Making Over Your Sketching Tools - Pencils !

Mar 31, 201520 min read

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Tudalia-Hex

Published: Mar 31, 2015

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Artist's Toolbox

Usually while sketching with graphite or carbon pencils, we feel the absence of something in the quality of the strokes we get. This means that the pencil you're using,doesn't give an edge to your sketching experience. This is what I usually have felt while sketching portraits, animals and sceneries. To cure this absence we can do a quick makeover of our tools of sketching! This tutorial will help you getting to know more methods if making over your pencils . so that they give the unexpected, but great results ! Here's the index to what all will be explained in this tutorial :

The introduction
Tools required
Proceeding towards the makeover
Maintaining neatness
Usage

The INTRODUCTION:

While introducing you to the topic, I'll first mention that the steps given below shall be performed with utmost safety, else you may hurt yourself badly! So take care if you are a teen and try to take help of your elders first! Don't try to experiment with the sharp tools yourself;So now , moving towards the topic, making over your tools can enhance your experience with the tool and also it makes it more fun when you get customized styles out of the modest pencil. Since pencils are of 2 types, the Carbon rich graphite pencil or simply the charcoal pencil used of sketching and the usual pencil used for writing; The charcoal pencil can be very helpful with shades and realism, so it can be customized easily with a razor or cardboard cutter.as shown in the pictures given below :

The Tools Required:

Doing the makeover of your pencil supplies, will require the following tools which are easily available in a stationary shop. The tools are as follows:

A razor blade or cardboard cutter
A pair of scissors
Sand paper
A piece of spare cloth
A spare Paintbrush (flat-any size)
A common sharpener
A spare cloth or cotton

Since now we are aware of our tools, we can start the makeover of our pencils. There are various methods, but to save your time, I'll be mentioning the most commonly known 4 types. These include :

Textured Pencils
Fine Details pencils
Hair and fur pencils
Special shades pencils

Proceeding towards The makeover :

Since you've got your tools with yourself, we'll be making up our pencils with the following pattern degrees:

1) Textured pencils :

This style of pencils will require you the sandpaper, compass and a razor. What do you have to do is that let the pencil be fully sharpened and then cut a piece of sand paper. Then rub the lead of the pencil with the sand paper's rough side to gain a rough texture on the pencil. This texture will be a little grainy and can be used to get effects of our skin, or partly smooth surfaces as shown in the example pictures. This was the first texture we got. Now use the scissors to make lateral patterns on the pencil lead.Put the 2 sharp legs of the scissors on the lead and rotate the pencil to get grooves on the pencil lead. You shall take care that it doesn't break the lead. Then place the lead on a paper to try the pattern by rubbing the lead on the paper. If you get a pattern on the paper, then you're successful in doing so!

2) Fine detail pencils :

If you have ever made a portrait sketch of a bird or even humans, you must have felt that there should be more details on your piece, but sharpening you pencils also doesn't bring enough seen details. So what to do in such cases? Pick up the razor of yours and the spare cloth. Use the razor to sharp the the lead of the pencil. Try this in all the angles of the lead till it forms a chisel like shape. Now use the ends of your newly made pencil to try and make detailed curves!

3) Hair and Fur Pencils :

this is a pretty simple and useful type of pencil which can be used to create a fur-like pattern in a drawing. take your pre-sharpened pencil and then fit it in the sharpener. rotate the pencil inwards without applying pressure on it.Note that when you do this, only the pencil lead is being sharpened, not the wooden area. After doing this for a few seconds or a minute, just see the pencil lead for a second; Did you see that it now looked a bit more smoother? Yes! This is the pencil you need! The smooth body of the lead will be used to make the skin and the edge will be used to make the hair on the body.

4) Special Shades pencil :

This is an extension to the hair and fur pencil, the special shades pencil is used to create different types of shades and tones by using the spare cloth or cotton and spare paintbrush.Use the paintbrush to remove some layer of the pencil lead, then wipe of the lead with the spare cloth or cotton. Use this pencil to make light shades! another method of this pencil is to break the lead of the pencil and rub it on the sandpaper till it gets smooth. then use this pencil to create darker shades!

NOTE : You can use these methods on color pencils also! but these methods won't work on mechanical pencils with lead size under 2mm.

Maintaining Neatness!

The methods given above result in pencil shavings and leads spread all over your work space! so, how to maintain neatness? The methods are simple as drinking water and require no extra physical effort!First, pick up :

A spare newspaper !
A small container to use as a dustbin
The old spare cloth

The steps to Cleanliness :

First, spread the newspaper over your desk or workspace, so that it covers most of the area you need to work.Then perform the methods given above. After you're done with your pencilwork, the waste lead will be spread all over the newspaper and the shavings in the dustbin container.Now, collect the dust and lead residue in the middle of the newspaper with the used old cloth. Since the dust is collected is now in the center of the newspaper, wrap the newspaper and dispose off the waste in the main dustbin of your house! The work i done !