Lately – I have been trying to develop and improve my drawing skills – I am making slow progress – as I am always comparing my attempts with the more accomplished and admirable work of others – often the ‘greats’ from whom I wish to learn. Their seemingly effortless work is much more what I would like to do than what I actually can do !
I also like to experiment with different tools and techniques – so hopefully one day my attempts will fall into place and I shall feel pleased with what I have produced.
Lead or graphite pencils are perhaps the most obvious and straightforward tool with which to begin developing finesse in drawing as they are readily available and easily transportable. On the surface drawing is deceptively simple – however it is a skill which actually takes considerable effort and application, on a par perhaps with learning to play the piano. So – if you are to achieve your goal and want the kind of results that you consider to be satisfactory then you have to practise regularly – a directive – I myself need to take on board.
The pencils, themselves, come in many forms; there is more variation than at first you might imagine and each particular type is designed for it’s own special purpose.
They range from facilitating fine and light lines to those that give broader and darker tonal shading. Those labelled with a ‘H’ for hard make for a thinner and lighter line whereas ‘B’ for black produces increasingly heavier lines. The number indicates their softness – beginning perhaps with 2B all the way up to the heavier marks at, say, 9B.
‘HB’ is in the middle of the range – being a combination of both.
The so called ‘lead’ is actually a type of carbon or graphite powder and is bound in clay. It can be encased in wood or held within a metal clutch or barrel – which is the device used in mechanical pencils – or not encased at all – which will then almost have the feel and character of charcoal.
Without a casing the graphite tends to get onto your fingers and this can result in unintended smudges. A lead encased in wood will need constant sharpening either with a sharpener or a knife. A sharpener is good to create a point but a knife can make for a blunter edging with a varied line similar to an italic pen – which will thereby add character to any drawing.
Mechanical pencils contain retractable leads and these have the advantage of never needing sharpening, they are particularly useful for fine and light lines. This level of accuracy is valued in technical and architectural drawings. Another important factor relating to the quality of line drawn is how heavily you press down as this can affect the lightness and also how dark the line will become.
The length of line drawn can also vary – beginning with say a dot – which would be a starting point, leading onto dashes or- shortish lines and then extending to longer and longer lines, either straight, curved or curled – or even following a continuous line in which the pencil never leaves the paper until the drawing is complete – an interesting – if challenging technique to try.
With different line types varied textural effects can be built up and these can then be softened and smudged using either your finger tips – admittedly a bit messy ! – or alternatively a paper pencil or blender tool. With an eraser you can also create lighter lines within the darker tonal areas. Eraser-pens enable the lines created to be relatively thin.
posted – July 2021
f-travis 