Sunday 21 March 2010



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.

[F] Stands for Fine Point

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment