings; the widest tonal range. Compressed charcoal pencils typically come in varieties of soft, medium and hard. Some brands have a smooth texture, while others are more coarse—feeling as if tiny grains of sand are embedded within the charcoal. This isn't good, because the sand can actually scratch your drawing. The softer the pencil, the more easily you'll be able to lay down a really dark, black tone, while the harder the pencil, the more control you'll have while drawing. So there is a tradeoff between control and tonal range. This is why I usually prefer to use a "medium" range compressed charcoal pencil, which gives me the best balance between control and tonal range. There are exceptions, of course—as when I wish to achieve a certain effect—but by-and-large a medium pencil is what I use. For the past several years I prefer Berol brand medium compressed charcoal pencils, which are long-lasting and smoother in texture than other brands I've tried.
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